Yijing

For more information on Yijing, visit Britannica.com.

The Yijing (I Ching) or Book of Changes, probably composed in the fifth century BCE, was, according to legend, made up of elements discovered by the emperor-god Fuxi (see Fuxi). The elements in question are the unbroken line that is yang and the broken line which is yin. Yin and Yang are basic to Chinese mythology (see Yinyang). Yang is the masculine principle of Heaven, light, dryness, warmth, and activity. Yin is the feminine principle of Earth, darkness, moisture, coldness, and passivity. Yin and Yang are present in everything everywhere. The whole purpose of the Yijing, a collection of omens and oracles, is to demonstrate how Yin and Yang may be related and balanced in various contexts. Particular combinations in threes of the unbroken yang line and the broken yin line form symbolic trigrams that have particular meanings. It is said that the original trigrams were used by Wen, the father of Wu, the founder of the Chou dynasty, to form meaningful hexagrams. Wu's son is believed to have been the author of analyses of the hexagrams. Confucius (see Confucius), too, provided explanations. To use the Yijing as a divining source, yarrow stalks are cast to form signs, which can then be explained by referring to the Yijing itself and making interpretations in connection with the caster of the sticks.