Easy Explanation of the 64 Hexagrams of the I Ching

Author: Wang Zhongchang
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2005-03-01
Features: The author explains the confusion and obstacles encountered when first learning the I Ching and provides a brief introduction to the "Ten Wings" written by Confucius to assist later scholars. The hope is to guide readers "from simple to complex," "seeking the horse by following the track," "progressing step by step," and "entering the profound hall," as if dispelling the clouds and fog to reveal the blue sky or entering the deep mountains to find treasures. Historically, scholars of the I Ching have long revealed to us that reading the I Ching requires "explaining the classics with the classics," that is, using the "commentaries" to explain the "classics" (i.e., reading the Ten Wings before discussing the text). In this way, the understanding and application of the Great I Ching will not be biased or misunderstood. In this edition, the author boldly reverses the traditional method by discussing the "classics" before the "commentaries." To help readers grasp the "origin" of the I Ching and the symbolic meanings of the hexagrams and lines, making it easier to seek the difficult in the simple, the book lists the "Eighteen Examples of the I Ching" at the beginning to give readers an understanding of "I Ching studies." The easily understandable "Ten Wings" are placed in the middle, while the more difficult "classics" are arranged at the end, allowing beginners to cross-reference and recognize the true essence of the I Ching. Studying classic historical texts is essentially about "carrying forward the legacy and enlightening the future," "continuing the past and opening the future." Although this book is the author's insights and teaching experiences from the past decade of studying the I Ching, it is, in reality, inspired by the classics of the sages and scholars and draws on the essence of the great works of modern domestic and international scholars of the I Ching.