Understanding the I Ching

Wilhelm, Hellmut; Wilhelm, Richard

ISBN 10: 0691001715 / ISBN 13: 9780691001715

Published by Princeton University Press, 1995

About this Item

The West's foremost translator of the I Ching, Richard Wilhelm thought deeply about how contemporary readers could benefit from this ancient work and its perennially valid insights into change and chance. For him and for his son, Hellmut Wilhelm, the Book of Changes represented not just a mysterious book of oracles or a notable source of the Taoist and Confucian philosophies. In their hands, it emerges, as it did for C. G. Jung, as a vital key to humanity's age-old collective unconscious. Here the observations of the Wilhelms are combined in a volume that will reward specialists and aficionados with its treatment of historical context--and that will serve also as an introduction to the I Ching and the meaning of its famous hexagrams.

Seller Inventory # 9780691001715

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Understanding the I Ching
• Publisher: Princeton University Press
• Publication Date: 1995
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0691001715
• ISBN 13: 9780691001715
• Binding: Soft cover
• Condition: New

About this title

Synopsis

An illuminating introduction to the ancient classic of Chinese divination—the must-have companion to the bestselling Wilhelm-Baynes translation of the I Ching, or Book of Changes

The West’s foremost translator of the I Ching, Richard Wilhelm thought deeply about how contemporary readers could benefit from this ancient work and its perennial insights into change and chance. For him and his son, Hellmut Wilhelm, the Book of Changes represented not just a mysterious book of oracles or a notable source of the Taoist and Confucian philosophies. In their hands, it emerges, as it did for C. G. Jung, as a vital key to humanity’s collective unconscious. Understanding the I Ching bring the observations and insights of the Wilhelms together in a single volume. This invaluable book is the essential introduction to the I Ching and the meaning of its hexagrams.

About the Author

Richard Wilhelm (1873–1930) was a sinologist, theologian, and missionary who translated many ancient Chinese works and wrote several books on Chinese philosophy and civilization. Hellmut Wilhelm (1905–1990) was a scholar of Chinese literature and history and a world-renowned expert on the I Ching. Cary F. Baynes (1883–1977) was a translator and Jungian psychologist. Irene Eber (1929–2019) was an Israeli sinologist and the author of several books, including Chinese and Jews: Encounters Between Cultures.