Book of Changes
I Ching, the Book of Changes, was the oldest known book in the Chinese civilization. All Chinese ideas, philosophies, and ways of life have their origin in the writings in this book. As the title implies, this book is about changes. It is about how:
1) Nature changes to bring forth living things from the inanimate matters,
2) Living things change to make life meaningful and purposeful,
3) These changes can be analyzed, understood, and induced.
Specifically, I Ching can show why only certain things and events befall upon a person and offer guidance to navigate through them.
Generally, I Ching lays bare the secrets to anyone who seeks to live harmoniously with the surroundings, peacefully with others, and contently within one’s abilities in society. Today, most people live a life of repetitious routines that numb the senses and suppress feelings, causing people to indulge in physical pleasures and material comforts. I Ching can reacquaint people with the fundamentals of the mechanics of living to empower them to be masters instead of slaves to their environment and destiny.
Symbols
Feeling powerless against the harsh environment and the unpredictable weather, some early humans sought protection and blessing from the imaginary deities. The Chinese, in trying to make sense of what they saw and experienced, observed that Nature was dominated mainly by two opposing forces – day and night, hot and cold, sun and moon, male and female, etc. When they interacted, changes occurred - new lives appeared, more activities were generated - resulting in an ever-complex world that people had to face and cope.
To help them understand and have some measures of control of their environment and destiny, they came up with the following symbolic formulation at a time of no written language:
1) O - The invisible and incomprehensible force that is responsible for all that was, is, and will be.
2) ⚊, ⚋ - The visible and opposing but complementing and inseparable elements. Through their mingling and interactions, changes occur and lives flourish.
3) ⚌, ⚍, ⚎, ⚏ - The four bigrams represent the four major events in people’s life:
Birth, growth, old age, and death;
Morning, noon, evening, and midnight;
Spring, summer, autumn, and winter;
East, south, west, north.
4) ☰, ☱, ☲, ☳, ☴, ☵, ☶, ☷ - The 8 trigrams represent the 8 major sights in Nature with their implied meanings:
☰ = Heaven (strong and long lasting),
☱ = Lake (pleasant and satisfy),
☲ = Fire (light and separation),
☳ = Thunder (vibration and division),
☴ = Wind (penetration and justice),
☵ = Water (destruction and growth),
☶ = Mountain (reliable and peaceful),
☷ = Earth (tolerance and embrace).
5) ☰/☰,☱/☰,. . , ☶/☷,☷/☷ - The 64 hexagrams represent the most common events/advices in a person’s daily life. Each hexagram is formed with one of the eight original trigrams placed on top and bottom, resulting in a total of 64 possible combinations. For example:
☰/☰ = Creative: It is made of two Heaven trigrams. Basically, it encourages the person to be strong and industrious in their endeavors, generous and impartial in their judgments.
☷/☷ = Receptive: It is made of two Earth trigrams. Basically, it encourages the person to perform the assigned task morally without complaint and to be loyal to the boss under any circumstance.
☷/☰ = Peace: The top trigram is the Earth and the bottom trigram is the Heaven. Basically, it encourages the person to carry out the mandate of heaven and earth, which is to use its resources morally and wisely to benefit everyone.
☰/☷ = Standstill: The top trigram is the Heaven and the bottom trigram is the Earth. The country’s economic and political situations are in dire straits. A person is advised to be frugal and not to make waves at work or be greedy in business transactions.
☲/☳ = Biting: The top trigram is the Fire and the bottom trigram is the Thunder. A person is advised to employ one’s righteousness and determination as an example to others.
☶/☲ = Grace: The top trigram is the Mountain and the bottom trigram is the Fire. A person is advised not to rush to judgment and not to resort to brutal force to resolve problems.
☱/☶ = Influence: The top trigram is the Lake and the bottom trigram is the Mountain. A person is encouraged to open one’s inhibition to listen and learn from others.
L6,L5,L4 / L3,L2,L1 = The 6 lines (the bottom line is line 1 and the top line is line 6) that make up the hexagram divide the represented event/advice into 6 time periods from the beginning (line 1) to the end (line 6) with each period lasting about 10 to 20 years. The specific hexagram explains what and why the event/advice occurs, while each line describes how the event/advice is going to change in stages.
Oracle
The 64 hexagrams were and still are used to foretell a person’s fortune in business, travel, relationships, or anything that a person feels the need for guidance. Many methods had been devised to perform the task of choosing which one or more of the 64 hexagrams would foretell the desired outcome. The following describes a simple procedure to demonstrate how the whole process works:
1) Get any 3 quarters with the Head = —, and Tail = - -,
2) Flip each coin one after the other to determine line 1 of the hexagram.
For HHH, line X = —, also denotes that it is a dynamic line,
HHT/HTH/THH, line X = - -, also denotes that it is a static line,
HTT/TTH/THT, line X = —, also denotes that it is a static line,
TTT, line X = - -, also denotes that it is a dynamic line,
3) Repeat step 2) to get line 2 to line 6,
4) Look up the hexagram that is formed by the 6 lines and interpret the meaning as follows:
a) If all 6 lines are static, the meaning of the whole hexagram applies,
b) If one line is dynamic, the meaning of the hexagram’s dynamic line applies,
c) If 2 lines are dynamic and one is — and the other is - -, the meaning of the - - dynamic line applies,
If 2 lines are dynamic and both are — or - -, the meaning of the higher dynamic line applies,
d) If 3 lines are dynamic, the meaning of the middle dynamic line applies,
e) If 4 lines are dynamic, the meaning of the least static line applies,
f) If 5 lines are dynamic, the meaning of the remaining static line applies,
g) If 6 lines are all dynamic, the meaning of the hexagram preceding it applies.
Literature
After around 2500 BC, with the development of the Chinese written language, scholars began to write down in detail and precision what each hexagram represented, why and how each hexagram explained a unique event/advice in people’s daily lives. More significantly, moral values and social and family orders were annotated to stress that even though good and evil were natural occurrences, human beings were able to distinguish the difference, and a harmonious society demanded more good than evil.
Every living thing in Nature exists for a purpose and serves a function. Only by knowing these natural orders can people live together peacefully in society and survive the wrath of Nature:
1) A strong and caring family is the building block of a healthy society,
2) A society wherein the participants know their places and perform their duties to their abilities will lead to a strong and lasting nation.
After several thousand years and the works of many scholars, I Ching was and still is treasured as the original philosophical literature that forms the essence of Chinese culture.
Longevity
I Ching is the oldest known written record of how early Chinese used a symbolic system to understand and explain all the happenings in Nature and the role of human beings in it. Initially, I Ching’s primary application was fortunetelling. With the development of written language, the symbolic system was transformed into a beautifully versed philosophical literature on how a person should conduct oneself at home and how to establish and maintain meaningful relationships with others, and how to avoid pitfalls to be successful in business.
Its context has remained unchanged for thousands of years. Most importantly, I Ching laid the groundwork for all philosophical and literary developments in China. Its influence on Taoism and Confucianism was obvious and unmistakable. It is the soul of the only civilization on Earth that has lasted without interruption for more than 5,000 years to the present day.
