I believe that her chapter on yin/yang thought in the revised Cambridge History of China for the Qin and Han eras supports the general direction described by Raphals, Black, and Rubin which I have used as the rationale for this translation. Conversations with Professor Nylan at Clare Hall in 2005 encouraged this revisionist approach. While some of Liu’s conclusions may be controversial, given the fragmentary nature of the evidence he used, I consider most of them valid alternatives, and have used them here.įor an understanding of the changing nature of yin, I am particularly grateful for the pioneering work of Vitaly A. The second provided beautiful images and interpretations of the earliest forms of crucial characters. The first provided meanings only from Yijing, Shijing, Zuozhuan, and other early works, a very welcome tool for etymological focus. Two Chinese-Chinese dictionaries published in the 1990s were particularly helpful: the Zhouyi Dacidian (Canton, 1993) and Liu Xinlong’s Xin pien jiaguwen zidian (Beijing, 1993). I also used Guo Linzong’s Paihua Yijing (Taipei, 1999). This edition also helped distinguish between Zhouyi and later versions, and separated Wang Bi’s contributions from others’. My primary Chinese sources include Lou Yulieh’s Critical edition of the Works of Wang Bi with explanatory notes (Wang Bi ji jiaoshi, Beijing, 1980), an inspiring breakthrough in Yijing studies, for he pruned away many commentaries and focused attention on the oldest portions of the text, usually referred to as the Zhou Changes (or Zhouyi). In preparing the translations, I have relied on the work of many other scholars. In the past few years, membership in the Early China Seminar at Columbia University, capably led by Li Feng and David Branner, enabled me to continue to learn more about the best recent scholarship on early China and its texts. In 2005, I led a discussion of his use of the Changes at another text reading there. The Needham Research Institute provided office space and intellectual community over several years, while I worked on the life of the great Chinese scientist Zhang Heng. Professor Lynn gave me helpful and encouraging comments on my analysis of hexagram 44, first published in Oracle: the Journal of Yijing Studies (London, 2000). Mark Lewis, then at Cambridge University, validated my first tentative reinterpretations of key passages. I am grateful for the comments I received there, especially from Professors Michael Nylan and Michael Loewe. My first effort, to translate hexagram 44, was presented at one of the text reading seminars of the Needham Research Institute. Professor Xinzhong Yao was one of the first to recognize the importance of this difficult task. Many sections of this work were first presented to the Clare Hall Women’s Group, where I received warm support, especially from Asian women scholars. Clare Hall, Cambridge University, welcomed me as a Visiting Fellow in 1997, thanks to the sponsorship of Michael Loewe and the support of David Knechtges. Several scholarly communities supported this endeavor. Chang, Richard John Lynn, Edward Shaughnessy, and David Keightley. I could never have attempted this translation without the resources and insights provided by other scholars, most notably Lou Yulie, K.C. Xunzi wrote this, probably not long before China was first unified in 221 BCE, and it remains true today. If you want to see far, it is better to climb a hill than to stand on your toes. To Phyllis Pearson, my mother and first teacherĪnd to Jean Musser, who introduced me to Chinese literature,Īnd Professor Carol Thomas, who has advised me This image is from a photograph of the entire scroll by Benrido, Japan in 1965, and published in 1966 by the Trustees of the British Museum. The painting is an early copy of an original attributed to Gu Kaizhi (d. This is one of the few extant pictures of a woman scholar in early China. Some of his footnotes have been used in preparing this translation. 200) were among China’s greatest exegetes. A great scholar, she worked in the imperial history bureau and taught palace ladies and the scholar Ma Jung (d. TUTTLE PUBLISHING® is a registered trademark of Tuttle Publishing, a division of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.įrontispiece: The history official Ban Zhao (d. The original I ching: an authentic translation of The book of changes / by Margaret J. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without prior written permission from the publisher. Published by Tuttle Publishing, an imprint of Periplus Editions (HK) Ltd.Īll rights reserved.
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