Description
Book SynopsisChinese traditional culture cannot be understood without some familiarity with the I Ching, yet it is one of the most difficult of the worlds ancient classics. Assembled from fragments with many obscure allusions, it was the subject of ingenious, but often conflicting, interpretations over nearly three thousand years. Teaching the II Ching (Book of Changes) offers a comprehensive study at a time when interest in Asian philosophy and the culture of China is on the rise. Still widely read in China, it has become a countercultural classic in the West. Recent scholarship has radically altered our understanding of this foundational work. Geoffrey Redmond and Tze-Ki Hon present an up-to-date survey of recent studies including reconstruction of the early meanings, excavated manuscripts, the New Culture Movement, and the Cultural Revolution. To facilitate introducing the classic to students, the necessary background is provided for university teachers and students, even non-China specialists.
Trade ReviewThis balance between the critical and the nonjudgmental is one of the more distinctive features of this book. The stance continues in the sections "How Does the Yijing Work?" and sections on how the text has been compared with science, mathematics, and computers... It covers the major English translations, describes more fully the various layers of text, and provides very complete instructions on consulting the Yi and interpreting the results. * Joseph A. Adler, Dao *
Teaching the I-Ching (Book of Changes) is a reliable road-map for students to navigate the intriguing intellectual terrain of the ancient Chinese Classic, detailing the historical background and the texts structure and content. Redmond and Hons narratives are readable, and their scholarship underpins the accessible translation. This book should serve as an important reference book for undergraduates, graduates, and general readers, who want to explore the multifarious and mysterious world of Changes'. * Dennis K. H. Cheng, Chair Professor of Cultural History, Hong Kong Institute of Education; European Chair of Chinese Studies, Leiden University; Professor of Chinese Literature, National Taiwan University *
A magnificent achievement, offering a well-written and judicious synthesis of existing scholarship on the origins, development, and transnational travels of the I Ching. In addition, Redmond and Hon offer their readers insightful suggestions about how to understand and productively use this fascinating document-not only in the classroom but also beyond. * Richard J. Smith, author of The I ching: 6IA Biography *
The uniqueness of this book is its combination of scholarly rigor with a willingness to explore the phenomenology of divination practice. It is an excellent history of the I Ching as a book, including the ways it has been interpreted both in China and the West up to the present day. The two chapters (1 and 11) that cross the great water into divination practice do so without going overboard into the trendy realm of popular I Ching enthusiasm. * Joseph A. Adler, Author of Reconstructing the Confucian Dao: Zhu Xi's Appropriation of Zhou Dunyi *
The authors are well-informed regarding the traditional Chinese context and modern issues alike...This volume belongs in all collections. * Russell Kirkland, Religious Studies Review *
Table of ContentsPreface ; Acknowledgements ; Chronology of Chinese Dynasties ; Structure of the Yijing ; List of Illustrations ; Introduction: Studying an Ancient Classic ; Chapter 1 Divination: Fortune-Telling and Philosophy ; Chapter 2 Bronze Age Origins ; Chapter 3 Women in the Book of Changes ; Chapter 4 Excavated Manuscripts ; Chapter 5 Ancient Meanings Reconstructed ; Chapter 6 The Ten Wings ; Chapter 7 Cosmology ; Chapter 8 Moral Cultivation ; Chapter 9 The Yijing in Modern China ; Chapter 10 The Yijing's Journey to the West ; Chapter 11 Reading the Book of Changes ; Chapter 12 The Future of the Yijing ; Bibliography ; Index
