I Ching
What is the I Ching? It sounds familiar, but I am not sure. The I Ching, also known as the Yi Jing, is a ancient Chinese text. It's name can be translated as the 'Book of Changes'. Some scholars believe it's original title was simply 'Changes' (Yi). The 'Book' (Jing) part was added during the Han period when Confucian scholars picked up the text and used it as a tool to teach morality.
The original text was one part of three. All three texts were considered to be divination texts. The texts should be interpreted as oracles. Diviners would consult these texts, as if consulting old oracle bones or shells as they had previously.
The book was divided into two sections, the latter of which was supposedly added to the first during compilations of editors. The first section is the text (Ben Jing) and it contains the oracles. The second part of the text are called Zhuan, the commentaries, of which there are ten.
Here comes the interesting part ...
The Ben Jing is divided into 64 figures or Gua, what is called a hexagram by westerners. Each Gua has 6 lines. Each of these lines is then considered to be broken or unbroken. An unbroken line signifies Yang and a broken line signifies Yin. Each hexagram is composed of two set of three lines, each of which is called a trigram.
Here is one interpretation of each of the eight trigrams:
So if you are like me, then your binary math radar is screaming.
Yin v. Yang, unbroken v. broken can also be a 0 or a 1. So then a trigram is a combination of 3 broken and unbroken lines.
23 = 8.
The same number of trigrams listed above. Next, a hexagram is composed of 2 trigrams.
23 + 23 = 26 = 64
Thus, we have all of our 64 Gua. Quite interesting. This is a pretty simple analysis of the Yi Jing with binary math. The next step is to consider binary operations on such values. I hope to research this topic and it's progression throughout history in my paper for this class. I will post more when I do that research.
Some interesting notes about the trigrams and hexagrams is their other usages that we may not necessarily know immediately. Has any seen the South Korean flag lately?
There are four trigrams on the flag. Starting from the uppper left we have Heaven, Water, Earth and Fire.
Another interesting appearance of the I Ching hexagrams is Dead Prez. This activist hip hop group use the 'Army' hexagram (::::|:) as their symbol. This is a combination of Kan + Kun (Water + Earth). Note: hexagrams are read from the bottom up.
I hope you guys found this as interesting as I did. I always enjoy finding relations between what I enjoy and what I study. Sources for this include wikipedia's article on the Yi Jing, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yi_Jing and my professor's coursepack, "Chinese 461 Autumn Quarter 2005 Pre-Qin Literature" by David R. Knechtges.
The original text was one part of three. All three texts were considered to be divination texts. The texts should be interpreted as oracles. Diviners would consult these texts, as if consulting old oracle bones or shells as they had previously.
The book was divided into two sections, the latter of which was supposedly added to the first during compilations of editors. The first section is the text (Ben Jing) and it contains the oracles. The second part of the text are called Zhuan, the commentaries, of which there are ten.
Here comes the interesting part ...
The Ben Jing is divided into 64 figures or Gua, what is called a hexagram by westerners. Each Gua has 6 lines. Each of these lines is then considered to be broken or unbroken. An unbroken line signifies Yang and a broken line signifies Yin. Each hexagram is composed of two set of three lines, each of which is called a trigram.
Here is one interpretation of each of the eight trigrams:
- Qian = Heaven
- Kun = Earth
- Li = Fire
- Kan = Water
- Xun = Wind
- Zhen = Thunder
- Gen = Mountain
- Dui = Marsh / Lake
So if you are like me, then your binary math radar is screaming.
Yin v. Yang, unbroken v. broken can also be a 0 or a 1. So then a trigram is a combination of 3 broken and unbroken lines.
23 = 8.
The same number of trigrams listed above. Next, a hexagram is composed of 2 trigrams.
23 + 23 = 26 = 64
Thus, we have all of our 64 Gua. Quite interesting. This is a pretty simple analysis of the Yi Jing with binary math. The next step is to consider binary operations on such values. I hope to research this topic and it's progression throughout history in my paper for this class. I will post more when I do that research.
Some interesting notes about the trigrams and hexagrams is their other usages that we may not necessarily know immediately. Has any seen the South Korean flag lately?
There are four trigrams on the flag. Starting from the uppper left we have Heaven, Water, Earth and Fire.
Another interesting appearance of the I Ching hexagrams is Dead Prez. This activist hip hop group use the 'Army' hexagram (::::|:) as their symbol. This is a combination of Kan + Kun (Water + Earth). Note: hexagrams are read from the bottom up.
I hope you guys found this as interesting as I did. I always enjoy finding relations between what I enjoy and what I study. Sources for this include wikipedia's article on the Yi Jing, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yi_Jing and my professor's coursepack, "Chinese 461 Autumn Quarter 2005 Pre-Qin Literature" by David R. Knechtges.
posted by Jon Keto at
11:46 AM
2 Comments:
A note on the history of binary mathematics. Liebniz, a German mathematician, was trying to find a method of representing logical thought mathematically. He was dismissed until he used the I Ching text as support for his claims. Newer versions of the original book were brought back to Germany from China by Jesuit missionaries.
The Yi Jing is dated to 1122 B.C., so it could have predated the Indian advent of a binary number system. Pingala, supposedly discovered this idea around the 5th or 2nd century B.C.
I cannot say one way or another simply based upon how certain as to the original dates or authors of ancient Chinese texts. This also may be the case with Ancient texts of India as well. Most often the original works do not exist and the only sources available are edits or compilations of the texts made by scholars who followed the original piece of work. In some cases, these volumes do not exists and we must work from pieces that are two works from the source, which makes it even more difficult to even know if the atrributions are correct in the first, or the author put his own work in and attributed it to another. We may even see a scholar attribute work to someone else simply because they do not know better or that he is reflecting popular opinion of the period.
Scrawled on the wall By
Jon Keto, at 11:09 AM
hi Jon,
Good stuff. While I was training in the martial arts I had the occasion to look into different philosophies from around the world and I have come to find the universal application of the I-Ching to be fascinating.
As an artist I was impresed at the simplicity with which many world philosophies would fit into what I came to learn as the 8 directional theory. This theory used the um-yang prinicpal to assign the male-female/black-white explenations to all mater and how they relate to each other.
Here is a basic break down of how to draw the 8 directional theory. Draw a large circle on a piece of paper. draw an X inside of the circle then draw an plus symbol (+)with both of their centers converging in the center of the circle. Your done.
Now place this diagram over the top of an Um/Yang symbol and you have now broken the um/yang into 8 equal parts who will never be all balck or all white. And then you can place the 8 trigrams outside of the 8 directional theory to interperate how each section defines the um/yang theory. By traditional (Korean) standards the um/yang was red and black.
Now comes the flighty interpratation part of training physicaly in the Martial Arts. If you were to place this 8 directional theory on the ground and stand directly in the center of it you would be able to define certain attack and defense moves that will vary in degrees of strength, fluidity, force and balance based on how much black or red is in the section.
The small circles within the two waves will be directly to your front and rear and these two will represent the intention to attack or defend with each having the consequence of loss of balance or force.
Until recently the world did not recognize left handed people but the diagram can be flipped to compensate for a persons more coordinated side.
To cut this short, as long as you define what part of the 8 directions a "thing" fits into
(using the trigrams helps) then you will be able to better understand how it relates to the universe. But as you know, the Ten Thousand Things aren't difinable anyway. :o)
Cheers
Scrawled on the wall By
Mr. Gone, at 7:11 PM
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