CHESMAYNE

Midi: Tango - Melody: “And I

 

 

I Ching

 

    

Also known as the ‘Book of Changes’, which is one of the five classics of the Confucian Canon.  Its early portions date from 1000 BCE, and it began as a book of divination.  Commentaries and additions known as the ‘Ten Wings’ later supplemented it.   It accepts that life is centered upon cosmic order, and yet cosmic order is subject to change.   The I Ching contains the famous ‘eight trigrams’, which symbolize the eight basic constituents of the universe, and the 64 hexagrams which symbolize the universal archetypes of human consciousness.   The Eight Diagrams are symbols of mystic and talismanic power.   Each consists of three lines, which may be full --- or broken - - -, placed one above the other, making eight possible combinations in all.   They are the earliest known examples of binary notation.   Each trigram has an associated symbolism, including a numerological value.   When one trigram is placed on top of another, a hexagram of six lines is formed.   The I Ching is an ancient system of Chinese divination, using a form of linear symbolism.   Trigrams and hexagrams are made up of broken and unbroken lines with each set having a traditional meaning.   The linear groups are chosen in sequence by throwing coins and by the permutation of broken and unbroken lines.   The meaning of the symbols is then found in a book listing all the traditional interpretations.   The 64 hexagrams make up the diagrams of the I Ching. 

01 --- Ch’ien Heaven

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02 --- Sun Wind

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03 --- K’an Lake

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04 - - Ken Mountain

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05 - - K’un Earth

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06 - - Chen Thunder

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07 - - Li Heat

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08 --- Tui Sea

The most sophisticated oracle ever devised, but also a complete system of symbolic wisdom arranged in playful form.   As with other symbolic systems the I Ching, or Chinese Book of Changes, is an elaborate structure built from simple units, which reflects the structure of the universe itself.   Yang/Yin each contain the seed of its opposite (the seed of transformation).   Originally the oracle provided the answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’, like heads or tails when tossing a coin.   Separating and combining produces the symbolic patterns that reflect the pattern of life.   For the oracle this also produced new shades of meaning in the answer.   From the Chou dynasty in the 12th century BC, ‘Eight Trigrams’ were used.   By simply separating two sets of eight trigrams, and then relating them to each other in every possible combination of figures made up of six lines, you reach the final permutations of this extraordinary book of wisdom - arranged like an elaborate game.   The pattern of opposites is the basic pattern of life, of symbolism and of the I Ching. 

          Starting with the simple contrast of Yang/Yin, it develops via the arrangement of the trigrams opposite each other, and is the continuous underlying theme of the final sequence of 64 hexagrams, for example, all are arranged in pairs of opposites, so far as the patterns of lines are concerned, where the pattern of lines cannot be turned upside down it is reversed.   A continual sequence of flux and change.   The seed changes into the tree and back into the seeds.   It is certainly a highly sophisticated oracle, but whether or not it works or not cannot be tested in theory, because there is no scientific theory to cover what happens randomly, either in nature or in tossing coins or, picking yarrow sticks from a bundle which was the original way of consulting the oracle.   However, it can be tested by experiment: by asking a question, tossing three coins in the air six times, and looking up the answer.   The answers do not seem so vague and two-way as the Delphic Oracle appears to have been at times. 

          Alchemy was a significant element in religious Taoism in China between the 5th and 9th centuries.   It focused on the search for longevity and immortality by exploring through alchemy the theories of yin and yang, the five elements (earth, fire, metal, water, wood), and the mystical trigrams of the I Ching.   The Confucian Canon is regarded as seminal by the Confucian tradition.   The five classics are:

01 Classic of Odes (Shih Ching),

02 Classic of Rites (Li Ching),

03 Classic of History (Shu Ching),

04 The Spring and Autumn Annals (Chun Chiu) and

05 The Classic of Changes (I Ching), which is a book of divination and philosophy.   These five books became the basis of Chinese civil service examinations from the time of the later Han dynasty (206BCE-220CE). 

The ‘I Ching’ or ‘Book of Changes’ is an ancient Chinese text used as an oracle to find out the answers to troubling questions such as “what does the future hold for me?”  The book consists of 64 “hexagrams,” each consisting of six broken or unbroken lines. (Sixty-four is the number of possible combinations of six broken or unbroken lines).   The lines represent the two primal cosmic principles in the universe, yin and yang. Yin (Mandarin for moon) is the passive, female principle.  Yang (Mandarin for sun) is the active, masculine principle.  According to legend, the Chinese emperor Fu Hsi claimed that the best state for everything in the universe is a state of harmony represented by a balance of yin and yang.   Why the I Ching has six lines, however, is a mystery, since the ancient Chinese believed there were five elements (wood, fire, earth, metal, and water), five planets, five seasons, five senses, as well as five basic colors, sounds and tastes.   Unsurprisingly, legend has it that, according to Fu Hsi, true harmony requires yang to be dominant.   It’s just the nature of things. 

The hidden cosmic meanings of the hexagrams were divined many years ago by Chinese philosopher-priests in tune with the tao, - Chinese for ‘path’ or ‘way’.   They consist of such bits of fortune cookie wisdom as: “Treading upon the tail of the tiger.  It does not bite the man”.   Or, “the superior man discriminates between high and low”. 

The ‘I Ching’ is consulted in several ways.   One way is by flipping coins.  Each coin is assigned a number.  The coins are tossed and the numbers added up to determine the hexagram.  Another method involves a complex divination based on dividing up bundles of yarrow stalks.   One can also consult the oracle either on the internet or on a CD. 

It is not too difficult to understand why ancient peoples would look to random coin tosses, plant stalks, bird’s entrails, the stars, lines on burnt bones, etc., to help them decide what to do next with their lives.   They had no science, little knowledge of the nature of things, and not much more to guide them in this life than the teachings of superstitious mythmakers and storytellers.   It is not too difficult to imagine why the mythmakers would come up with such methods of divination: you can make money from it and, if you are clever and vague enough, nobody can prove you wrong. 

Also, such beliefs lend themselves to confirmatory experiences and are bound to have many satisfied customers.  Anything that vaguely resembles an accurate prediction will be significant.  What would count as counter-evidence is not clear and is certainly not actively sought out or attended to.   Some prophecies, too, become self-fulfilling. 

Furthermore, the oracle satisfies a need which many people seem to have: the need to be told what to do with their lives.   The same is true today, though it may be disappointing to some graduates of Princeton University to see their alma mater’s name associated with the CD-ROM version of the I Ching.  Business is business.  And today there is hardly any business as booming as the business of metaphysical and mystical codswallop. 

See related entries on oracles and stichomancy. 

International Lambdoma Research Institute: They show the relationships all of the parts that we are discussing here.  The I Ching, The DNA Codons, The Harmonic Octave.   The 8 x 8 Grid, the color coded musical scale, Mandela’s and more.  For those of you that are interested the URL is……. 

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