SYNOPSIS
The Yijing (易經) or Book of Changes is the best known Chinese book in the West.
There are translations and much academic interests in its teaching and philosophy.
However there is no comprehensive popular version in the shop for the general public.
This title, "Yijing: Wisdom of 4 Sages," presents the ancient book in its entirety.
It includes King Wen's 64 Hexagrams that developed from Fuxi's 8 Trigrams;
King Wen's Hexagram assessments; Zhougong's 384 Liner descriptions and advice;
Together with all '10 Wings' of Kongzi's comprehensive explanations, commentaries.
Both ancient texts and English translation are arranged side by side for easy reference.
And author's analysis and comments placed on the same page for immediate reading.
The Yijing Hexagrams depict 64 images of life, each with 6 Liners for societal strata.
A total of 384 human situations are covered with predictions and advice for actions.
Life is never static, Yijing basic tenet are Changes with inter-conversion of Hexagrams.
A total of 64x64 or 4096 combinations, covering any imaginable situation variations.
Hence the Yijing has been popular for oracular consultation down the centuries.
Herein are topical discussions of what can be learned from the Yijing in its entirety.
Examples of consultation are also documented to illustrate enjoyment of using Jijing.
For teaching morals and counselling, the Yijing's full potential has yet to be realised.
Kongzi says reading the Yijing is like getting council from our parents (如臨父母).
Towards this end, the general public and scholar may find this self-help manual useful.