The Book Of Changes And Yinyang

The Book of Changes is the world’s oldest oracle and consists of poetry, images, and advice. It is well known for its value to ancient Chinese oral traditions, along with the principles of Yinyang. Yinyang is one of China’s most important beliefs in the world. It is part of the essential framework that has been established in the Chinese culture for centuries. Together, The Book of Changes and Yinyang have become key ideas in Chinese philosophy and therefore have greatly influenced the Chinese worldview.

The Book of Changes is one of the five books on Confucianism. It provides people with guidance and reassurance. Within its pages contains “a discussion of the divinatory system used by the Zhou Dynasty wizards” (Britannica.com, “Yijing”). There are also sections within the book that explain how the world’s principles. For this reason, The Book of Changes “was originally used for divination, its influence on Chinese minds, and its universal popularity are due to cosmology…” (Birtannica.com, “Yijing”). The most unique thing about the book is that it uses 64 hexagrams, containing philosophical meanings. The hexagrams are formed in pairs and combined into eight trigrams. It is said that emperor Fuxi discovered the trigrams on the back of a tortoise shell. The trigrams all contain three important things: a name, a root meaning, and a symbolic meaning. In order to create a hexagram, it has to be built line by line, from the bottom to the top. All of the lines in a hexagram have a meaning and “the text first explains each line separately, then gives an overall interpretation of the unit” (Britannica.com, “Yijing”). The solid lines signify Yang and the broken lines signify Yin. The Book of Changes incorporates them into the hexagram bec...

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... this way. By grasping the concept of Dao and harmony, it becomes easier to understand the changes in life and how to sustain harmony.

The Chinese worldview focuses on harmony, balance, and change because they are all connected in some way. When change occurs, we must focus on keeping everything balanced. Too much or too little of one thing can be bad. However once everything is balanced, our lives are full of harmony and peace. Chinese culture promotes these themes through The Book of Changes and Yin and Yang. The Book of Changes provides people with philosophical meanings to further explain how to maintain harmony. Yin and Yang has become the most prominent concept within the book because it provides a background and base on how to achieve this harmony. By understanding the Book of Changes and Yin and Yang, one can profit from understanding how the world works.