Preview

I Ching Essay

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
456 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
I Ching Essay
I Ching
What a blessing…a miracle…fate? Somehow, I Ching made the cut and survived the great book burning of 213 B.C., perpetrated by Ch’in Shih Huang ti, the first Chinese emperor. I Ching became the only existing divination tool, earning its place in history as the oldest Chinese oracle.
The “I” is pronounced “E” and speaks to both the intellect and imagination. Also, “I” refers to “change”, which clarifies why I Ching is dubbed The Book of Changes in the English language. It denotes “simplicity”, indicating a profound connection with the natural world.
Today, I Ching serves as an oracle and tool to explore the changes of life. Excepting the Bible, I Ching is the most translated book. With the passage of time, its devotees have added commentaries. Like the Bible, we can’t be positive about who
…show more content…
Traditionally, he receives credit for developing the “Eight Forces of Nature and their Trigrams”. The idea was to classify all phenomena under heaven and on earth. Fuxi placed the eight forces in a circular arrangement, surrounding the Tai Chi symbol.
Called Pa-Kua, it became the precursor of I Ching. In the 12th century, Wen Wang, ruler Hsi-Chou Dynasty, refined the Pa-Kua to the point it metamorphosed into 64 hexagrams, completing the complex oracle/divination tool we use today.
Each hexagram is made up of six horizontal lines, solid or broken. A solid line represents yang; broken lines signify yin. Yang is the masculine force – positive, virile, dominant. Yin is the feminine force – negative, passive, nurturing.
Hexagrams are arranged in a stack, which is separated into an upper half and lower half. The stack forms the heart for I Ching prophetic readings.
For a test reading, you will need a reference book on I Ching, pen, paper and three coins of the same type. Designate yang as one side of the coins and the other as yin. The yang side of every coin has a value of 3; yin side is valued at

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    · Complete the University of Phoenix Material: Reflections on the Daodejing (Tao Te Ching) Worksheet located on the student website.…

    • 488 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    The title of this book can be translated as Dao/Tao meaning ‘way’, De/Te meaning ‘virtue’, and Jing/Ching meaning ‘great book’. All of these put together can translate into ‘The Great Book on the Way of Virtue’.…

    • 977 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Lao-Tzu vs. Machiavelli

    • 1382 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Cited: Jacobus, Lee A. "LAO-TZU Thoughts from the Tao-te Ching." A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin 's, 2006. 21-31. Print.…

    • 1382 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    kanyini essay

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages

    What do you think are the messages being presented by Bob Randall and the director Melanie Hogan, in the film Kanyini?…

    • 743 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Chin tan (Golden Elixir) Taoism is a strong on thoughts or ‘Inner Alchemy’ (BBC). Many traditions were engrossed into the Ch'üan chen tradition.…

    • 609 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Lao Tzu - Tao Te Ching

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages

    There are many pieces of wisdom in the Tao-Te Ching that will make a person think, even in the short excerpt in our book. At the heart of it all, Lao-Tzu states that he teaches just three things, simplicity, patience, and compassion. Reinforcing his message of how simple everything really is. The basis of the Tao-Te Ching is to be content with yourself and where you are. First we have to learn to be still if we want to learn how to move. With so much to learn, it is easy to see that we do not know a thing.…

    • 350 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Specifically, from ancient China, the concept of Yin and Yang is still a popular symbol in today’s culture. There are five phases that signify transition and change: “Water quells Fire; Fire melts Metal; Metal cuts Wood; A Wood plow turns Earth; Earth Halts Water.” These phases are a continuous cycle that are connected with one another. Ying and Yang represent everything that is created, and there is an equal balance between the two. They are opposites, yet within each of them is a piece of their opponent. Without a perfect balance, life could not have been created. Medical knowledge during ancient China used the concept of Ying and Yang to describe some of the functions of the human body. This was until 1600s when William Harvey contributed to the understanding of the heart and circulatory systems in humans. This is discussed in Chapter six, where biological discoveries are made during the Renaissance…

    • 873 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    study guide

    • 604 Words
    • 3 Pages

    3. How could the hexagrams of the I Ching (The Book of Changes) be viewed as means of divination? How could they be seen as having personality and wisdom of their own? Note the editorial work of the Confucianism.…

    • 604 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Daodejing Essay

    • 933 Words
    • 4 Pages

    In the sixth century B.C., the Daodejing was recorded by the author and Chinese master, Laozi. This ancient Chinese text was been written on and researched over the past two-thousand years. Many scholars and readers have observed the Daodejing to find that it is hardly self-explanatory. In order to have a more comprehensive understanding of the text as a whole there are some important elements to consider such as the framework and perspective behind the text. Karyn Lai is a scholar in the School of Philosophy at the University of New South Whales. Lai’s article, Ziran and Wu Wei: an Ethical Assessment, suggests ziran and wu wei are correlated, ethical concepts and together they provide a unifying framework to understanding the philosophy of Daodejing. In the introduction of Daodejing in the Norton Anthology of World Literature (Volume A), the text is described as, “It is also the most paradoxical , because it uses logical contradictions to articulate it’s vision.” (Norton Anthology 1344). While the text certainly has…

    • 933 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Confucianism In China

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Han dynasty (206 BC - AD 220) “is the first of the five great Chinese dynasties.” “The others are the T’ang (7th-10th centuries), Song (10th-13th), Ming (14th-17th) and Qing (17th-20th).” (Gascoigne pg.3) Under the Han dynasty, confucianism is once again supported forming the Confucian examination system a key part in the administrative system. The Han rulers focus…

    • 773 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The most intriguing part about it is his four arms. Its figure is often seen between human and godly, therefore his four arms could indicate his powerful and pervasive nature, that he is concerned in protecting all directions of life. The placement of all arms also provide an insight that his presence remained both in the spiritual world and the physical existence of reality. Specifically in the Web Article, Eisler states the objects in each hand, and hose objects are: “A lotus that represents purity and beauty, a conch shell that stands for the sacred OM sound, mace for strength and the destruction of evil, and a chakra that symbolizes the mind, intelligence, and the end of self-delusion.” The lotus flower signifies not only beauty but compassion, the grace of a flower must be delicate, the conch shell creates an OM sound that call out to spiritual seekers, the mace to protect the good, and the chakra to remain balanced in our energy in all parts of our body. These characteristics benefit many devotees or followers who simply want to strengthen their relationship with the supreme being because they are praying with the deity instead of to it. The iconography helps them meditate by remaining focused on the journey within them to discover their true nature of self by presenting ideas like purity, strength, spirituality and intelligence through concrete…

    • 728 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    World Religion

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages

    They are truly religions because they embody the concept of religion. Taoism cannot be classified as a religion with certain doctrines and practices but it has been converted to one with presence of gods, temples, priests, and sacrifices. Confucianism is more of a philosophy of the Chinese people and has no sacred writings priesthood etc. but it has affected Chinese character and created cultic development.…

    • 456 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Better Essays

    The Man In The High Castle

    • 1285 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In the story, many of the characters read a banned, yet popular alternative-history novel called The Grasshopper Lies Heavy, written by a man named Hawthorn Abendsen , who is rumored to live in a highly guarded house, a quintessential “high castle”. It is a fiction work that maps out world events if the Allies had won WWII, although, in a different strain of events than what really happened, thus presenting a third universe to us: the reader. The introduction of the third “universe” proposes the idea that there is more than just two options: more than just right and wrong, fake and real, authentic and fabricated. In the last pages, Juliana goes to see the author, after killing her lover, Joe, who turns out to be a spy sent by the Nazis to assassinate Abendsen. The I Ching, is an ancient Chinese book which the characters in the novel consult to check where they are flowing in the balance of the Dao, or the “way”, and how the outcomes of their decisions will pan out. Juliana wants to know if Abendsen consulted the I Ching when writing the book, and he reluctantly tells her that the Oracle practically wrote the novel, as he consulted it for every plot point, character and subject (something Dick actually did himself while writing this novel). Abendsen and Juliana ask the I Ching why it “wrote” The Grasshopper Lies Heavy. They toss the coins, come up with the hexagram, and realize it is the hexagram of Chung…

    • 1285 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Better Essays

    Ying Yang Symbol

    • 1120 Words
    • 5 Pages

    The primary purpose of both, Where Does the Yin Yang Symbol Come From? and The Eyes Have It: Evil Eye in Greece, is to inform the reader of both the meaning an the use behind these well known symbols. This is clearly shown by the detailed descriptions of the symbols and the enlightening information; such as Amvrazi’s attempt to explain to readers the many different cultures “Jewish, Islamic, Buddhist, Hindu and Christians” and how they incorporate the Evil Eye’s meaning into their teachings (Amvrazi). The informative purpose remains prevalent in Tsai’s essay as he explains that “the Yin Yang symbol is a Chinese representation of the entire celestial phenomenon” and that it “contains the cycle of sun, four seasons, 24-Segment Chi, the foundation of I-Ching, and the Chinese calendar” (Tsai).…

    • 1120 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Yin Yang

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages

    A passage from chapter 36 of the Daoist classic 'Dao De Jing' by Lao Zi illustrates this point well: 'In order to contract, it is necessary first to expand'. 9…

    • 297 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays