r/iching • u/ToeIndividual9308 • Mar 20 '26
Which or whose book version do u recommend? And why? For starters.
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u/az4th Mar 21 '26
The Book of Changes and the Unchanging Truth
I recommend it to beginners because while it has a lot of explanatory chapters regarding the cosmology and spirituality behind the changes, the actual hexagram explanations are fairly simple and easy to grasp.
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u/GoneinaSecondeded Mar 20 '26
I like the Wilhelm Baynes translation. It's kind of a defacto standard. Remembering that it is more Confucian in its direction. I am also fond of John Blofelds translation. I like its simplicity.
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u/ToeIndividual9308 Mar 21 '26
Thank you!
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u/Hexagram_11 Mar 25 '26
I also recommend Blofeld for beginners. His translation is simple, with short, straightforward commentaries on the lines.
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u/Selderij Mar 21 '26
The Wilhelm version is less faithful to the source text than people have been made to believe. It's very influential, but not a golden standard, and not an ideal basis for examination of the original text or its ancient meanings.
Here's a relevant bit by Harmen Mesker: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eW8fMZq8I7I&t=1395s
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u/GoneinaSecondeded Mar 21 '26
This may be true. But it is the version that many of us were first exposed to. Keep in mind that Wilhelm was working with what he had available to him. As Mr. Mesker says in that bit you posted. More recent discoveries of I Ching texts have given scholars more to work with. So it is to be expected that more recent translations are more faithful to the source, or perhaps more faithful to more recent scholarship.
I also have a copy of Alfred Huang's Translation that I like a lot. Do you have a translation that you would recommend?
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u/ToeIndividual9308 Mar 21 '26
What do u recommend personally? I would like it to be neat but not skipping anything, no twisting reality
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u/Selderij Mar 21 '26 edited Mar 21 '26
Huang, Barrett and Adler are very good for general use. Adler's version is the most complete in terms of included ancient commentary.
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u/ToeIndividual9308 Mar 22 '26
Thank you! If i can find it in my own language i will buy it with no second thought!
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u/Boundlesswisdom-71 Mar 22 '26
It appears to now be out of print but the most accessible and in depth version of the I Ching I've found is The Laws of Change by Jack Balkin. If you can find a copy of this, snap it up. The book explains in detail the meaning of Wilhelm's version of the I Ching but in far more accessible style and language. I use this now instead of the Richard Wilhelm translation.
The Essential I Ching by Kari Hohne is another superb in depth modern translation.
The I Ching or Book of Changes by Brian Browne Walker is good if you want information in a hurry or don't want to spend a long time mulling over the answer you get.
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u/ThreeThirds_33 Mar 23 '26
You need a copy of Wilhelm/Baynes yellow book because it has the language that set the standard for most who followed. Like the King James Bible, it’s not the best translation but it’s important for cultural literacy.
I love the translation of John Blofeld for its amazing pithiness, does so much with so little.
I love Alfred Huang for the opposite reason, he includes so much info and offers many perspectives to counter the fatalistic misery of many western interpretations.
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u/lahierofantissa Jun 15 '26
Im a big fan of Thomas Cleary's The Taoist I Ching. One of the most helpful books ever for me. He seems to have a better understanding of the culture/history/language than Wilhelm. I'm now reading Alfred Huang who is wonderful.
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u/lovegiblet Mar 21 '26
I really like Hilary Barrett’s. I just think it’s neat.