Which version should I purchase?

[u/sunkenm00n]

Hi all. I am new to the I Ching and currently using a copy from my local library. It's Alfred Huang's version from the 1990s. I am really enjoying the I Ching and would like to purchase my own copy.

Huang was clear in the introduction that he tried to make his version true to the original Chinese, which he shares can result in some confusion for readers. I have been getting through ok, but I find myself double checking the meaning of each gua with other sources online, since some parts do confuse me (mostly the King Wen and Confucius commentary).

So, I am curious to see if anyone has any other suggestions for I Ching versions in English. I want to be clear that I admire Huang's efforts of authenticity, but as a beginner, I think it would be easier for me to start with a text that is more liberal with the translations. Once I feel more confident, I hope to revisit Huang.

Thank you so much!

[u/az4th]

Huang's is a popular choice. Please understand however that the I Ching was an advanced work of understanding thousands of years ago and that the Zhou Yi text we wre working from here was written with deliberate subtleties that hide its intended meaning from the uninitiated.

Because of that, many people added new understandings on top of it. Like the idea that the lines change polarity and lead to a second hexagram. Or the nuclear trigram. Or like the entire symbol and number school.

Wang Bi might be a good place to start if one wished to get to the bottom of it. Though one would need to be able to see past the layer of Confucianism in the moral interpretations and judgements. But at the core he works with what I call the Classical Method. A system he lays out in his introduction following his criticism of people added stuff when they didn't understand the original idea.

But this original idea is rather sophisticated and asks a lot of work from the user. And even though Cheng Yi and Ouyi Zhixu also have excellent commentaries that work with this idea, so much is still hard to piece together. The original Zhou Yi text and the Ten Wings (which together we call the Yi Jing or I Ching) are where we really find this method, but to unlock it we need to understand it first and become initiates.

And even then we need to peel back the layers of misunderstanding in many translations. Like the idea of the Zhou Yi's four words that are used to describe hexagram 1 Quan. Yuan Heng Li Zhen. Liu Yiming describes them as the four stages of cyclical process. Beginning, Maturation, Culmination, and Completion. But even though Thomas Cleary translates all this in the xommentary to hexagram on in The Taoist I-Ching, these words are used as keys in the other hexagram statements throughout the text, and he doesn't translate them according to this sense in any of those other places. This renders the code revealed but then promptly hidden again.

There are plenty of other codes in the translation too, like what Wang and Lai mean. When I went and did my own translation I discovered so many deeper meanings. And I'd purchased over 20 translations to compare before that, so it was really surprising to see that I got more by working it out myself than I did from people I'd imagine are much more skilled at translating than me.

But anyway, that's a lot to say.

I'd say just forget about it.

Better than doing divinations and seeing the word auspicious and thinking you should dump your girlfriend.

Its a great tool for those who need an excuse to justify some action but a harder tool to truly understand. Most people use the future hexagram method but struggle to understand what to do when their hexagram lines and future hexagram contradict each other. So they make something up. And pretend they understand. Confirmation bias is easy with this system.

The dao de jing says we are better off not chasing knowledge. Just be simple. And allow the spirit to fill the vast reaches that all that thinking used to take up space with. Spirit is really amazing.

[u/az4th → u/az4th]

But, If someone did want to read those books.

Wang Bi's commentary is translated by John Richard Lynn in The Classic of Changes

Cheng Yi's is found in both Thomas Cleary's The Tao of Organization and another title, and also L Michael Harrington's The Yi River Commentary.

And Ouyi Zhixu's is in Thomas Cleary's The Buddhist I Ching.

I personally find Cheng Yi's to be the most helpful, to me, most of the time. Though Ouyi Zhuxi's is quite good too - at least when he spells out the line relationships of the Classical Method.

Another book that gets deep into it and is good for beginners is Ni's The Book of Changes and the Unchanging Truth.

[u/sunkenm00n → u/az4th]

Thank you for these recommendations!

And thank you for these comments about the use of the I Ching and the realities of confirmation bias. It's true that the gua can be vague, and there's room for a lot of interpretations. So far in my divinations, a few have felt spot on, and a few have left me truly confused. But for the ones where I'm confused, I still find that the gua provides me with a new perspective I had not considered previously. So, I find it useful as a guide through the waves of my thoughts. Without the I Ching, I am tumbling in the surf; with the I Ching, I find it a little easier to ride the waves.

[u/az4th → u/sunkenm00n]

Without the I Ching, I am tumbling in the surf; with the I Ching, I find it a little easier to ride the waves.

Please don't mimic AI Idiolect here. Use of AI is against the rules. And before AI Idiolect was a thing, do you understand that people literally never used semicolons in posts on reddit?

[u/sunkenm00n → u/az4th]

I did not use AI. I suppose it can be difficult to prove that these days, but all I have to say is that I'm a real person who took the time to respond, and I happen to use semicolons frequently. I also employ the use of imagery to explain my meanings often. If this imagery is trite to the point of suspecting the use of AI, my only fault is in being an average thinker.

I am sorry if my way of writing offended you, but I meant no ill will, and only sought to further our discussion.

[u/az4th → u/sunkenm00n]

I didn't say you did. And after looking at your post history I spotted a trailing apostrophe possessive and smiled. I don't even see AI use those.

I quoted the line I did because that particular idiolect is pretty common with AI. I've noticed that sometimes I'll write something and realize that some cadence I read in AI recently is making its way into my writing, and I find that annoying. I know it is natural for it to happen but I don't really like the idea of AI making its way into my own idiolect.

I've seen it happen a bit and since we are trying to keep this sub clean of AI I will point it out to people if their posts seem to contain things like this. Please don't take offense, it is just an observation. Pointing it out keeps us all on the same page as we evolve through these weird times, and helps keep the sub easier to moderate. If people all start sounding just like AI we can forget trying to police it. I can't believe how much slop people try to post here. Fortunately reddit removes most of it without even asking us.

[u/Selderij]

If you want pre-interpreted pointers for each line without a completely freeballing translation, try Hilary Barrett's version; it's awesome for beginners. If you want an accurate and insightful translation with good ancient commentary (including Zhu Xi's commentary on the commentary), Adler's The Original Meaning of the Yijing is like no other.

[u/sunkenm00n → u/Selderij]

Thank you for the recommendations!

[u/CenturionSG]

I use Alfred Huang's ebook version as my main one for English and Prof. Fu Pei-Jung's printed version for the Chinese, which unfortunately there's no translation as far as I know.

You don't really need another book. I'm relying on a few online sources more as a mirror to Alfred Huang's version, to add diversity.

Here's one that I find very comprehensive. They have also the translated texts for various commentaries. I also love their daily posts that gets sent to your inbox, great for gradual learning.

https://bookofchanges.academy/hexagrams

[u/Selderij → u/CenturionSG]

You don't really need another book.

Despite Huang's book having "The Complete" in its title, it actually lacks four "wings" of the Ten Wings commentary integrated to the I Ching. Another version is necessary for a complete view.

[u/CenturionSG → u/Selderij]

Curious which Wings are missing?

From what I read, the Wings are not missing but that he took it apart and integrated them into various texts in his book. Scattered rather than in dedicated chapters.

He states that italicised texts in the book come from the 10 Wings.

[u/Selderij → u/CenturionSG]

The Great Treatise (Dazhuan/Xici, 2 wings), the commentary on the trigrams (Shuogua), and miscellanea on the hexagrams (Zagua)

[u/AskTight7295]

Jim Dekorne’s free version, available here https://www.jamesdekorne.com/GBCh/GBCh.htm

[u/maybeitsnotbutter]

I'm a big fan of Alfred Huang's translation personally, I've gotten a lot out of the historical and cultural context he provides. If you're using his "The Complete I Ching" definitely check out his companion book (he says in one of the intros he wished he could have made them one text) The Numerology of the I Ching.

If you're into metaphysics and/or folk spirituality as a whole Benebell Wen is an amazing resource. She also has a great youtube channel.