This book is the first comprehensive study of Yijing (Book of Changes) commentary during the Northern Song period, showing how it reflects a coming to terms with major political and social changes. Seen as a transitional period in China's history, the Northern Song (960–1127) is often described as the midpoint in the Tang-Song transition or as the beginning of Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism. Challenging this traditional view, Tze-ki Hon demonstrates the complexity of the Northern Song by breaking it into three periods characterized by, alternately, the reestablishment of civil governance, large-scale reforms, and a descent into factional rivalry. To illustrate the distinct characteristics of these three periods, Hon compares commentaries by Hu Yuan, Zhang Zai, and Cheng Yi with five other Yijing commentaries, highlighting the broad parameters, as well as the specific content, of an extremely important world of discourse—the debate on literati activism. These differing views on the literati's role in civil governance prove how lively, diverse, and intense Northern Song intellectual life was, while also reminding us how important it is to understand the history of the period on its own terms.

This book explains the different ways that the Yijing (Book of Changes) was used in Chinese society. It demonstrates that the Yijing was a living text used by the educated elite and the populace to address their fear and anxiety.

Dialectical thought is at the core of Karl Marx's work and all subsequent attempts to build on his legacy: Marxism. And, arguably, Marx's special departure into dialectics represents an anomaly in that tradition and all of Western philosophy. Marxism finds its philosophers in the academy; in trade unions; in former soviet states; in industrial and non-industrial nations and this makes it distinct from all other modern philosophies. It is certainly the most international modern philosophical movement. Chinese Dialectics From Yijing to Marxism is an unparalleled investigation into the conversation between Western Marxism and Chinese, or Eastern Marxism. An autochthonous version of Marxism persists in China coming to fruition through the work of Mao Zedong. Chenshan Tian contends that the conversation between Eastern and Western Marxism results in a striking feature of dialectics that pervades the everyday thinking and speech of ordinary persons in China. No study to date has undertaken the task of tracing the development of Marxism in China through it's ancient philosophical texts. This book is absolutely essential reading in the disciplines of comparative political theory, philosophy, and Asian studies.

For the Chinese, the destiny of each individual and the cosmos have always been inextricably linked, and for two thousand years the Yijing, or the Book of Change, has exercised the best minds in the Orient. Richard Bertschinger, author of The Secret of Everlasting Life (the first translation of The Can Tong Qi), has worked from the classical commentaries to make a fresh and up-to-date translation for the modern world. Marriage, business ventures, journeys, military ventures, disputes, world affairs, personal problems, health or money issues, all are grist for the mill of the Book of Change. Through pondering the lines, studying their poetry, and devoting ourselves to its meaning, the heart of the ancients is clear. We pick up perhaps in a way we never could have conceived of, how to guide and direct our lives. With an introduction that explains the underlying structure and philosophy of the Book of Change, as well as its history, and a detailed explanation of how to throw the yarrow sticks, or the coins, the novice reader is given everything they need to take their first steps in consulting the ancient oracle, and those already familiar with established translations will find this fresh translation from the original texts clear and illuminating.

A translation of a key commentary on perhaps the most broadly influential text of classical China This book is a translation of a key commentary on the Book of Changes, or Yijing (I Ching), perhaps the most broadly influential text of classical China. The Yijing first appeared as a divination text in Zhou-dynasty China (ca. 1045-256 bce) and later became a work of cosmology, philosophy, and political theory as commentators supplied it with new meanings. While many English translations of the Yijing itself exist, none are paired with a historical commentary as thorough and methodical as that written by the Confucian scholar Cheng Yi, who turned the original text into a coherent work of political theory.

The I Ching is an ancient Chinese work of divination that examines the patterns, or hexagrams, traditionally formed by dropping bundles of dried grass stalks. This edition features interpretations of the 64 hexagrams, including the Judgment, written by King Wen in the 12th Century BCE; The Commentary and The Image (both attributed to Confucius); and The Lines, written by King Wen's son, and here enhanced by modern commentary.

The Yijing (I Ching), or Scripture of Change, is traditionally considered the first and most profound of the Chinese classics. Originally a divination manual based on trigrams and hexagrams, by the beginning of the first millennium it had acquired written explanations and a series of appendices attributed to Confucius, which transformed it into a work of wisdom literature as well as divination. Over the centuries, hundreds of commentaries were written on it, but for the past thousand years, one of the most influential has been that of Zhu Xi (1130–1200), who synthesized the major interpretive approaches to the text and integrated it into his system of moral self-cultivation. Joseph A. Adler’s translation of the Yijing includes for the first time in English Zhu Xi’s commentary in full. Adler explores Zhu Xi’s interpretation of the text and situates it in the context of his overall theoretical system. Zhu Xi held that the Yijing was originally composed for the purpose of divination by the mythic sage Fuxi, who intended to create a system to aid decision making. The text’s meaning, therefore, could not be captured by a single commentator; it would emerge for each person through the process of divination. This translation makes available to the English-language audience a crucial text in the history of Chinese religion and philosophy, with an introduction and translator’s notes that explain its intellectual and historical context.

Teaching the I Ching (Book of Changes) is a comprehensive and authoritative source for understanding the 3,000-year-old Book of Changes, arguably the most influential Chinese classical text. It provides up-to-date coverage of key aspects, including bronze age origins, references to women, excavated manuscripts, the canonical commentaries, cosmology, and the Yijing in modern China and the West.

After presenting a general survey of spiritual practice in the different schools of Indian philosophy, the author focuses on the Trika School, popularly called Kashmir Shaivism. He deals clearly and exhaustively with such topics as Shaktipat (the descent of Divine Grace), Diksha (initiation), and the role of the Guru. His treatment of the various paths (upayas) appropriate for the different types of practitioners is especially useful. The book ends with a chapter on enlightenment (jivanmukti). This chapter not only presents the meaning of self-realization-in-this-lifetime, but offers material on this topic for the first time in English.

The Yijing (I Ching) or "Book of Change" is one of the oldest of the Chinese classic texts and has held a key place in the Daoist tradition for thousands of years. Explaining the ancient Yijing system of prediction based on the Xiang (symbolism) and Shu (numerology) knowledge of Bagua (the eight basic trigrams), which have not previously been written about outside China, this book makes the Yijing accessible to the Western world in a new and fuller way. In the space of just eight days, Master Zhongxian Wu leads the reader towards a deep understanding of the Eight Trigrams of the Yijing and how to apply this knowledge in practical ways in daily life. Master Wu explores the numerology and symbolism of Yijing and clearly explains how the reader can use the Yijing divination system for themselves. This remarkable book provides a user-friendly eight day program that will be a fascinating read for anyone with an interest in learning more about the Yijing or Chinese philosophy and culture as a whole, as well as those who wish to learn how to use the Yijing for practical purposes.