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Jim Stanfield
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September 7, 2008
I read this book several months ago. This book, like others I have read, provide a very
insightful and informative "look" into an ancient, yet extant, Eastern religion.
Amazon.com Editorial Review:
More than just a translation, Richard Wilhelm's I Ching is a profound introduction to
the Chinese world-view. The I Ching (Yi Jing) is recognized by both Confucians and
Taoists as a foundational work, and Wilhelm shows why. He separates his work into
three books. The first book is about the hexagrams--the meanings of the lines and
Wilhelm's extensive comments. The second presents two early commentaries that interpret
the wisdom of the divinatory text, also with Wilhelm's helpful notes. And the third book
takes us back to the hexagrams for more detailed commentary from both ancient Chinese
thinkers and Wilhelm. Wilhelm is able to offer such enormous assistance because he spent
the better part of a decade in China studying under classically trained scholars. His
love for the work is thus as broad as his understanding.
The I Ching was originally used for divination, kind of like palm reading or interpreting
the stars. It differs from simple prognostication, however, in that it demands us, as
diviners, to cultivate an understanding of the world and ourselves. Without this
understanding, the text is useless, hence the value of the commentaries, particularly
Wilhelm's. This version is not without its biases, of course--it is a European's
understanding of the I Ching, through a late-Qing dynasty Confucian perspective,
translated into English by a Jungian psychoanalyst. Nonetheless, it succeeds like no
other. --Brian Bruya
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