I Ching: The Classic Chinese Oracle of Change -- The First Complete Translation with Concordance [Paperback]

Stephen Karcher (Translator)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 28, 2002

Your life will never be the same again! The I Ching can entirely change the way you see things, helping you recognize and resolve anxieties and fears, fulfill your every desire; and release hidden energies. Developed over 3,000 years ago in China, it was originally intended only for rulers, but now can help anyone. Inspired by Carl Jung's insights into the psyche, and researched for more than 50 years through the aid of the Eranos Foundation of Switzerland, this fully revised edition offers much more than just a new translation. It presents the oracular core of the I Ching as a psychological tool and a way of connecting with the creative imagination. The original imagery is retained in its entirety, so all the symbols can interact with your mind just as dream images do. Consult it for any question that concerns you, and it will become an active sourcebook for the care of the soul.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Stephen Karcher PhD is an internationally known writer, lecturer, translator and consulting diviner with over thirty years' experience working with the I Ching. Rudolf Ritsema is an orientalist and President of the Eranos Foundation, famed for its seminars on Jungian psychology.

Product Details

• Paperback: 816 pages
• Publisher: Vega; Revised edition (October 28, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1843330032
• ISBN-13: 978-1843330035
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.1 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,681,413 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Creative and modern interpretation, December 9, 2002

By 

Ren Qi-zhen (Wandering) - See all my reviews

This review is from: I Ching: The Classic Chinese Oracle of Change -- The First Complete Translation with Concordance (Paperback)

Karcher's interpretation is an interesting modern alternative to Wilhelm/Baynes neo-confused and Christian version. Unfortunately, Karcher adds more refuse and he has failed to access some contemporary translations. Compared to Lynn or Shaughnessy, Karcher rarely bothers to explain when he is using an unknown Chinese source and when he is making things up as he goes along. This slippery and highly creative way of translating gets even worse in his personal interpretation of Te Chuan. He is very good-willed, yet Karcher still has not learned the difference between the yin and yang-sides of his cash (Chinese coins)...

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Scholarly presentation of an ancient text, February 10, 2009

By 

Tymothy Smith "jellyphish" (santa cruz, ca) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: I Ching: The Classic Chinese Oracle of Change -- The First Complete Translation with Concordance (Paperback)

Many people feel that this book is difficult to wade through, there is much after the initial image that reads as though it is in another language, and frankly it is. This version of the I Ching is presented for those with a history of use of the text and a desire to go deeper into the hexagrams. I personally feel that this book represents the I Ching in a more accurate light than most other texts, it feels to me as a student of the ancient Chinese to be an exploration of how metaphor was a constant in the life of those who wrote and have used the system for millenia.
Though the text is scholarly in presentation, one can use it with little understanding or need to go into the limitless depths of mathematics or mystical underpinnings. One can simply throw the coins (though to be sure, the yarrow stalks are the preferred method with an entirely different mathematical system) and read the first image to establish a relationship with oracle.
The downside of the book is that it is time consuming to move into the language as Karcher attempts to write in English as one would write in pictographs, with words as metaphor. Though it can be trying, still there is much to be gleaned by this manner of exploration and i recommend this translation for the serious minded, but it is the system (Ba Gua) that students of the I Ching are studying, the words are but translations of the images whether in ancient Chinese or in modern English.