The
Chinese character Romanised as "I"
represents easiness, clarity, change and
changelesness. "Ching" may be
transliterated as "a classic"
(book/writing). "I Ching" therefore
translates as "The
Classic book of Change".
Interpretation
suggests the clarity with which nature;
society and the individual could or
should work together.
The
I Ching is most known or recognised
by westerners as a method of divination
and often perceived as some kind of
fortune telling based upon instinct
or extraordinary almost supernatural
ability - like reading tea leafs in
the bottom of a cup. This misunderstanding
or erroneous interpretation by many
westerners is perhaps excelled only
by our attempts to Feng Shui our cluttered
homes with a coat of pastel paint. (I
once saw this simplification described
as: "Feng Shui - the ancient art
of putting your television in a different
corner")
The
I Ching represents cyclical change.
Symbols in the form of combinations
of broken or unbroken lines are used
to represent particular phases or characteristics.
The Yin Yang symbol is actually an accurate
pictorial simplification of the 64 hexagrams
of the I Ching.
The
simple 'code' of the I Ching is that
6 unbroken lines represents maximum
Yang, and 6 broken lines represents
maximum Yin. The total number of permutations
of this (essentially binary; on or off,
just like today's computer language)
pictorial code is 64. Thus, that number
of gradients of Yin/Yang between maximum
and minimum may be illustrated.
Confucius
eventually became regarded as the greatest
authority on the I Ching. However, he
did not commence his study until he
was well into old age, insisting that
up until then his accumulated wisdom
was totally inadequate!
As
well as the form of divination that
the I Ching is best know for here in
the west, this particular aspect is
no more than an element of a comprehensive
and interlocking theory of internal
and external harmony.
