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<h1>I Ching</h1><dl><dd><em>Alternative meaning: <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching__monk_" title="I Ching (monk)">I Ching (monk)</A></em><p>
</dd></dl>The <strong>I Ching</strong> (&#26131;&#32147; <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/pinyin" title="Pinyin">pinyin</A> <em>yì j&#299;ng</em>) is the oldest of the <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/chinese_classic_texts" title="Chinese classic texts">Chinese classic texts</A>.  Alternative romanizations of the name include I Jing, Yi Ching, Yi King. Translations of its name into English include the "Book of Changes" or more accurately "Classic of Change".<p>
It describes an ancient system of <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/cosmology" title="Cosmology">cosmology</A> and <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/philosophy_1" title="Philosophy">philosophy</A> which is at the heart of Chinese cultural beliefs.  The philosophy centres around the ideas of <em>balance through opposites</em> and <em>acceptance of change</em>.  See the <em>Philosophy</em> section below for more.<p>
The book is also known as <em>Zhou Yi</em> (&#21608;&#26131; <em>zh&#333;u yì</em>; alternately Chou I), the "Changes of Zhou", in ancient Chinese literature which indicates the book was based on work from <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/zhou_dynasty" title="Zhou Dynasty">Zhou Dynasty</A>.  See the <em>History</em> section below for more.<p>
In the Western cultures, it is known mostly as a system of <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/divination" title="Divination">divination</A>.<p>
		
<p><table border="0" id="toc"><tr><td align="center">
<b>Table of contents</b> </td></tr><tr id='tocinside'><td align="left">
<div style="margin-left:2em;">

</div>
</div>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Structure">1 Structure</A><BR>
<div style="margin-left:2em;">
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Components of Hexagrams">1.1 Components of Hexagrams</A><BR>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#The Hexagrams">1.2 The Hexagrams</A><BR>
</div>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Philosophy">2 Philosophy</A><BR>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#History">3 History</A><BR>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Divination">4 Divination</A><BR>
<div style="margin-left:2em;">
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Methods">4.3 Methods</A><BR>
<div style="margin-left:2em;">
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Cracks on turtle shell">4.3.1 Cracks on turtle shell</A><BR>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Yarrow stalks">4.3.2 Yarrow stalks</A><BR>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Coins">4.3.3 Coins</A><BR>
<div style="margin-left:2em;">
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Three-coin method">4.3.3.1 Three-coin method</A><BR>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Two-coin method">4.3.3.2 Two-coin method</A><BR>
</div>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Dice">4.3.4 Dice</A><BR>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Marbles or Beads">4.3.5 Marbles or Beads</A><BR>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Rice grains">4.3.6 Rice grains</A><BR>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Calligraphy brush strokes">4.3.7 Calligraphy brush strokes</A><BR>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Calendric Systems">4.3.8 Calendric Systems</A><BR>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#Symbolism">4.3.9 Symbolism</A><BR>
</div>
</div>
<A CLASS="internal" HREF="#External links and references">5 External links and references</A><BR>
</td></tr></table><P>
<A NAME=""><H2>Structure</H2><p>
The I Ching symbolism is embodied in a set of <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/64" title="64">64</A> abstract line arrangements called <em>hexagrams</em> (&#21350; <em>guà</em>).  These are each composed of six horizontal lines (&#29243; <em>yáo</em>); each line is either <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/yang" title="Yang">Yang</A> (<em>unbroken</em>, a <em>solid</em> line), or <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/yin" title="Yin">Yin</A> (<em>broken</em>, an <em>open</em> line with a gap in the centre).  With six such lines stacked from bottom to top in each hexagram, there are 2<sup>6</sup> or sixty-four possible combinations and thus sixty-four hexagrams. <p>
Each hexagram is made of two trigrams.  There are 8 possible trigrams.<p>
Each hexagram represents a state, a process, a change happening at the present moment. When an hexagram is casted, it is possible for one, many or all of the lines to be determined to be <em>moving</em>, ("old", or "instable") lines, i.e. their polarity is in the process of reversal and thus the meaning of the hexagram is completed and the "target" hexagram resulting from these changes is also considered. <p>
Note that because the lines in the hexagrams are traditionally determined by <em>biased</em> random-number generation procedures, the 64 hexagrams are not equiprobable if generated in these ways.<p>
There are a few formal arrangements of the trigrams and hexagrams with a traditional context.  The <em>b&#257; gùa</em> is a circular arrangement of the trigrams, traditionally printed on a mirror, or disk. Legend states that Fu Hsi found the b&#257; gùa on the scales of a tortoise's back.  <p>
The <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_king_wen_sequence" title="I Ching/King Wen sequence">King Wen sequence</A> is considered the authoritative arrangement of the hexagrams.<p>
<A NAME=""><H3>Components of Hexagrams</H3><p>
The solid line represents <em>yang</em>, the masculine, creative principle.  The open line represents <em>yin</em>, the feminine, receptive principle.  These principles are also represented in a common circular symbol (&#9775;), known as <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/taijitu" title="Taijitu">taijitu</A> (&#22826;&#26997;&#22294;), but more commonly known in the west as the <em><A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/yin_yang" title="Yin Yang">yin-yang</A></em> (&#38512;&#38525;) diagram, expressing the idea of complementarity of changes: when Yang is at top, Yin is increasing, and the reverse.<p>
In the following lists, the trigrams and hexagrams are represented using a common textual convention: horizontally from left to right, using '|' for yang and ':' for yin.  Note, though, that the normal diagrammatic representation is to show the lines stacked vertically, from bottom to top (i.e. to visualize the actual trigrams or hexagrams, rotate the text counterclockwise 90&deg;).<p>
There are eight possible trigrams (&#20843;&#21350; <em>b&#257; guà</em>).<p>
<ol><li> ||| Force (&#9776; &#20094; <em>qián</em>) = heaven (&#22825;)
</li><li> ::: Field (&#9783; &#22372; <em>k&#363;n</em>) = earth (&#22320;)
</li><li> |:: Shake (&#9779; &#38663; <em>zhèn</em>) = thunder (&#38647;)
</li><li> :|: Gorge (&#9781; &#22350; <em>k&#462;n</em>) = water (&#27700;)
</li><li> ::| Bound (&#9782; &#33390; <em>gèn</em>) = mountain (&#23665;)
</li><li> :|| Ground (&#9780; &#24061; <em>xùn</em>) = wind (&#39080;)
</li><li> |:| Radiance (&#9778; &#38626; <em>lí</em>) = fire (&#28779;)
</li><li> ||: Open (&#9777; &#20812; <em>duì</em>) = swamp (&#28580;)<p>
</li></ol>The first three lines, the <em>lower trigram</em>, are seen as the <em>inner aspect</em> of the change that is occurring.  The <em>upper trigram</em>, the last three lines, are the <em>outer aspect</em>.  The change described is thus the dynamic of the inner (personal) aspect relating to the outer (external) situation.  Thus, hexagram 04 :|:::| Enveloping, is composed of the inner trigram :|: Gorge, relating to the outer trigram ::| Bound. <p>
<A NAME=""><H3>The Hexagrams</H3><p>
The text of the <em>I Ching</em> describes each of the 64 hexagrams, and later scholars added commentaries and analyses of each one; these have been subsumed into the text comprising the I Ching.<p>
<ul><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_01" title="I Ching hexagram 01">01. |||||| Force (&#20094; qián)                   ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_02" title="I Ching hexagram 02">02. :::::: Field (&#22372; k&#363;n)                     ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_03" title="I Ching hexagram 03">03. |:::|: Sprouting (&#23663; chún)                ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_04" title="I Ching hexagram 04">04. :|:::| Enveloping (&#33945; méng)               ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_05" title="I Ching hexagram 05">05. |||:|: Attending (&#38656; x&#363;)                  ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_06" title="I Ching hexagram 06">06. :|:||| Arguing (&#35359; sòng)                  ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_07" title="I Ching hexagram 07">07. :|:::: Leading (&#24107; sh&#299;)                   ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_08" title="I Ching hexagram 08">08. ::::|: Grouping (&#27604; b&#464;)                   ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_09" title="I Ching hexagram 09">09. |||:|| Small Accumulating (&#23567;&#30044; xi&#462;o chù)  ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_10" title="I Ching hexagram 10">10. ||:||| Treading (&#23653; l&#474;)                   ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_11" title="I Ching hexagram 11">11. |||::: Prevading (&#27888; tài)                 ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_12" title="I Ching hexagram 12">12. :::||| Obstruction (&#21542; p&#464;)                ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_13" title="I Ching hexagram 13">13. |:|||| Concording People (&#21516;&#20154; tóng rén)   ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_14" title="I Ching hexagram 14">14. ||||:| Great Possessing (&#22823;&#26377; dà y&#466;u)      ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_15" title="I Ching hexagram 15">15. ::|::: Humbling (&#35609; qi&#257;n)                 ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_16" title="I Ching hexagram 16">16. :::|:: Providing-For (&#35947; yù)              ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_17" title="I Ching hexagram 17">17. |::||: Following (&#38568; suí)                 ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_18" title="I Ching hexagram 18">18. :||::| Corrupting (&#34865; g&#468;)                 ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_19" title="I Ching hexagram 19">19. ||:::: Nearing (&#33256; lín)                   ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_20" title="I Ching hexagram 20">20. ::::|| Viewing (&#35264; gu&#257;n)                  ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_21" title="I Ching hexagram 21">21. |::|:| Gnawing Bite (&#22124;&#21969; shì kè)          ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_22" title="I Ching hexagram 22">22. |:|::| Adorning (&#36033; bì)                   ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_23" title="I Ching hexagram 23">23. :::::| Stripping (&#21085; b&#333;)                  ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_24" title="I Ching hexagram 24">24. |::::: Returning (&#24489; fù)                  ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_25" title="I Ching hexagram 25">25. |::||| Without Embroiling (&#28961;&#22916; wú wàng)   ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_26" title="I Ching hexagram 26">26. |||::| Great Accumulating (&#22823;&#30044; dà chù)    ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_27" title="I Ching hexagram 27">27. |::::| Swallowing (&#38948; yí)                 ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_28" title="I Ching hexagram 28">28. :||||: Great Exceeding (&#22823;&#36942; dà guò)       ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_29" title="I Ching hexagram 29">29. :|::|: Gorge (&#22350; k&#462;n)                     ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_30" title="I Ching hexagram 30">30. |:||:| Radiance (&#38626; lí)                   ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_31" title="I Ching hexagram 31">31. ::|||: Conjoining (&#21688; xián)               ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_32" title="I Ching hexagram 32">32. :|||:: Persevering (&#24646; héng)              ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_33" title="I Ching hexagram 33">33. ::|||| Retiring (&#36975; dùn)                  ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_34" title="I Ching hexagram 34">34. ||||:: Great Invigorating (&#22823;&#22767; dà zhuàng) ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_35" title="I Ching hexagram 35">35. :::|:| Prospering (&#26185; jìn)                ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_36" title="I Ching hexagram 36">36. |:|::: Brightness Hiding (&#26126;&#22839; míng yí)    ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_37" title="I Ching hexagram 37">37. |:|:|| Dwelling People (&#23478;&#20154; ji&#257; rén)      ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_38" title="I Ching hexagram 38">38. ||:|:| Polarising (&#30589; kuí)                ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_39" title="I Ching hexagram 39">39. ::|:|: Limping (&#36423; ji&#462;n)                  ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_40" title="I Ching hexagram 40">40. :|:|:: Taking-Apart (&#35299; xiè)              ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_41" title="I Ching hexagram 41">41. ||:::| Diminishing (&#25613; s&#468;n)               ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_42" title="I Ching hexagram 42">42. |:::|| Augmenting (&#30410; yì)                 ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_43" title="I Ching hexagram 43">43. |||||: Parting (&#22828; guài)                  ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_44" title="I Ching hexagram 44">44. :||||| Coupling (&#23012; gòu)                  ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_45" title="I Ching hexagram 45">45. :::||: Clustering (&#33795; cuì)                ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_46" title="I Ching hexagram 46">46. :||::: Ascending (&#21319; sh&#275;ng)               ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_47" title="I Ching hexagram 47">47. :|:||: Confining (&#22256; kùn)                 ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_48" title="I Ching hexagram 48">48. :||:|: Welling (&#20117; j&#464;ng)                  ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_49" title="I Ching hexagram 49">49. |:|||: Skinning (&#38761; gé)                   ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_50" title="I Ching hexagram 50">50. :|||:| Holding (&#40718; d&#464;ng)                  ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_51" title="I Ching hexagram 51">51. |::|:: Shake (&#38663; zhèn)                    ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_52" title="I Ching hexagram 52">52. ::|::| Bound (&#33390; gèn)                     ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_53" title="I Ching hexagram 53">53. ::|:|| Infiltrating (&#28472; jiàn)             ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_54" title="I Ching hexagram 54">54. ||:|:: Converting The Maiden (&#27512;&#22969; gu&#299; mèi);</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_55" title="I Ching hexagram 55">55. |:||:: Abounding (&#35920; f&#275;ng)                ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_56" title="I Ching hexagram 56">56. ::||:| Sojourning (&#26053; lü&#780;)                ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_57" title="I Ching hexagram 57">57. :||:|| Ground (&#24061; xùn)                    ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_58" title="I Ching hexagram 58">58. ||:||: Open (&#20812; duì)                      ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_59" title="I Ching hexagram 59">59. :|::|| Dispersing (&#28185; huàn)               ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_60" title="I Ching hexagram 60">60. ||::|: Articulating (&#31680; jié)              ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_61" title="I Ching hexagram 61">61. ||::|| Centre Confirming (&#20013;&#23386; zh&#333;ng fú)   ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_62" title="I Ching hexagram 62">62. ::||:: Small Exceeding (&#23567;&#36942; xi&#462;o guò)     ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_63" title="I Ching hexagram 63">63. |:|:|: Already Fording (&#26082;&#28639; jì jì)        ;</A>
</li><li> <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/i_ching_hexagram_64" title="I Ching hexagram 64">64. :|:|:| Not-Yet Fording (&#26410;&#28639; wèi jì)       ;</A><p>
</li></ul>The hexagrams, though, are mere mnemonics for the philosophical concepts embodied in each one.  The philosophy centres around the ideas of <em>balance through opposites</em> and <em>acceptance of change</em>.<p>
<A NAME=""><H2>Philosophy</H2><p>
Gradations of binary expression based on yin and yang (Old yang, old yin; young yang or young yin, see the <em>divination</em> paragraph below) are what the hexagrams are built from. Yin and yang, while common expressions associated with many schools known from classical Chinese culture, are especially associated with the <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/taoism" title="Taoism">Taoists</A>.<p>
Another view holds that the I Ching is primarily a <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/confucianism" title="Confucianism">Confucianist</A> ethical or philosophical document.  This view is based upon the following:<p>
<ul><li> The Wings or Appendices are attributed to Confucius.
</li><li> The study of it was required as part of the Civil Service Exams.  These exams only studied Confucianist texts.
</li><li> It is one of the Five Confucian Classics.
</li><li> It does not appear in any surviving editions of the <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/dao_zheng" title="Dao Zheng">Dao Zheng</A>.
</li><li> The major commentaries have been written by Confucianists, or Neo-Confucianists.<p>
</li></ul>Both views may be seen to show that <em>I Ching</em> was at the heart of Chinese thought, serving as a common ground for the Confucian and Taoist schools. Partly forgotten because of the rise of Chinese Buddhism during the <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/tang_dynasty" title="Tang Dynasty">Tang dynasty</A>, the <em>I Ching</em> came back to the attention of many scholars during the <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/song_dynasty__960_1279_" title="Song Dynasty (960-1279)">Song dynasty</A>, concomitant with the reassessment of Confucianism by Confucians in the light of Taoist and Buddhist <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/metaphysics_1" title="Metaphysics">metaphysics</A>, known in the West as <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/neo_confucianism" title="Neo-Confucianism">Neo-Confucianism</A>. The book, unquestionably an ancient Chinese scripture, helped Song Confucian thinkers to synthesize Buddhist and Taoist cosmologies with Confucian and Mencian <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/ethics_1" title="Ethics">ethics</A> into a new kind of <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/cosmogony" title="Cosmogony">cosmogony</A> that could be linked to the so-called "lost Tao" of <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/confucius" title="Confucius">Confucius</A> and <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/mencius" title="Mencius">Mencius</A>.<p>
<A NAME=""><H2>History</H2><p>
Traditionally it was believed that the principles of the <em>I Ching</em> originated with the legendary <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/fu_hsi" title="Fu Hsi">Fu Hsi</A>.
In this respect he is seen as an early <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/culture_hero" title="Culture hero">culture hero</A>, one of earliest legendary rulers of China (traditional dates 2852 BC-2738 BC), reputed to have had the trigrams (&#20843;&#21350; <em>b&#257; gùa</em>) revealed to him supernaturally.
Before the Zhou Dynasty, there was other literature on the "Change" philosophy, e.g. Lian Shan Yi (&#12302;&#36899;&#23665;&#26131;&#12303; <em>Lián Sh&#257;n Yì</em>) and Gui Cang Yi (&#12302;&#27512;&#34255;&#26131;&#12303; <em>G&#363;i Cáng Yì</em>).
The philosophy heavily influenced the literature and government administration of the <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/zhou_dynasty" title="Zhou Dynasty">Zhou Dynasty</A>.
It was refined over time and <em>I Ching</em> was completed around the time of <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/emperor_wu_of_han_china" title="Emperor Wu of Han China">Han Wu Di</A> (&#28450;&#27494;&#24093; <em>Hàn W&#468; Dì</em>) during the <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/han_dynasty" title="Han Dynasty">Han Dynasty</A> (circa <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/200_bc" title="200 BC">200 BC</A>).<p>
In the past 50 years a "Modernist" history of the I Ching has been emerging, based on context criticism and research into Shang and Zhou dynasty <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/oracle_bone" title="Oracle bone">oracle bones</A>, as well as Zhou bronze inscriptions and other sources (see below). These reconstructions are dealt with in growing number of books, such as "The Mandate of Heaven: Hidden History in the I Ching", by S J Marshall, Columbia University Press, 2001, and Richard Rutt's "Zhouyi: The Book of Changes" from Curzon Press, 1996. Scholarly PhDs dealing with the new view of the Book of Changes include the dissertations by Richard Kunst and Edward Shaughnessy. These and other scholars have been helped immensely by the discovery in the 1970s by Chinese archaeologists of intact Han dynasty era tombs in <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/ma_wang_tui_texts" title="Ma-wang-tui Texts">Mawangdui</A> near <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/changsha" title="Changsha">Changsha</A>, <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/hunan" title="Hunan">Hunan</A> province. One of the tombs contained more or less complete 2nd century BC texts of the I Ching, the <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/tao_te_ching" title="Tao Te Ching">Dao De Jing</A> and other works, which are mostly similar yet in some ways diverge significantly from the "received" or traditional texts preserved by the chances of history. The tomb texts include additional commentaries on the I Ching, previously unknown, and apparently written as if they were meant to be attributed to Confucius. All of the Mawangdui texts are many centuries older than the earliest known attestations of the texts in question. When talking about the evolution therefore of the Book of Changes the Modernists contend that it is important to distinguish between the traditional history assigned to texts such as the I Ching (felt to be anachronistic by the Modernists), assignations in commentaries which have themselves been canonized over the centuries along with their subjects, and the more recent scholarly history aided by modern linguistic textual criticism and <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/archaeology" title="Archaeology">archaeology</A>. Many feel that the two are not necessarily mutually exclusive, but, for instance, many Modernist scholars doubt the actual existence of Fuxi, think Confucius had nothing to do with the Book of Changes, and that the hexagrams came before the trigrams.<p>
<A NAME=""><H2>Divination</H2><p>
The process of consulting the oracle involves determining the hexagram by some random method, and then reading the I Ching text associated with that hexagram. This method of divination is a form of <A HREF="http://allwebhunt.com/wiki-article-tab.cfm/bibliomancy" title="Bibliomancy">bibliomancy</A>.<p>
Each line of a hexagram determined with these methods is either <em>stable</em> ("young") or <em>changing</em> ("old"); thus, there are four possibilities for each line, corresponding to the cycle of change from yin to yang and back again:<p>
<ul><li> old yin (yin changing into yang), which has the number 6
</li><li> young yang (unchanging yang), which has the number 7
</li><li> young yin (unchanging yin), which has the number 8
</li><li> old yang (yang changing into yin), which has the number 9<p>
</li></ul>Once a hexagram is determined, each line has been determined as either <em>changing</em> (old) or <em>unchanging</em> (young).  Since each changing line is seen as being in the process of becoming its opposite, a new hexagram can be formed by transposing each changing yin line with a yang line, and vice versa.  Thus, further insight into the process of change is gained by reading the text of this new hexagram and viewing it as the result of the current change.<p>
<A NAME=""><H3>Methods</H3><p>
Several of the methods use a randomising agent to determine each line of the hexagram.  These methods produce a number, which corresponds to the numbers of changing or unchanging lines discussed above, and thus determine each line of the hexagram.<p>
<A NAME=""><H4>Cracks on turtle shell</H4><p>
The turtle shell oracle is probably the earliest record of fortune telling.
A piece of a turtle shell had heat applied to it (sometimes with a hot poker), and the resulting cracks were interpreted for divination.
The cracks were sometimes annotated with inscriptions, which are the oldest Chinese writings that have been discovered.
This oracle predated the earliest versions of the <em>Zhou Yi</em> (dated from about 1100 BC) by hundreds of years.<p>
A variant on this method was to use ox shoulder bones. When thick material was to be cracked, then the underside was thinned by carving with a knife.<p>
<A NAME=""><H4>Yarrow stalks</H4><p>
The yarrow stalk method of divination was the next major advance in oracle methodology after the turtle shell method. It was comparatively quick and easy to perform. A yarrow stalk is piece of dried stem from the yarrow plant, approximately 15-18 inches in length.<p>
However, the yarrow oracles is not a truly randomized method, since it is statistically biased toward certain answers. It seems fairly clear that the ancient Chinese neither understood nor intended this statistical bias.<p>
The yarrow stalk method is performed as follows:<p>
<ul><li> use fifty dried stalks of the yarrow plant and a large clear table space
</li><li> set aside one stalk to represent unity, using forty-nine stalks for the remainder of the ritual
</li><li> for each of the six lines of the hexagram (starting from the bottom and moving up)
<ul><li> divide and count the stalks three times as follows
<ul><li> gather the stalks into the left hand
</li><li> split them randomly into two bundles with the left thumb
</li><li> place the two bundles separately, as left and right piles, onto the table
</li><li> take one stalk from the right side pile, hold it between the little finger and ring finger of the left hand
</li><li> pick up the left side pile in the left hand
</li><li> count the stalks from the pile into separate piles of four, until four or fewer remain
</li><li> hold this remainder between the ring and middle finger of the left hand
</li><li> pick up the right side pile in the left hand
</li><li> count the stalks from the pile into separate piles of four, until four or fewer remain
</li><li> hold this remainder between the index and middle finger of the left hand
</li><li> set aside all the stalks held between fingers of the left hand
</li><li> count the number of piles of four stalks
</li><li> if this is not the third iteration, gather all the piles of four together to repeat the dividing and counting process
</li></ul></li><li> after the third iteration, the number of piles of four stalks will be six, seven, eight or nine
</li><li> determine the current line of the hexagram from this number: 6 = old yin, 7 = young yang, 8 = young yin, 9 = old yang.
</li></ul></li><li> once six lines have been determined the hexagram is formed<p>
</li></ul>Using this method, the probabilities of each type of line are as follows:<p>
<ul><li> old yin: 1 in 16 (0.0625)
</li><li> young yang: 5 in 16 (0.3125)
</li><li> young yin: 7 in 16 (0.4375)
</li><li> old yang: 3 in 16 (0.1875)<p>
</li></ul><A NAME=""><H4>Coins</H4><p>
<A NAME=""><H5>Three-coin method</H5><p>
The three coin method was the next major advance in oracular method, and occurred well over a thousand years later. It was also the quickest and easiest by far, which is probably why it has largely supplanted the yarrow stalks.<p>
<ul><li> use three coins with distinct "head" and "tail" sides
</li><li> for each of the six lines of the hexagram, beginning with the first (bottom) line and ending with the sixth (top) line:
<ul><li> toss all three coins
</li><li> assign the value 2 to each "head" result, and 3 to each "tail" result
</li><li> total all the coin values
</li><li> the total will be six, seven, eight or nine
</li><li> determine the current line of the hexagram from this number: 6 = old yin, 7 = young yang, 8 = young yin, 9 = old yang.
</li></ul></li><li> once six lines have been determined, the hexagram is formed<p>
</li></ul>This is the most common "quick" method for casting a hexagram.  Using this method, the probabilities of each type of line are as follows:<p>
<ul><li> old yin: 1 in 8 (0.125)
</li><li> young yang: 3 in 8 (0.375)
</li><li> young yin: 3 in 8 (0.375)
</li><li> old yang: 1 in 8 (0.125)<p>
</li></ul>An alternative and equivalent method is to toss the coins and count the "tails":<p>
<ul><li> 3 tails = old yin
</li><li> 2 tails = young yang
</li><li> 1 tail  = young yin
.