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Fortune Teller's I Ching

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The "I Ching" is an ancient classic and a complex work, not readily grasped by the western mind. Down through the ages, it has been adapted to many uses, especially for philosophical speculation by the scholar and for forecasting the future by the layman. The scholar would more likely prefer the editions by Edward Shaughnessy or Richard John Lynn which have extensive annotations and footnotes--not meant for practical daily divination. This edition, by Palmer/Kwok/O'Brien, is a wonderful popular version for the layman, and a practical one adaptable for daily usage, in the same vein as "The Illustrated I Ching" by R. L. Wing. It has a very good introduction as background material, and a clear explanation of the three-coin and yarrow stalk methods. Like Wing's version, it also has the original Chinese text for the "judgments" and "line commentaries," a useful feature for those interested in actually checking the translation.

There are various forms of "fortune telling" divination that are routinely used by the Chinese for prognostication. And after using these forms "plum blossom divination, etc." the I Ching is then interpreted accordingly. When used in the usual fashion by way of coins or yarrow stalks, the I Ching does not fortell the future so much as it offers guidance on personal conduct. That being said, this book is a fair modern translation of the original Zhouyi or Book of Changes.