Customer Reviews

I Ching

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It is astonishing how new 'Yi-Ching' material keeps appearing, some useful, some not (too much of it is a poor rehash of what we aready had, or arbitrary reconstruction).Happily, this new version has an interesting slant - exploring the 'Shamanic' use of the oracle. Although this has entailed the exploration and consultation of ancient sources, in part reconstructing the outlook of an archaic milieu, it actually translates into a very 'hands-on' look at the Yi-Ching.' The contemporary poetry used to punctuate the text at various points could have been a disasterous mismatch, but on the contrary, Jay Ramsey's verses evoke the spirit of the text wonderfully. Exploring the his- torical background to the Yi-Ching is a fascinating enterprise - but, without some feeling for the Yi-ching, as a kind of living, organic entity, 'historical' reconstructions can be hopelessly boring. Martin Palmer - and his collaborators have done a splendid job. Well informed but never ponderous, this is a sensitive and beautifully turned out piece of work.

I have several translations of the I Ching. Most of them have obscure references which require a great deal of knowledge of classical Chinese traditions for them to make any sense. I've often likened it to approaching a Taoist hermit with a question, and his answer just leaves you scratching your head. This book is different. It has several sections - including a classical translation and a modern commentary for the main body and each of the moving lines, a character genealogy interpretation for each of the 64 hexagrams, and a poem for each of the hexagrams. Invariably, one of the sections for my specific reading will speak directly to me. I am continually impressed with its accessibility and most impressed with the poems by Zhao Xiaomin, who obviously has his fingers on the pulse of the I Ching. I am surprised it is out of print. It should be on the bookshelf of every I Ching enthusiast.