| I Ching, also
spelled YI CHING, Pinyin YI JING (Chinese: "Classic of Changes,"
or "Book of Changes"), an ancient Chinese text, one of the Five
Classics (Wu Ching) of Confucianism. The main body of the work has
traditionally been attributed to Wen Wang
(fl. 12th century BC), sage and father of the founder of the Chou dynasty,
and contains a discussion of the divinatory system used by the Chou dynasty
wizards. A supplementary section of "commentaries" is believed to
be the work of authors of the Warring States period (475-221 BC) and, as a
philosophical exposition, represents an attempt to explain the world and its
ethical principles, applying a largely dialectic method. For this the work
came to have great importance in the history of Chinese philosophy. Modern
scholars, nevertheless, have been troubled by the inclusion of the I
Ching among the Confucian classics, for Confucius (551-479 BC) seems to
have deliberately avoided speaking of anything that suggested esoteric
doctrines. The answer seems to be that Han dynasty Confucianists (c.
2nd century BC), influenced by the Taoist quest for immortality, justified
their use of I Ching by attributing certain of its commentaries to
Confucius. It was then a natural step to include the book among the Five
Classics of antiquity.
Though the book was originally used for divination, its influence on
Chinese minds and its universal popularity are due to a system of cosmology
that involves humans and nature in a single system. The uniqueness of the I
Ching consists in its presentation of 64 symbolic hexagrams that, if
properly understood and interpreted, are said to contain profound meanings
applicable to daily life. Throughout the ages, I Ching enthusiasts
have claimed that the book is a means of understanding, and even
controlling, future events.
The I Ching hexagrams are formed by joining in pairs, one above
the other, eight basic trigrams (pa kua).
Each trigram has a name, a root meaning, and a symbolic meaning. The
legendary emperor Fu Hsi (24th century
BC) is said to have discovered these trigrams on the back of a tortoise. Wen
Wang is generally credited with having formed the hexagrams.
In practice, one "creates" a hexagram by casting lots in one of
several ways. The hexagram is built up from the bottom, line by line, by
successive lots. Solid lines have the number nine, broken lines have the
number six. Solid lines represent yang (the male cosmic principle),
while broken lines represent yin (the female cosmic principle). These
two principles explain all being and all change by their ceaseless
interaction.
Individual lines of a hexagram have been compared to single notes of
music. Though each note has a quality and significance in itself, its truest
significance depends on its place in a musical score. Because the same
principle applies to individual lines of a hexagram, the I Ching text
first explains each line separately, then gives an overall interpretation of
the unit. The text is often expressed in cryptic, thought-provoking
language, thus allowing the user great leeway in interpreting its
significance.
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주역 (周易)
(병)Zhouyi (웨)Choui.
중국의 유교
경전.
〈역경 易經〉이라고도 한다. 〈경 經〉·〈전 傳〉의 두
부분을 포함하며 대략 2만 4,000자이다. 주(周)의 문왕이
지었다고 전해진다. 괘(卦)·효(爻)의 2가지 부호를 중첩하여
이루어진 64괘·384효, 괘사(卦辭), 효사(爻辭)로 구성되어
있는데, 괘상(卦象)에 따라 길흉화복을 점쳤다. 주나라
사람이 간단하게 8괘로 점을 치는 책이었으므로
〈주역〉이라고 했다. 정이(程 )의
주석서 〈역전 易傳〉은 경전의 해석을 통해
철학적인 관점을 나타내고 있을 뿐만 아니라 세계관,
윤리학설 및 풍부하고 소박한 변증법을 담고 있어, 중국
철학사상 중요한 위치를 차지하고 있다. 〈역전〉 계사편(繫辭篇)
등에서는 음·양 세력의 교감작용을 철학범주로 격상시켜
세계 만사만물(萬事萬物)을 통일된 체계로 조성했다. 이로써
진대(秦代)·한대(漢代) 이후의 사상계에 많은 영향을
끼쳤으며 서양 학자들의 관심을 끌었다. 주석본은 매우
많으나, 일반적으로 알려진 것은 〈주역정의 周易正義〉(위나라
王弼 및 진나라 韓康伯의 注, 당나라 孔穎達의 疏)·〈주역집해
周易集解〉(당나라 李鼎祚의 輯), 현대 가오헝[高亭]의
〈주역고경금주 周易古經今注〉·〈주역대전금주
周易大傳今注〉가 있다.
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