I CHING - The Book of Change

I Ching is one of the oldest books of Ancient China. It's based on the cosmology of yin and yang, the fundamental opposite forces of the universe, and applies it on divination in a system of 64 hexagrams. There are many English translations of the book. Here's a few of the most prominent ones.

Richard Wilhelm

Richard Wilhelm (1873-1930) was a German sinologist, who translated several of the Chinese classics into German. His versions with their learned comments were soon published also in English, as well as many other languages. Rickard Wilhelm's version of I Ching is still regarded as one of the most competent and trustworthy. It has a foreword by the famous psychoanalyst C. G. Jung, which is also very readable. Jung asks I Ching about I Ching...

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James Legge

James Legge (1815-1897) was a Scottish sinologist who translated a great number of Chinese classics into English. His version of I Ching is still in print and widely used. Like Wilhelm's version, it's a substantial and learned work, including many explanations and elaborations on how teh Chinese classic should be understood.

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John Blofeld

John Blofeld (1913-1987) was a British writer on Asian religion and philosophy. His version of I Ching, puhblished originally in 1965, is one of my favorites. It's very clear and straightforward. The book is far from as massive as the two above, but it contains what should be there and in elegant writing. An excellent choice for those who want to put their copy of I Ching into use.

     If Blofeld makes you think of the master villain of the James Bond stories, you're not completely off. John Blofeld belonged to the same club as Ian Fleming, and his father's name was Ernst, just like the Bond figure.

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