The I Ching is the oldest of the classical Chinese texts (~3000 BC), a collection of line drawings (hexagrams) and associated texts containing everything that can be thought and lived. One can use the I Ching as an oracle book to seek advice in difficult life situations. One can also love and use it simply for its wisdom. (Hermann Hesse)
MEANING [Tao] takes shape in the form of all living things [transcendence] and yet remains only indirectly perceivable. The science of the I Ching is not based on causality, but rather on a synchronistic principle. (C.G. Jung)
The use of chance results in the oracle, in which a deeper MEANING can find expression precisely through the lack of immediate meaning.
[C.G. Jung in “Obituary for Richard Wilhelm,” 1930]
[Richard Wilhelm: I Ching The Book of Change; Book 2, §1a]
Holding together brings salvation.
If there is sublimity, duration, and perseverance;
then there is no flaw.
The insecure come gradually.
Whoever comes too late will suffer misfortune. On Earth, there is water: the symbol of holding together. Thus, the kings of ancient times granted individual states as fiefs and maintained friendly relations with the feudal lords.
-►Working on the corrupted brings sublime success.
It is beneficial to cross the great water.
Three days before the starting point,
three days after the starting point.
Down on the mountain, the wind blows: the symbol of ruin.
Thus, the noble man rouses the people and strengthens their spirit.
The retreat. Success.
In small things, perseverance is beneficial.
Beneath the sky is the mountain:
the image of retreat.
Thus the noble man keeps the common man at bay,
not angrily, but measuredly.
The darkening of the light.
It is beneficial to be perseverant in adversity.
The light has sunk into the earth:
the image of the darkening of the light.
Thus the noble man lives with the multitude:
he conceals his shine and yet remains bright.
Abundance succeeds.
The king attains it.
Do not be sad; you must be like the sun at noon.
Both thunder and lightning come: the image of abundance.
Thus, the noble man decides trials and carries out punishments.
The Preponderance of the Small. Success.
Perseverance is beneficial.
One may do small things, but one should not do great things.
The flying bird brings the message:
It is not good to strive upwards,
it is good to stay down below. Great salvation!
On the mountain is thunder:
the image of the preponderance of the Small.
Thus, in conduct, the noble man places preponderance on respect,
in bereavements, he places preponderance on mourning,
in his expenditures, he places preponderance on thrift.
The individual works can be found in the header menu bar. A Chinese translation and interpretation are provided for each work. The artist used the English version of Richard Wilhelm’s translation of the I Ching “The Book of Changes” as the basis for his meditation and visualization, and has illustrated it for each work. The word-for-word translation “Eranos Yi Jing (I Ching). The Book of Changes. With Concordance” is particularly recommended for interested viewers, as it provides numerous possible translation images from the original Chinese text.