The Book of Changes

by Traditionally attributed to King Wen, Duke of Zhou, and Confucius (commentaries)

Also known as: I Ching, Yijing, Classic of Changes

"The Book of Changes presents a worldview where reality is in constant flux, expressed through the interplay of yin and yang. It teaches that change is the fundamental law of the universe and offers a method of divination through hexagrams to align human action with cosmic patterns."
The Book of Changes cover
Type:Divination Text / Philosophical Classic
Source:Ancient China
Original Date:1000 BCE
Written Date:700 BCE
Length:4,500 lines (~7 hours)

Summary

The Book of Changes (I Ching) is one of the oldest Chinese classics, serving as both a manual of divination and a profound philosophical text. It consists of 64 hexagrams, each representing archetypal situations, transformations, and lessons. Initially a divination manual, it became a cornerstone of Chinese philosophy through Confucian and Daoist commentary, influencing metaphysics, ethics, statecraft, and cosmology across millennia.

Themes

Change and transformationYin and yangCosmic orderFate and free willHarmony with natureWisdom in uncertainty

Major Characters

Not narrative-based; instead symbolic figures include the Sage, the Superior Man (Junzi), and archetypal forces of Heaven, Earth, and Humanity.

Notable Quotes

"Perseverance furthers."

"Supreme success. Furthering through perseverance."

"The superior man changes like a panther; the inferior man changes his face."

Notable Translations

James Legge(1882)

One of the first complete English translations, scholarly but Victorian in tone.

Richard Wilhelm(1923 (German), 1950 (English by Cary Baynes))

Classic 20th-century translation, deeply influential, with Jung’s introduction.

John Blofeld(1965)

Readable and spiritually oriented.

Thomas Cleary(1986)

Focuses on Taoist and Buddhist interpretations.

David Hinton(2015)

Poetic, modern, emphasizes philosophical clarity.