3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Theory, history, and instructions, April 6, 2000
By A Customer
This review is from: Understanding the I Ching (Paperback)
First of all, this is not a translation of the I Ching or an interpretation of individual hexagrams, but a book about the I Ching as a whole. It's divided into four parts: an explanation of the theory behind the I Ching, its history, an explanation of divination, and a chapter on chance and chaos theory.
I appreciated the theory part the most. Javary's explanation of yin and yang as movements rather than groups of characteristics was more understandable than the introductory material at the beginning of most translations. The history is the longest part of the book. It's interesting to read, but where it contradicts the generally accepted histories I've read in other books, I don't know whether Javary has hit upon a true theory, or is simply making something up. The divination section is useful, especially in explaining how the titles of the hexagrams should be read as verbs (which does make you see them in a different light). Finally, the chapter on chance and chaos is not bad, but doesn't seem to be tied to the I Ching itself as much as the rest of the book.
It's too bad that in addition to historical claims that may or may not be valid (I just don't know about these), Javary has an annoying habit of describing the Chinese people through blanket statements and stereotypes ("But the Chinese like difficulty." " . . . he acted like all Chinese and invented nothing new." "Meticulously observant, as are all Chinese . . ."). Also, while he says many useful things about divination and how to perform it, he doesn't seem to know that his methods apply to many forms of divination, not just the I Ching. Instead, his attitude seems to be that the I Ching is the only good method of divination, and anything else is cheap fortune-telling.
Basically, a good read if you're willing to think critically about some of his claims.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
excellent explanation, August 18, 2011
This review is from: Understanding the I Ching (Paperback)
This is one of the clearest explanations of how to use the I Ching I've ever read. It's also great advice for the attitude with which you use the book, how the hexagrams can be interpreted in ways that are meaningful to you, and for the basic concepts of ever-changing situations. To paraphrase the author: The I-Ching isn't fortune-telling that predicts your future as already determined. It's a tool by which you can uncover your own unconscious wisdom, connecting with a greater whole, to best achieve your goals. Javary's book isn't New Age-y, airy-fairy, though. I think it's practical, objective, and full of historical perspective. I'm no scholar of all things Chinese, but I've been using the I Ching system for some years, and I'm very impressed with Javary's work. (NOTE: he does not interpret the hexagrams in this book. I would love to find a book where he does that; I'd buy it in a heartbeat)
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