The Classic of Changes: A New Translation of the "I Ching" as Interpreted by Wang Bi [Hardcover]

Richard John Lynn (Author)

Book Description

Series: Translations from the Asian Classics | Publication Date: April 15, 1994

Used in China as a book of divination and source of wisdom for more than three thousand years, the I Ching has been taken up by millions of English-language speakers in the nineteenth century. The first translation ever to appear in English that includes one of the major Chinese philosophical commentaries, the Columbia I Ching presents the classic book of changes for the world today.

Richard Lynn's introduction to this new translation explains the organization of The Classic of Changes through the history of its various parts, and describes how the text was and still is used as a manual of divination with both the stalk and coin methods. For the fortune-telling novice, he provides a chart of trigrams and hexagrams; an index of terms, names, and concepts; and a glossary and bibliography.

Lynn presents for the first time in English the fascinating commentary on the I Ching written by Wang Bi (226-249), who was the main interpreter of the work for some seven hundred years. Wang Bi interpreted the I Ching as a book of moral and political wisdom, arguing that the text should not be read literally, but rather as an expression of abstract ideas. Lynn places Wang Bi's commentary in historical context.

For beginners and devotees alike, Columbia's I Ching is the clearest and most authoritative translation of this ancient classic.

(Kidder Smith, Bowdoin College Philosophy East & West )

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

The I Ching or Book of Changes is a Chinese manual for divination (also called a book of wisdom), compiled in the ninth century B.C.E. A person consulting the I Ching is said to be able to see into the true nature of the universe, and, by acting according to its dictates, avoid personal failures and disasters. Most available editions of the I Ching are based on the James Legge translation, a work produced over 140 years ago and characterized by romanticized and idiomatic Victorian English. Although not more accurate or revealing than the Legge, this new translation is welcome because of its crisp usage of modern-day English. Lynn supplies a chart of trigrams and hexagrams, a glossary, and a list of proper names. Of special interest to students of classical Chinese text is a commentary by Wang Bi, a third-century A.D. Chinese scholar. Highly recommended for public and academic libraries.
Glenn Masuchika, Chaminade Univ. Lib., Honolulu
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

This is the best I Ching that has so far appeared.

(Times Literary Supplement (London) )

This new translation is welcome because of its crisp usage of modern-day English... Highly recommended.

(Library Journal )

Familiar with current historical and textual research, having no truck with 'ageless wisdoms' and leery of spirituality, Richard Lynn's translation of the I Ching as retranslated, explicated and interpreted by the young scholar Wang Bi and his followers, feels a world apart from that of Wilhelm.

(London Review of Books )

[Lynn]'s provided us with the materials from which to reconstruct Wang Bi's vision of the text. The result is clearly written and presented -- the best entry into an I Ching world that we have so far.

(Shambala Sun )

Lynn has... produce[d] a translation of whose accuracy one can be optimally confident... [T]his is a solidly and attractively produced volume.

(Religion )

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 614 pages
• Publisher: Columbia University Press (April 15, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0231082940
• ISBN-13: 978-0231082945
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 5.7 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #958,317 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An exceptional translation, November 29, 1999

By 

Thomas Carlson (Belgium) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Classic of Changes: A New Translation of the "I Ching" as Interpreted by Wang Bi (Hardcover)

Richard John Lynn's translation of the I Ching has become one of my most precious books. He has found the style that brings back a very distant voice of ancient China: Wang Bi, a philosophical geenius who died at the age of 23 after having written the most outstanding commentaries ever of the I Ching and the Tao Te Ching. R.J.Lynn brings out the taoist touch of Wang Bi's philosophy by keeping the word "dao" in the English text. Some of his expressions are fun, like when someone's situation has come to a point of decline, Lynn translates Wang Bi with: "this one's dao has petered out". Somehow Lynn has brought Wang Bi's thought back to life.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One for the collection, September 14, 2003

By 

Jack Purcell (Placitas, NM USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Classic of Changes: A New Translation of the "I Ching" as Interpreted by Wang Bi (Hardcover)

The reviews on the Lynn book appear to break down to a partisanship between John Richard Lynn and Wilhelm. There's room in the library of the I Ching enthusiast for both. I happen to prefer Lynn, but refer frequently to Wilhelm. It's difficult to imagine either of the two absent from the shelf. I'm particularly grateful to Lynn for the comprehensive footnotes and historical notes to put each item in context.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exqusite, precise and accessable translation of the I Ching, April 9, 1997

By A Customer

This review is from: The Classic of Changes: A New Translation of the "I Ching" as Interpreted by Wang Bi (Hardcover)

This translation of the I Ching is the best of the non-popularized versions. While it is a scholarly work, it is also accessable to the average reader who wishes to access the original text. While any translation of this seminal work must have some bias in extracting the meaning from the Chinese, this version seems to take the "middle way" in presenting a translation that is faithful and flexible. Highly recommended