Yijing (PinYin romanisation) is also known as I Ching (using the Wade Giles romanisaton), other phonetic representations include I Kung, E Jing, I Jing.
There are very few artefacts of reference that still exist today that are so influential on a culture or society as the Yijing. Yi meaning “Change” and Jing meaning “cannon” translate to mean Book of Changes. The Yijing is influential in three main streams of Chinese thought - Confucianism, Taoism (or Daoism) and Buddhism (although Buddhism originated in India). So what is the Yijing or the “Book of Changes”?
The book itself is known as a book of divination, one can gain advice by casing coins or counting out sticks and looking up the appropriate reference to receive the advice to the predicament or question pondered whilst casting or counting. However the Yijing also introduces important concepts that have been critical to the Chinese way of thought and understanding.
These concepts include, from nothing there is everything, through cycles everything evolves and changes, the understanding of opposites in nature (yin and yang, making the taiji), evolving into the four images, into the eight trigrams (Bagua), then to the sixty four hexagrams. As to not confuse, lets start at the beginning.
According to Chinese Myth the god of fire and the god of water battled for control of the earth. Fire set the forests ablaze and in the gods exchanges a hole ripped in the northwest corner of heaven, and the heavenly river gushed out creating a great flood. Fu Xi (and his sister Nu Wa) were the only survivors. They retreated to Kunlun mountain where Fu Xi observed the stars, their motion through the sky, he witnessed the patterns of movement and change through nature.
These observations included the identification of Yin and Yang. For more information about yin and yang review our page on the Taiji.
From these two, the four images are formed by placing the addition of a second line (applying 2 squared) Yin and Yang into the four possible combinations:
The double solid line becomes Old Yang, whilst the double broken line becomes Old Yin. The two other combinations form Old Yang and Old Yin, the determinate of influence is the bottom of the two lines.
These four images introduce change through time, they represent the rhythm of nature. As with a pendulum swinging from left to right reaches its zenith, it must start to swing the other way. It is the same with the four images, Old Yang and Old Yin represent the extremes. Young Yin and Young Yang represent more moderate stages. An example in nature the moon and it’s phases demonstrate the movements from Old Yang to Old Yin. The moon when full demonstrates Old Yang, it has reached its peak, it’s full potential and begins to decline though the phases to the first quarter demonstrating Young Yin. As the moon proceeds each night, on the evening of the New Moon it demonstrates Old Yin, where it is new or reborn to continue towards the Last Quarter where the moon demonstrates Young Yang. The cycle perpetuates back to Old Yang at the full moon where it continues through again each month.
So it is with the seasons, from spring (Young Yin) to summer (Old Yang) to autumn (or fall – representing Young Yang) to winter (Old Yin). In literature and poetry we include these references to life, indeed we live through these phases.
These four images don’t represent all the possibilities of change. Change is complex, even in summer storms occur, thunder and lightening awaken fear, storms and heavy rain can dampen our days. A human in the spring of their life can fall sick and die, there must be more.
Fu Xi’s Gift
One day a gift from heaven appeared to Fu Xi at the banks of the Yellow River, a dragon-horse emerged from the river and upon inspection Fu Xi noticed the markings on its back. Inspired by the diagram he marked out the Yellow River Chart.
Ingesting both what he had already formulated from Yin and Yang and the four images with this new inspiration Fu Xi formulated the Early Heaven Sequence and Trigrams. Fu Xi created the four images by taking Yin and Yang (2) and by adding an additional line to each created the four images. By taking the four images from the mathematical power of 2 to the power of 3 (2 cubed equalling 8 Trigrams. These eight trigrams are Heaven, Earth, Water, Fire, Wind, Thunder, Mountain and Lake.
These are arranged into their opposites forming an octagon call the Bagua.
The use of an octagon to arrange the trigrams is in itself representative of the tension of change, as the centre is struck between four polar opposites. Exploring each trigram further to understand its meaning toward the concept of change:
First there is Heaven, perfect Yang. Heaven is above, the sun, stars, planets and the earth’s moon, it is the source of the weather, heat, light and the seasons are sourced from heaven. Humans have sourced the measurements of time and direction from the heavens.
Its opposite is Earth, earth is our residence, the place we live this mortal life. The earth is the source of everything we use or consume in our lifetime. For example our food, the water we drink and use, our clothing, shelter, the metals we use for tools, construction, and monetary exchange.
Mankind exists between Heaven and Earth, all of our mortal needs are satisfied by them.
The human race cannot exist with out water. We are dependant on it for our consumption, to bath ourselves and maintain hygiene. We wash our cooking and eating equipment and utensils using water. Water with it’s liquid, fluid, flowing motion penetrating the smallest crack and crevice conversely it pounds against the cliffs and points in the form of the rolling wave. Water is capable of lifting immense items and cutting deep gouges and canyons in the earth. Water resides within gouges of the earth.
Fire is equally critical for human survival on earth; without it’s heat we would freeze in certain environments or during the colder months. We use fire to cook and prepare our food, to forge metal for human tools. Fire is upward shooting energy, a spreading and consuming power.
Together Water and Fire represent the movement and constant change of energy.
Thunder is a forceful explosion of rolling energy. The immense crashing sound of thunder heralding a storm, it captivates, silences and leaves us in awe of it’s power. Thunder is a metaphor for the beginning of all change; whilst change is cyclical it must have its beginnings. To humans change can be sudden, shocking and arousing, as with Thunder.
Wind permeates is gentle, steady and soft. We can either close the shutters diverting wind back or we can capture it for our use, such as in the sail or the windmill. Wind keeps in motion the atmosphere around us and the earth. It moves clean air for our breathing, it blows the trees to scatter seeds, or blow pollen from flowers into the air for pollination for new growth. Birds fly with the winds aid during seasonal migration, or an eagle may use the wind to glide and sore.
Thunder and wind represent the extremes of growth and change.
The mountain unmoving, it represents stillness, stoppage or the images of the meditating person, or someone standing in anger. The mountain stands silent in isolated solitude. A Mountain can represent an insurmountable obstacle, or cherished as a form for protection.
Whilst a lake represents a mass or gathering, a motion of many identified as a whole. A lake contains life, it is an incubator for fish and other marine life, birds gather feed and wash, plants propagate and animals gather to quench their thirst. Lake is a metaphor for human gathering and interaction, like that of a market place or show ground.
The mountain and the lake represent the extremes of relationship or social interactions.
The Early Heaven Bagua represents the extremes and cycles of change.
From the Early Heaven Eight Trigrams and Bagua is the Sixty Four Hexagrams arranged in an order (as the name suggests) representing Heavens perfect order and principles. As to the specifics of the arrangement we have no documented knowledge, perhaps the information was lost to history. What we are left with is the specific arrangement of pictograms that align perfectly to Yin and Yang.
Shao Yun (1011 – 1077 ce) a philosopher of the Song dynasty developed the following diagram to illustrate the perfection in the Early Heaven Arrangement of Hexagrams stemming from it’s origin – Yin and Yang.
Starting from the bottom of the above diagram, as with the beginning of everything we start with Wuji (the concept of Wuji is introduced in the Taiji page), from this limitless ever moving potential it is split into the conceivable Yin and Yang. Then in turn each continues to split into sub yin and yang elements. Notice that the black remain Yin and the white remain Yang irrespective of the layers below, more a perpetual division of Yin and Yang until we reach the 64 Hexagrams.
