Yi King - I Ching - The Book of Changes
Confucius 孔子
Read by Geoffrey Edwards
The Book of Changes (Traditional: 易經; Simplified: 易经; Legge: Yî King, Wade-Giles: I Ching; Pīnyīn: Yìjīng; Bopomofo: ㄧˋㄐㄧㄥ; Korean: 역경; Japanese: 易経; Vietnamese: Kinh Dịch)
Fúxī (伏羲), King Tāng of Shāng (商湯), King Wén of Zhōu (周文王), his son the Duke of Zhōu (周公旦), and Confucius (孔子) have traditionally been credited as the originators of the trigrams (八卦 bāguà), hexagrams (卦 guà), hexagram statements (彖 tuàn), line statements (爻辭 yáocí), and Ten Wings (十翼) commentaries.
"The I Ching does not offer itself with proofs and results; it does not vaunt itself, nor is it easy to approach. Like a part of nature, it waits until it is discovered." — Carl Jung
Different combinations of three yang (⚊) and yin (⚋) lines create the eight trigrams, namely:
☰ (乾 Qián Heaven, the sky. S. Untiring strength; power.) or (Father. NW)
☱ (兌 Duì Lake, or marsh. Collected water. SE. Pleasure; complacent satisfaction.) or (Youngest daughter. W)
☲ (離 Lí Fire, as in lightning; the sun. E. Brightness; elegance.) or (Second daughter. S)
☳ (震 Zhèn Thunder. NE. Moving, exciting power.) or (Oldest son. E)
☴ (巽 Xùn Wind; wood. SW. Flexibility; penetration.) or (Oldest daughter. SE)
☵ (坎 Kǎn Water, as in rain, clouds, springs, streams, and defiles. The moon. NW. Peril; difficulty.) or (Second son. N)
☶ (艮 Gèn Hills, or mountains. NW. Resting; the act of arresting.) or (Youngest son. NE)
☷ (坤 Kūn The Earth. N. Capaciousness; submission.) or (Mother. SW)
When three lines are added to a trigram the resultant pairs of trigrams constitute the sixty-four hexagrams. The lower trigram is called 'the inner,' and the one above 'the outer.' The lines are numbered from one to six, commencing with the lowest. To denote the number of it and of the sixth line, the terms for 'commencing' and 'topmost' are used. The intermediate lines are simply 'second,' 'third,' &c. As the lines must be either whole or divided, technically called strong and weak, yang and yin, this distinction is indicated by the application to them of the numbers nine and six. All whole lines are nine, all divided lines, six.
The Book of Changes is included as one of the Five Classics (五經) of the Confucian canon and Confucius said, "If some years were added to my life, I would give fifty to the study of the Yì, and might then escape falling into great errors." (Analects, VII.16)
Scottish translator James Legge was a Hong Kong missionary, Non-Conformist Pastor of the English Union Church, and the first professor of Chinese studies at Oxford University. The original manuscript of his translation was nearly destroyed after being soaked in the Red Sea for a month.
Cover: Leftmost Guardian of the Yî by cartoonist Robin Bougie (2024), released by him into the public domain.
Special thanks to Lancy (王欣兰), a graduate student at Guangdong University of Foreign Studies, for her help with Chinese pronunciation.
Chapters
| Hexagram 01 ䷀ 乾 Qián | 12:59 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 02 ䷁ 坤 Kūn | 8:54 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 03 ䷂ 屯 Zhūn | 7:11 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 04 ䷃ 蒙 Méng | 7:30 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 05 ䷄ 需 Xū | 6:43 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 06 ䷅ 訟 Sòng | 6:56 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 07 ䷆ 師 Shī | 6:13 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 08 ䷇ 比 Bǐ | 7:01 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 09 ䷈ 小畜 Xiǎo Xù | 6:44 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 10 ䷉ 履 Lǚ | 6:24 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 11 ䷊ 泰 Tài | 7:07 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 12 ䷋ 否 Pǐ | 6:59 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 13 ䷌ 同人 Tóng Rén | 6:10 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 14 ䷍ 大有 Dà Yǒu | 5:41 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 15 ䷎ 謙 Qiān | 6:13 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 16 ䷏ 豫 Yù | 6:58 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 17 ䷐ 隨 Suí | 5:39 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 18 ䷑ 蠱 Gǔ | 6:07 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 19 ䷒ 臨 Lín | 5:49 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 20 ䷓ 觀 Guān | 5:40 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 21 ䷔ 噬嗑 Shì Hé | 5:59 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 22 ䷕ 賁 Bì | 6:39 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 23 ䷖ 剝 Bō | 5:58 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 24 ䷗ 復 Fù | 6:06 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 25 ䷘ 無妄 Wú Wàng | 5:51 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 26 ䷙ 大畜 Dà Xù | 6:27 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 27 ䷚ 頤 Yí | 6:12 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 28 ䷛ 大過 Dà Guò | 6:14 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 29 ䷜ 坎 Kǎn | 6:56 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 30 ䷝ 離 Lí | 5:13 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 31 ䷞ 咸 Xián | 6:36 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 32 ䷟ 恆 Héng | 6:37 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 33 ䷠ 遯 Dùn | 6:03 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 34 ䷡ 大壯 Dà Zhuàng | 5:46 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 35 ䷢ 晉 Jìn | 5:58 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 36 ䷣ 明夷 Míng Yí | 6:19 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 37 ䷤ 家人 Jiā Rén | 6:18 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 38 ䷥ 睽 Kuí | 7:13 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 39 ䷦ 蹇 Jiǎn | 6:30 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 40 ䷧ 解 Xiè | 7:24 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 41 ䷨ 損 Sǔn | 7:15 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 42 ䷩ 益 Yì | 7:22 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 43 ䷪ 夬 Guài | 7:51 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 44 ䷫ 姤 Gòu | 6:13 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 45 ䷬ 萃 Cuì | 7:11 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 46 ䷭ 升 Shēng | 5:32 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 47 ䷮ 困 Kùn | 7:31 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 48 ䷯ 井 Jǐng | 6:29 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 49 ䷰ 革 Gé | 7:03 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 50 ䷱ 鼎 Dǐng | 6:34 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 51 ䷲ 震 Zhèn | 8:03 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 52 ䷳ 艮 Gèn | 5:14 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 53 ䷴ 漸 Jiàn | 7:14 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 54 ䷵ 歸妹 Guī Mèi | 6:37 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 55 ䷶ 豐 Fēng | 7:59 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 56 ䷷ 旅 Lǚ | 6:09 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 57 ䷸ 巽 Xùn | 6:24 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 58 ䷹ 兌 Duì | 5:34 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 59 ䷺ 渙 Huàn | 5:41 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 60 ䷻ 節 Jié | 6:04 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 61 ䷼ 中孚 Zhōng Fú | 6:39 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 62 ䷽ 小過 Xiǎo Guò | 7:47 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 63 ䷾ 既濟 Jì Jì | 5:31 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Hexagram 64 ䷿ 未濟 Wèi Jì | 6:34 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| The Great Appendix 大傳 - Section 1 | 56:02 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| The Great Appendix 大傳 - Section 2 | 50:27 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Commentary on the Words 文言傳 | 27:02 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Remarks on the Trigrams 說卦傳 | 23:00 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| The Orderly Sequence of the Hexagrams 序卦傳 | 20:45 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |
| Treatise on the Hexagrams Taken Promiscuously 雜卦傳 | 6:27 | Read by Geoffrey Edwards |