New Perspectives on the I Ching Canon, Commentaries, and the History of I Ching Studies

Author: Liao Mingchun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2001-08-01
Features: The Book of Changes is one of the most influential classic Chinese culture texts. There are often two extreme views on the understanding of The Book of Changes. One is the problem-free theory, which holds that all issues in The Book of Changes have been resolved, leaving no secrets. All that remains now is to engage in popularization or application work. The other is the unknowability theory, which claims that most of The Book of Changes is incomprehensible, and its true meaning cannot be traced. As a result, either research on The Book of Changes is opposed, or it is treated as a plaything that can be dressed up at will. The author of this book has a very broad foundation in the study of the Book of Changes. First, it starts with the history of the Book of Changes, then the canonical texts and commentaries; first, with transmitted documents, then with unearthed bamboo slips and silk manuscripts; first, with phonology, etymology, textual analysis, textual criticism, and documents, then with historiography and philosophy. This book gradually approaches and solves problems one by one, layer by layer, and is divided into four parts: the canonical texts, commentaries, history, and external. It contains a total of 17 chapters. Each chapter presents new insights and is a valuable academic work. This book includes: a new interpretation of the hexagram and line texts of Qian and Kun in The Book of Changes; an exploration of the origin of the name of the Kun hexagram and a discussion on the era of the emergence of the theory of hexagram qi; insights into the Book of Changes bamboo slips from the Shanghai Museum, among other content.