I Ching

Author: Zhong Lei
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-05-01
Features: The Book of Changes (Zhou Yi) is one of the earliest divination books preserved in China. It presents the ancient Chinese dialectical thinking in the form of hexagrams. It mainly introduces knowledge related to agricultural production, commercial travel, warfare, and marriage, with rich content, a rigorous structure, and easy-to-understand language. In ancient times, people had low levels of knowledge and strong beliefs in superstition, often being skeptical of things. Therefore, they used divination methods to seek guidance from deities to determine auspiciousness or inauspiciousness and decide their actions. As a result, some people view the Book of Changes as extremely mysterious, believing that once one understands it and grasps the essence of divination, they can predict auspiciousness or inauspiciousness and know fortune or misfortune when going out to handle matters. Currently, in some backward regions, feudal superstition is gradually resurfacing, with an increasing number of people burning incense, praying to gods, and seeking divination for various matters. From trivial daily issues and commercial travel to major events like building houses or weddings and funerals, people rely on gods and divination. We should adopt a materialist perspective to correctly understand the Book of Changes and critique feudal superstition.