The I Ching: A Biography (Lives of Great Religious Books) - Hardcover

Smith, Richard J.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0691145091 ISBN 13: 9780691145099

Publisher: Princeton University Press, 2012

Synopsis

The I Ching originated in China as a divination manual more than three thousand years ago. In 136 BCE the emperor declared it a Confucian classic, and in the centuries that followed, this work had a profound influence on the philosophy, religion, art, literature, politics, science, technology, and medicine of various cultures throughout East Asia. Jesuit missionaries brought knowledge of the I Ching to Europe in the seventeenth century, and the American counterculture embraced it in the 1960s. Here Richard Smith tells the extraordinary story of how this cryptic and once obscure book became one of the most widely read and extensively analyzed texts in all of world literature.

In this concise history, Smith traces the evolution of the I Ching in China and throughout the world, explaining its complex structure, its manifold uses in different cultures, and its enduring appeal. He shows how the indigenous beliefs and customs of Japan, Korea, Vietnam, and Tibet "domesticated" the text, and he reflects on whether this Chinese classic can be compared to religious books such as the Bible or the Qur'an. Smith also looks at how the I Ching came to be published in dozens of languages, providing insight and inspiration to millions worldwide--including ardent admirers in the West such as Leibniz, Carl Jung, Philip K. Dick, Allen Ginsberg, Hermann Hesse, Bob Dylan, Jorge Luis Borges, and I. M. Pei. Smith offers an unparalleled biography of the most revered book in China's entire cultural tradition, and he shows us how this enigmatic ancient classic has become a truly global phenomenon.

About this title

From the Back Cover

"Richard Smith's 'biography' of the Book of Changes delivers to us just what the series promised: it is wide-ranging, clear, up-to-date, comprehensive, and entertaining."--Jonathan D. Spence, author of The Search for Modern China

"The I Ching has had many guises and uses in what Richard Smith calls its 'transnational travels' during its three-thousand-year course. Smith's accessible book combines general orientation and fascinating detail in ways that enable readers to grasp the complicated, transcultural history of a vital, enigmatic little classic."--Willard Peterson, Princeton University

"Richard Smith synthesizes a great deal of information about the I Ching and presents it with admirable clarity. I know of no one else who commands the history of this text to the extent that he does, whether in China or especially in its global context. His excellent book will find a ready and wide readership."--Edward L. Shaughnessy, author of Confucian and Taoist Wisdom

"This one-of-a-kind biography of the I Ching is a masterpiece of scholarship for general readers as well as scholars and teachers. The first book in English to explain the history and impact of this ancient text from a global perspective, it will remain a must-read in I Ching studies for a very long time. A welcome and important contribution."--Benjamin Wai-ming Ng, author of The I Ching in Tokugawa Thought and Culture

About the Author

Richard J. Smith is the George and Nancy Rupp Professor of Humanities and professor of history at Rice University. His many books include Fathoming the Cosmos and Ordering the World: The Yijing (I-Ching, or Classic of Changes) and Its Evolution in China.

About this edition

• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0691145091
• ISBN 13: 9780691145099
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 304