Articles, sources and criticism
Explore historical sources, translations, research articles and critical discussions of the Yijing.
Subjects assigned by the editor take priority. Unclassified articles are provisionally matched by title and excerpt; the complete archive remains available above.
29 September 2014
During the last meeting of the Dutch Yijing group there was confusion about the assignment of the numbers 2 (yin) and 3 (yang) to the sides of Chinese coins. Old Chinese coins have…
Read article →24 September 2014
不克訟. 復即命渝.安貞: 吉. 不克訟: see line 2. Fu 復: return Jiming 即命: follow the royal decrees (遵從王命) Yu 渝: In its ordinary meaning it means ‘change’, but I could not make this fit the…
Read article →22 August 2014
食舊德, 貞厲 終吉, 或從王事, 无成. Shi 食: to ‘eat it’ – to speak about it but not putting it into practice (謂言已出而反吞之，不實行). Jiude 舊德: the virtues and good deeds of the former kings…
Read article →3 August 2014
不克訟.歸而逋其邑人. 三百戶.無眚. Buke 不克: unable to win (the fight or battle – 不能戰勝) Song 訟: dispute, lawsuit, accusation Gui 歸: return, go back. Also loan for kui 愧, ‘ashamed’ Bu 逋: flee, run away Yiren 邑人: the people…
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30 July 2014
有孚.窒惕.中吉.終凶.利見大人.不利涉大川. About you fu 有孚 see here. 窒惕: Many assume that zhiti 窒惕 forms a fixed phrase, and I follow that same route although this is by no means an established fact –…
Read article →24 May 2014
line 5 需于酒食.貞吉. Waiting with wine and food. The divination is auspicious. line 6 入于穴. 有不速之客三人來敬之. 終吉. Ru 入: in old texts often used with the meaning of ‘to accept’ (taxes, tribute…
Read article →21 May 2014
需于血.出自穴. Xue 血: loan for xue 洫, the irrigation ditches between fields; a small water channel. (古代漢語通假字大字典, p. 769) 鄒漢勳 Zou Hanxun (1805 – 1854) also follows this hypothesis, arguing that the fourth…
Read article →10 May 2014
需于泥致寇至. Ni 泥: mud. The Shanghai Museum MS has ni 坭 which is a known variant of 泥. The character also means ‘to be obstructed, to be held up’, like being stuck in the mud.…
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9 May 2014
需于沙. 小有言. 終吉. Sha 沙: the sandy river shore. Lu Deming’s 陸德明 Jingdian Shiwen 經典釋文 says that Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 used zhi 沚, ‘islet’. The Shanghai Museum MSS has . The 古文字通假字典 says that is a known variant of 沙…
Read article →4 May 2014
需于郊.利用恆.無咎. Jiao 郊: general reference to the area outside the city, the open country. The Shanghai Museum MSS has hao 蒿, which in several texts is used as a loan for jiao (古文字通假字典, p. 158).…
Read article →2 May 2014
Name Xu 需: hesitate, wait and see (觀望). Some translators translate it as ‘to want, to need’ (需要) but this meaning is relatively young (starting with Northern Qi dynasty (550-577) ). Judgment 有孚.光亨貞吉.利涉大川.…
Read article →21 April 2014
The main theme of hexagram 4 as seen in the line texts is not the ignorant fellow, but the ignorant fellow who wants or needs his ignorance removed. There is a drive for gaining…
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