The I Ching, also known as The Book of Change, is a very ancient Chinese book that existed more than two thousand years before Confucius (ca. 551–479 B.C.). In Chinese, Ching literally means Tao, Truth—the Truth of Heaven and earth and the Truth of human life—and also classic. The I Ching is considered a Ching, the Tao, the Truth, the holiest of the ancient books by the Chinese, who also honor the Holy Bible by calling it Ching. The Tao of I, in Chinese terminology, refers to the Tao of Change. Ji Chang also concluded that understanding the way things are requires knowing how they came to be and how they would change, leading him to devise a system of divination based on the sixty-four hexagrams, drawing on his knowledge of the nature of change (yi). Traditionally, the I Ching is believed to have been formed by the contributions of four most honored sages in history: Fu Xi, King Wen, the Duke of Zhou, and Confucius. Fu Xi is credited with originating the eight primary (three-line) gua. King Wen of the Zhou dynasty arranged the sixty-four gua (hexagrams composed by combining two trigrams) and wrote the Decisions on the Gua. His son, the Duke of Zhou, composed the Yao Texts, which are analyses of each of the six lines in a gua. Confucius and his students are credited with writing the commentaries, known as the Ten Wings, which serve as a supplement to the text, helping people understand the I Ching. However, later studies suggest the Ten Wings might have been written by different Confucian scholars at different times. Originally, this book was known as the I of the Zhou dynasty (Zhou I), which evolved from the I of the Xia dynasty (2005–1766 B.C.) and the I of the Shang dynasty (1766–1122 B.C.), although only fragments of these earlier books survive. The I Ching is presently made up of two parts: the text (Ching) and the explanation (Commentary). The original I Ching (the Ching) contains about 4,900 Chinese characters and is divided into sixty-four short chapters. Each chapter deals with a six-line symbol called a gua, generally translated as “hexagram”. Originally, "gua" meant a symbol hung up for people to see. Each gua is composed of six horizontal lines, called yao, arranged one over the other. Yao originally meant “crisscross” and represented the intersecting of the yin and the yang, also possessing a hidden meaning to imitate the instructions given by the yao. There are two kinds of yao: the yin yao, represented by two broken lines (--), symbolizing the feminine, yielding, weak, even numbers, and passive things; and the yang yao, represented by a solid line (—), symbolizing the masculine, firm, strong, odd numbers, and active things. Each of the sixty-four chapters of the I Ching consists of four parts: the name of the symbol, the symbol itself, King Wen’s Decision on the Gua, and the Duke of Zhou’s Yao Texts. The name of the gua, composed of one or two Chinese characters, is crucial as it represents the whole situation. The six lines of the symbol represent the six stages of a specific situation. Each six-line gua is also regarded as a combination of two three-line gua, representing the inner (lower gua) and outer (upper gua) situation. Following the symbol is King Wen’s Decision, which is his assessment of the situation along with moral advice. The Duke of Zhou’s Yao Text provides a more detailed interpretation of each stage of the situation together with moral instructions. The sixty-four chapters are divided into two parts: the Upper Canon, generally representing the yang aspect and emphasizing the Tao of Heaven or natural phenomena, and the Lower Canon, representing the yin aspect and focusing on social phenomena and human affairs. The Commentary, or Ten Wings, comprises ten chapters traditionally attributed to Confucius and serves as a supplement to aid understanding. The major commentaries include the Commentary on the Decision (Wings I & II), the Commentary on the Symbols (Wings III & IV), and the Great Treatise (Wings V & VI). Originally, the I Ching was purely a handbook for divination. In ancient times, the Chinese consulted the will of Heaven and Earth through divination before any important event to resolve doubts. The practice of divination predated the I Ching, with methods like using tortoise shells during the Shang dynasty. The I Ching we use today, Zhou I, evolved to a high level and is not merely for telling fortunes but gives advice on what one should and should not do. The purpose of divination with the I Ching is to resolve doubt and confusion, to be used for important questions with a correct attitude, and never for mean or selfish purposes. The traditional way to consult the I Ching for divination involves the use of fifty yarrow stalks. Manipulating forty-nine of these stalks multiple times determines the yin or yang nature of each of the six lines of the hexagram. A simpler method using three coins was created during the Tang dynasty and is now more common in the Western world. Each throw of the three coins contributes to one line of the hexagram. Master Yin also taught a simpler yarrow stalk method using bamboo sticks. Alfred Huang also created a method using eight gemstones and a die. Regardless of the method, the goal is to obtain a six-line gua that provides insight into the question asked. According to an exponent of the I Ching, an expert can even "see" a hexagram in the chance arrangement of everyday objects, drawing a parallel to a Rorschach test and the interpretation of projections. It is believed that one should consult the oracle with proper preparation, going through prescribed rituals to achieve a calm state of mind where "intuition" can act more effectively. The I Ching is deeply significant in Chinese culture. It is considered a Tian Shu, a Heavenly book. It is the source of much of Chinese culture and has permeated Chinese thinking for thousands of years. The I Ching reveals an ancient Chinese cosmology of Heaven and human beings integrated into one union. It also expounds upon the truth of change, or the Tao of Change (Tao of I). This understanding of continuous change and the principles of yin and yang are fundamental to Chinese thought. The Chinese believe that the Truth of Heaven is also the Truth of humanity, forming the foundation of traditional Chinese culture and the source of all spheres of learning and thought in Chinese history. King Wen placed Qian (Initiating) as the first gua and Kun (Responding) as the second, representing Heaven and earth as the origin of Creation. Given the antiquity and the nature of the ancient Chinese language, which had few characters with multiple meanings, interchangeable forms for the same sound, and no punctuation, the I Ching is open to many interpretations. Even the Chinese rarely understand it fully without verbal instruction from a competent teacher. While many English translations exist, some are seen as Westernized, adding the translator's understanding and limiting possible interpretations. An ideal translation, according to Alfred Huang, should be English in form but Chinese in essence, adhering closely to the original text and respecting the crucial commentaries of Confucius (the Ten Wings). Understanding the symbols (gua), their names, structures, and interrelations, as well as the meanings of the lines (yao), King Wen's Decisions, and the Duke of Zhou's Yao Texts, is key to gaining insight from the oracle. Carl Jung, in his foreword to the I Ching, noted that it does not offer proofs but waits to be discovered by lovers of self-knowledge and wisdom. He observed that the I Ching tends to look upon reality in a way that differs from Western causal procedures, focusing on the configuration formed by chance events at the moment of observation rather than hypothetical causal chains. Jung also mentioned that Chinese science is based on the principle of synchronicity, or parallelism in time, considering the I Ching a standard work on this subject. Alan Watts suggested that the origins of Taoism might be found not just in the text of the I Ching but in how it was used and the assumptions underlying it, particularly in arriving at decisions spontaneously through intuition (wu-wei). From the perspective of "The Invisible Landscape," the I Ching, with its sixty-four hexagrams, is seen as one of the oldest structured abstractions, potentially originating in the mountainous heart of Asia, the home of classical shamanism and Taoist magic. It is considered a mathematical divinatory tool concerned with dynamic relationships and transformations of archetypes, deeply involved with the nature of time. The King Wen sequence of the hexagrams might reveal the order of temporal variables. In essence, the I Ching is a multifaceted work that functions as a book of divination, a source of ancient wisdom, and a reflection of core Chinese philosophical concepts about change, the interplay of yin and yang, and the interconnectedness of Heaven and humanity. Its rich symbolism and layered interpretations have made it a significant and enduring part of Chinese culture and have also garnered interest and study in the West.