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I Ching Lib/E: The Book of Change
A master translator's beautiful and accessible rendering of the seminal Chinese text
In a radically new translation and interpretation of the I Ching , David Hinton strips this ancient Chinese masterwork of the usual apparatus and discovers a deeply poetic and philosophical text. Teasing out an elegant vision of the cosmos as ever-changing yet harmonious, Hinton reveals the seed from which Chinese philosophy, poetry, and painting grew. Although it was and is widely used for divination, the I Ching is also a book of poetic philosophy, deeply valued by artists and intellectuals, and Hinton's translation restores it to its original lyrical form.
Previous translations have rendered the I Ching as a divination text full of arcane language and extensive commentary. Though informative, these versions rarely hint at the work's philosophical heart, let alone its literary beauty. Here, Hinton translates only the original strata of the text, revealing a fully formed work of literature in its own right. The result is full of wild imagery, fables, aphorisms, and stories. Acclaimed for the eloquence of his many translations of ancient Chinese poetry and philosophy, Hinton has reinvented the I Ching as an exciting contemporary text at once primal and postmodern.
In a radically new translation and interpretation of the I Ching , David Hinton strips this ancient Chinese masterwork of the usual apparatus and discovers a deeply poetic and philosophical text. Teasing out an elegant vision of the cosmos as ever-changing yet harmonious, Hinton reveals the seed from which Chinese philosophy, poetry, and painting grew. Although it was and is widely used for divination, the I Ching is also a book of poetic philosophy, deeply valued by artists and intellectuals, and Hinton's translation restores it to its original lyrical form.
Previous translations have rendered the I Ching as a divination text full of arcane language and extensive commentary. Though informative, these versions rarely hint at the work's philosophical heart, let alone its literary beauty. Here, Hinton translates only the original strata of the text, revealing a fully formed work of literature in its own right. The result is full of wild imagery, fables, aphorisms, and stories. Acclaimed for the eloquence of his many translations of ancient Chinese poetry and philosophy, Hinton has reinvented the I Ching as an exciting contemporary text at once primal and postmodern.
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First published October 13, 2015
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About the author
David Hinton
36 books94 followersDavid Hinton has published numerous books of poetry and essays, and many translations of ancient Chinese poetry and philosophy—all informed by an abiding interest in deep ecological thinking. This widely-acclaimed work has earned Hinton a Guggenheim Fellowship, numerous fellowships from NEA and NEH, and both of the major awards given for poetry translation in the United States: the Landon Translation Award (Academy of American Poets) and the PEN American Translation Award. Most recently, Hinton received a lifetime achievement award by the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
December 26, 2016
It's strange rating a non-fiction book, it's even more strange reviewing one that's a translation of a Chinese text that's over 2500 years old.
Perusing this had been on my list for the last couple of years. This translation did not work for me, as the language was too abstract and philosophical. I understand that the text is philosophical in nature, and I understand why the language of the translation might be poetic, but the Introduction and Notes, as well as the instructions at the end, needed more deciphering than you would have expected.
I feel like I need to see another 3-4 translations to get a better idea of what this is all about. Would not recommend this particular translation as a starting point, especially if you're a rookie like me.
Perusing this had been on my list for the last couple of years. This translation did not work for me, as the language was too abstract and philosophical. I understand that the text is philosophical in nature, and I understand why the language of the translation might be poetic, but the Introduction and Notes, as well as the instructions at the end, needed more deciphering than you would have expected.
I feel like I need to see another 3-4 translations to get a better idea of what this is all about. Would not recommend this particular translation as a starting point, especially if you're a rookie like me.
January 3, 2021
Reading this book was like trying to read a rock in the dark with your eyes close. I was opaque! Hard read. Maybe I'm just too dumb. I've read the Tao Te Ching, two times, currently doing my third, all different translation, and my fourth is coming by mail, so I thought I would like the I Ching, but it was less philosophical, it it, but less, and it had a lot more of divination, myth, even a fable style to it and the way the translator present it, with the symbol and their meaning, for someone who has not basis at all in the language, it was hard and complicated. The book has gone back from millennia to reach us so it probably have some sense, but too far fetch and too deep for me. I respect the text, but I didn't like it or find anything for me in it!
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February 6, 2017A very interesting text. It makes perfect sense for this to be a foundational text for other ideologies and theologies because it is, at times, impossibly opaque. Yet, at the same time, it's clearly systematic, as images repeat and multiply and interact in very interesting ways.
This, of course, is partly what makes it difficult to make sense of as a westerner in the 21st century with no working knowledge of the Chinese languages. So it's a confounding text in ways that the Tao Te Ching (which it clearly influenced) is not (though many find the Tao Te Ching to be incredibly confounding).
This deserves a reread and maybe several. It's definitely a text that appeals to me, but this was sort of a quick read through it, just trying to jam it in my head. Future reads will be more about trying to understand it.
I find that I do this with a lot of texts that I expect to be difficult to apprehend. I try to read them as quickly as possible so that I get a feel for the text. That feeling matters, I think, because it's almost a non-intellectual look at the text. It's kind of like trying to swallow a mouthful that's simply too big. You know you're missing the subtlety of flavors and so on, but it's got to go down one way or another. Future reads are when I try to take it piece by piece and fit it slowly into my head, stitch it gradually together.
So, yes, an interesting text. I'll likely try a different translation next time, as I've seen some mixed reactions to this one. Having no familiarity with the I Ching, I don't really have anything to judge it against.
This, of course, is partly what makes it difficult to make sense of as a westerner in the 21st century with no working knowledge of the Chinese languages. So it's a confounding text in ways that the Tao Te Ching (which it clearly influenced) is not (though many find the Tao Te Ching to be incredibly confounding).
This deserves a reread and maybe several. It's definitely a text that appeals to me, but this was sort of a quick read through it, just trying to jam it in my head. Future reads will be more about trying to understand it.
I find that I do this with a lot of texts that I expect to be difficult to apprehend. I try to read them as quickly as possible so that I get a feel for the text. That feeling matters, I think, because it's almost a non-intellectual look at the text. It's kind of like trying to swallow a mouthful that's simply too big. You know you're missing the subtlety of flavors and so on, but it's got to go down one way or another. Future reads are when I try to take it piece by piece and fit it slowly into my head, stitch it gradually together.
So, yes, an interesting text. I'll likely try a different translation next time, as I've seen some mixed reactions to this one. Having no familiarity with the I Ching, I don't really have anything to judge it against.
August 5, 2023
Hinton’s book is short and simple. The descriptions of the hexagrams are only two pages each. The divination instructions are easier to understand than in Minford’s translation.
For the hexagram 44, Hinton’s book says “The generative is woman’s power. And so it is that a woman isn’t something you can simply seize and use.” I doubt an ancient Chinese person (likely male) meant this meaning. In Minford’s translation, hexagram 44 has a more believable meaning for something written in ancient, sexist China: “A strong woman. Do not marry the woman.” If Hinton filtered the original Chinese meaning of hexagram 44 to become more politically correct and less sexist, it’s likely he did so with the other hexagrams as well. While it’s nice that he doesn’t want to offend women, it’s an inaccurate translation.
I went into the divination with a hopeful open mind, only to conclude that if there was any validity to this, you should get the same answer when asking the same question. But that doesn’t happen (I tried both online and in real life). It is totally based on chance.
For the hexagram 44, Hinton’s book says “The generative is woman’s power. And so it is that a woman isn’t something you can simply seize and use.” I doubt an ancient Chinese person (likely male) meant this meaning. In Minford’s translation, hexagram 44 has a more believable meaning for something written in ancient, sexist China: “A strong woman. Do not marry the woman.” If Hinton filtered the original Chinese meaning of hexagram 44 to become more politically correct and less sexist, it’s likely he did so with the other hexagrams as well. While it’s nice that he doesn’t want to offend women, it’s an inaccurate translation.
I went into the divination with a hopeful open mind, only to conclude that if there was any validity to this, you should get the same answer when asking the same question. But that doesn’t happen (I tried both online and in real life). It is totally based on chance.
November 12, 2015
There is a point when poetic license crosses over into poaching. This book meets and exceeds that point. My favorite phrase was in hexagram 21: "Bring people together through the biting foresight of shaman-flower sticks, and you'll penetrate everywhere. Exact the proper punishments and you'll bring forth wild bounty."
Utter drivel.
Not useful as a translation, and translating the Yi Jing as freeform poetry for self-gratification is not a good use of the author's or the reader's time.
Utter drivel.
Not useful as a translation, and translating the Yi Jing as freeform poetry for self-gratification is not a good use of the author's or the reader's time.
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December 4, 2024Review in notes:
“1 / Heaven / All origins penetrating everywhere, heaven is inexhaustible in bringing forth wild bounty. / Presentation / How vast and wondrous the heaven of origins! The ten thousand things all begin from it. It governs the sky - the movement of clouds, the coming of rain. It gives all the various things their distinct forms. How vast its illumination of ends and beginnings! / When the potent places of these six lines are realized in their proper seasons, the seasons mount the six sun-dragons and soar through the sky. / The Way of heaven is all change and transformation at the hinge of things, where the unfurling nature of each thing itself is perfected. It nurtures vast harmony in wholeness, and remains inexhaustible in bringing forth wild bounty. When its dragon-head rears up among the innumerable things, it unites the ten thousand kingdoms in wholeness and peace.” (2)
“41 / Depletion… Presentation / Depletion depletes the lowly and enriches the lofty: such is the Way in its lofty movement.” (82)
“42 / Enrichment… Presentation / Enrichment depletes everything lofty and enriches everything lowly, so the people’s joy swells beyond all bounds. Everything lofty sinking beneath everything lowly: such is the Way in its vast radiance.” (84)
Compare the two passages above, twin sides of the same coin ever adjacent to one another, depletion and enrichment. Depletion is the way of inequality and iniquity, enrichment the way of egalitarianism and bounty. Both are paths perennially open to the individual and the country, but only one brings joy and justice bound together with peace. “Don’t deplete things. Enrich them. Then, you’ll never go astray and good fortune will be inexhaustible indeed.” (83)
“55 / Abundance… 2 / When the ritual bloom of abundance spreads its veil, you can see the Big Dipper at midday. If you set out with doubt and suspicion, you will know anxious longing. If you set out with the dedication of a bird sitting on eggs, you will know good fortune. / 3 / When the ritual bloom of abundance spreads its curtain, you can see even faint stars at midday. You might break your arm, but how could you go astray?” (111)
Like begets like. Like responds to like. In a world of pure form, all forms beget and respond to all others in interbeing. In a world of interminable mind, that is to say our own, every act of hate afflicts all others, every act of love spreads and unveils across eternity, the corners of time reaching back to grasp itself. In that world we walk without movement and whisper without rippling air, for a single scream would echo down the interminable gullet of time and back again. Hell is acquired in a single act, visited upon one long before death, but “for the noble-minded, it’s heaven and heaven and heaven all day long. And at night, their awe at its transformations is like an affliction. How could they ever go astray? 4 / Some may even leap into the abyss, and still not go astray.” (3)
“1 / Heaven / All origins penetrating everywhere, heaven is inexhaustible in bringing forth wild bounty. / Presentation / How vast and wondrous the heaven of origins! The ten thousand things all begin from it. It governs the sky - the movement of clouds, the coming of rain. It gives all the various things their distinct forms. How vast its illumination of ends and beginnings! / When the potent places of these six lines are realized in their proper seasons, the seasons mount the six sun-dragons and soar through the sky. / The Way of heaven is all change and transformation at the hinge of things, where the unfurling nature of each thing itself is perfected. It nurtures vast harmony in wholeness, and remains inexhaustible in bringing forth wild bounty. When its dragon-head rears up among the innumerable things, it unites the ten thousand kingdoms in wholeness and peace.” (2)
“41 / Depletion… Presentation / Depletion depletes the lowly and enriches the lofty: such is the Way in its lofty movement.” (82)
“42 / Enrichment… Presentation / Enrichment depletes everything lofty and enriches everything lowly, so the people’s joy swells beyond all bounds. Everything lofty sinking beneath everything lowly: such is the Way in its vast radiance.” (84)
Compare the two passages above, twin sides of the same coin ever adjacent to one another, depletion and enrichment. Depletion is the way of inequality and iniquity, enrichment the way of egalitarianism and bounty. Both are paths perennially open to the individual and the country, but only one brings joy and justice bound together with peace. “Don’t deplete things. Enrich them. Then, you’ll never go astray and good fortune will be inexhaustible indeed.” (83)
“55 / Abundance… 2 / When the ritual bloom of abundance spreads its veil, you can see the Big Dipper at midday. If you set out with doubt and suspicion, you will know anxious longing. If you set out with the dedication of a bird sitting on eggs, you will know good fortune. / 3 / When the ritual bloom of abundance spreads its curtain, you can see even faint stars at midday. You might break your arm, but how could you go astray?” (111)
Like begets like. Like responds to like. In a world of pure form, all forms beget and respond to all others in interbeing. In a world of interminable mind, that is to say our own, every act of hate afflicts all others, every act of love spreads and unveils across eternity, the corners of time reaching back to grasp itself. In that world we walk without movement and whisper without rippling air, for a single scream would echo down the interminable gullet of time and back again. Hell is acquired in a single act, visited upon one long before death, but “for the noble-minded, it’s heaven and heaven and heaven all day long. And at night, their awe at its transformations is like an affliction. How could they ever go astray? 4 / Some may even leap into the abyss, and still not go astray.” (3)
January 3, 2022
I can't claim to have understood this book on my first reading, so it's hard to review. However, from my very basic understanding, the I Ching is an enumeration of a set of events, in a simple antecedent-consequent structure, though the causal/logical/contextual connective for the general reader is opaque (if it ever was clear, it must have been in antiquity). Often the consequent mentions a “bounty” or “wild bounty” , which I take to mean some kind of favorable outcome.
Though I’m not a scholar of Chinese writing (antiquity or otherwise), I’ve read other text in different domains (including warfare), where this sort of enumeration scheme is also present, and it seems to be a kind of discretization of a set of observations (likely folk wisdom inherited from societal pre-history), with each of these singletons then being mapped into an interesting hexagram, which seems to have a basic combinatorial structure (a placeholder symbol and various configurations of a singleton or tuple of placeholder “= =” symbol uniquely determining the index of the enumeration.
There’s been many commentaries, including those of profound minds, including Leibniz at the dawn of the European enlightenment, to Wolfgnag Pauli, Werner Heisnenberg, and Murray Gell-Mann of the first and second generation of quantum physicist, who have expounded in brief or length on this topic (there’s also been acolytes of these people, of various levels of validity/soundness in their respective domains who’s taken the helm of expanding on apparent (fatuous or not) connections with the Taoism and the I-Ching and these sciences and others. It is unclear if there is any substance to these ponderings, or if they are a result of those individuals attempting to grasp a new subject matter and looking for analogs in extant human thought to contextualize the corpus of those matters more ‘concretely’ within their mind.
Either way, the opacity of the text, and it’s unclear possible connection with mathematical enumeration makes the text's reading intriguing to the reader approaching the text from this vantage. This will require multiple readings and possibly those that include historical and other annotations. Recommended.
Though I’m not a scholar of Chinese writing (antiquity or otherwise), I’ve read other text in different domains (including warfare), where this sort of enumeration scheme is also present, and it seems to be a kind of discretization of a set of observations (likely folk wisdom inherited from societal pre-history), with each of these singletons then being mapped into an interesting hexagram, which seems to have a basic combinatorial structure (a placeholder symbol and various configurations of a singleton or tuple of placeholder “= =” symbol uniquely determining the index of the enumeration.
There’s been many commentaries, including those of profound minds, including Leibniz at the dawn of the European enlightenment, to Wolfgnag Pauli, Werner Heisnenberg, and Murray Gell-Mann of the first and second generation of quantum physicist, who have expounded in brief or length on this topic (there’s also been acolytes of these people, of various levels of validity/soundness in their respective domains who’s taken the helm of expanding on apparent (fatuous or not) connections with the Taoism and the I-Ching and these sciences and others. It is unclear if there is any substance to these ponderings, or if they are a result of those individuals attempting to grasp a new subject matter and looking for analogs in extant human thought to contextualize the corpus of those matters more ‘concretely’ within their mind.
Either way, the opacity of the text, and it’s unclear possible connection with mathematical enumeration makes the text's reading intriguing to the reader approaching the text from this vantage. This will require multiple readings and possibly those that include historical and other annotations. Recommended.
June 14, 2019
35th book of the year: I Ching as translated by David Hinton. Over 3000 years old, it’s the oldest of the Chinese classics and originally designed as a divination text which was later transformed into a cosmological text which Confucianism and Taoism are based. I decided to read it as I’m cautiously interested in philosophy and religion, and The I Ching seemed like a good place to start. Made up of 64 hexagrams each with 2 trigrams, the idea is that you throw down 3 coins and the combination of heads/tails will tell you if it’s a connected or broken line, or if it’s a changing line. From there, you do this a total of 6 times to get your two trigrams and then look up the corresponding hexagram. I’m oversimplifying, but that’s the gist. You don’t use it to ask which lottery numbers to play, but if you have a job interview or you’re about to go on a date, you can consult the I Ching to see the possible outcome of the path you’re already on. I had to watch a bunch of YouTube videos to see how it worked, and it’s interesting. I can’t really rate this book as bad or good as I don’t have any other translations to compare it to, but Hinton’s translation was definitely easy to grasp.
May 13, 2022
Generally I thought this book was really interesting and had some really valuable passages especially when it refers to depleteing versus adding to. Seek out distant wisdom and you will be granted great riches, truly invaluable and timeless wisdom in this book. How could you ever be led astray?
I have read Tau te Ching a few times and noted the I Ching is referred to numerous times and I’ve been meaning to read this historical text. Unfortunately it is not without faults which is why I gave it 4 stars. The main culprit: The translation is a little strange. It repeatedly refers to Calamity being certain and being led astray, like these concepts come up hundreds of times and many passages end with the question I posed above (How could you ever be led astray?). It took a little while for me to really understand what was being said in the passages. Also the passages are organized to have triads and hexagons where 3 or 6 things are related to one another with an image or passage. Truly a bit strange and jarring but definitely some wise passages.
I have read Tau te Ching a few times and noted the I Ching is referred to numerous times and I’ve been meaning to read this historical text. Unfortunately it is not without faults which is why I gave it 4 stars. The main culprit: The translation is a little strange. It repeatedly refers to Calamity being certain and being led astray, like these concepts come up hundreds of times and many passages end with the question I posed above (How could you ever be led astray?). It took a little while for me to really understand what was being said in the passages. Also the passages are organized to have triads and hexagons where 3 or 6 things are related to one another with an image or passage. Truly a bit strange and jarring but definitely some wise passages.
January 9, 2021
"If you drink wine with the dedication of a bird sitting on eggs, you never go astray. But even possessing the dedication of a bird sitting on eggs--if you founder, head underwater, you lose this in which." Line 6, Character 64: Failed Crossing
"Walk in veneration, in reverence, and you will never go astray." Line 1, Character 30: Reverence.
"It seems so sudden--seems our arrival, seems our burning, seems our death and abandonment." Line 4, Character 30: Reverence.
Yeah so I didn't really "get" this book at all. I don't know if the I Ching is really the kind of book you ever truly understand, but I definitely did not do a close enough reading of it yet to even attempt to make that statement. I'll flip through it again and again in my coming days, flipping coins to divine a perplexing path forward for when my own planned path seems even less clear than the wisdom offered within.
I'll have to take a class on this book to understand it. Check in in a year future Danny :)
"Walk in veneration, in reverence, and you will never go astray." Line 1, Character 30: Reverence.
"It seems so sudden--seems our arrival, seems our burning, seems our death and abandonment." Line 4, Character 30: Reverence.
Yeah so I didn't really "get" this book at all. I don't know if the I Ching is really the kind of book you ever truly understand, but I definitely did not do a close enough reading of it yet to even attempt to make that statement. I'll flip through it again and again in my coming days, flipping coins to divine a perplexing path forward for when my own planned path seems even less clear than the wisdom offered within.
I'll have to take a class on this book to understand it. Check in in a year future Danny :)
March 25, 2019
I'd give this a 3.5 I think but I read it for class so its a bit different I think.
I really enjoyed learning about this and doing the coin method with myself and others and I'll definitely be keeping this book to refer back to later in life
I really enjoyed learning about this and doing the coin method with myself and others and I'll definitely be keeping this book to refer back to later in life
June 13, 2020
This volume begins with a very interesting introduction to this most classic of Chinese wisdom literature. Then each of the 64 hexagrams of the I Ching are explored.
October 19, 2020
Like reading a collection of tarot cards or a year of horoscopes.
January 1, 2021
What a very interesting book. A quick easy read but will hold on to it as a reference book in my library. Also need to purchase shaman-flower stalks so that I can consult the I Ching.
February 12, 2023
Preferable to earlier translations, a valued addition to my library
August 27, 2023
An interesting translation of a foundational work in Eastern philosophy and world literature.
November 1, 2024
I had the dedication of a bird sitting on a nest to finish this book. I think listening again would be helpful but I am not sure I am so willing right now.
April 16, 2017
This is the fifth translation of the I Ching that I have owned (fourth that I currently own) and it is probably my favorite. It has a personal resonance in its diction compared to the others that makes it the most valuable. It's stripped of the layers of commentary that come with the Wilhelm-Baynes, Minford, Huang, and Karcher translations - this isn't to say that the commentary is worthless and that those translations are bad; this one has a more direct feeling for me, however, because it resorts directly to the poetic language.
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