The Mandate of Heaven (Hardcover)

by S J Marshall (Author) "The subject of this study is the earliest layer of the Yijing..." (more)
Key Phrases: sinological maze, title hexagram, tortoise oracle, King Wen, Sima Qian, Duke of Zhou (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
S. J. Marshall's intriguing work will be read with great interest by ["I Ching"] aficionados, and it will also attract the attention of contemporary scholars. The former will be immensely grateful for the clarity that Marshall brings to such an enigmatic text. . . . Everyone who reads "The Mandate of Heaven" will return to the "Book of Changes" with a renewed historical perspective. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

Product Description
The Mandate of Heaven was originally given to King Wen in the 11th century BC. King Wen is credited with founding the Zhou dynasty after he received the Mandate from Heaven to attack and overthrow the Shang dynasty. King Wen is also credited with creating the ancient oracle known as the Yijing or Book of Changes. This book validates King Wen's association with the Changes. It uncovers in the Changes a record of a total solar eclipse that was witnessed at King Wen's capital of Feng by his son King Wu, shortly after King Wen had died (before he had a chance to launch the full invasion). The sense of this eclipse as an actual event has been overlooked for three millennia. It provides an account of the events surrounding the conquest of the Shang and founding of the Zhou dynasty that has never been told. It shows how the earliest layer of the Book of Changes (the Zhouyi) has preserved a hidden history of the Conquest.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 252 pages
• Publisher: RoutledgeCurzon; 1 edition (December 15, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0700712992
• ISBN-13: 978-0700712991
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (1 customer review)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The deepest layer of the I Ching, November 24, 2001

By	Michael P. McGarry (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Mandate of Heaven (Hardcover)

This fascinating book balances rigorous historical research with a respect for the profundity of the *I Ching*. Marshall argues that the central text, the "Zhouyi", contains identifiable historical references to events in ancient China. Specifically, Marshall argues that the date of the Conquest of the Shang Dynasty by what would become the Zhou Dynasty can be located in the year 1070 BCE, on the basis of evidence in the "Zhouyi" --- including a hitherto undetected reference to a solar eclipse in the text of Hexagram #55! In the course of his argument, he brings to life the semi-mythical figures of King Wen & King Wu (virtuous founders of the Zhou Dynasty) and Zhou Xin (depraved tyrant, last Shang ruler). He cogently suggests specific links between Shang bone oracles and the text of the "Zhouyi". By citing Chinese characters in the text, and providing a glossary of them in the back, he allows the reader to feel a part of the detective work he is doing. Overall, I enthusiastically recommend this book to anyone with an interest in ancient China and to anyone who works seriously with the *I Ching*. The former will find historical bases for figures often dismissed as mythological, while the latter will find profoundly meaning depth in some of the *I Ching's* inscrutable phrases.