I Ching (Upper and Lower)

Author: Beijing Sihai Children's Classic Reading Education Center
Publisher:
Publication Date: 2002-09-01
Features: The impact of the I Ching is truly remarkable. Ultimately, it teaches people to think more flexibly and avoid rigidity. There is no single hexagram in it that can be rigidly calculated or used to practice superstition—it would be pointless. One must cultivate a pure and sincere mind and follow the way of cosmic change. The I Ching is the supreme classic among all the canons and the root of the Hundred Schools of Thought. The character "Yi" carries meanings such as transformation, exchange, simplicity, and unchangeability. No matter how much things change, they never deviate from their fundamental principle. The great transformation of the universe must follow certain rules. This unchangeable core and the principle of transformation is what the I Ching seeks to convey. One theory holds that Fuxi created the Eight Trigrams, the Duke of Wen created the sixty-four hexagrams and their accompanying texts, the Duke of Zhou added the hexagram lines, and Confucius wrote the Ten Wings—these combined together form the I Ching. The impact of the I Ching is truly remarkable. Ultimately, it teaches people to think more flexibly and avoid rigidity. There is no single hexagram in it that can be rigidly calculated or used to practice superstition—it would be pointless. One must cultivate a pure and sincere mind and follow the way of cosmic change.