A Brief History of the I-Ching
A Brief History of the I-Ching
By Michael Erlewine
Divination in China dates roughly to the
early Shang dynasty, around 1675 B.C.
At that time, perhaps the most popular
form of divination was the casting of
animal bones into a fire, letting them
burn, and after they had cooled,
studying the fine cracks that formed in
the bones. The cracks were interpreted.
The I-Ching or “Book of Changes”
known as the “Changes of Chou” was
originally the known as the oracle of the
people of Chou, written down as early
as 1070 B.C. Historians have placed the
origin of this oracle as early as the 8th
century B.C. In other words, the I-Ching
oracle is ancient.
And the I-Ching as legend is timeless
and it is said that Fu Hsi, perhaps the
greatest emperor of China, originally
discovered the eight fundamental
trigrams that make up the I-Ching
hexagrams. Throughout Chinese history
the I-Ching has been studied and used
by the great sages, philosophers like
Confucius, who wrote exhaustive
commentaries on the work.
The word “I-Ching” or “Yi Jing” (the
more modern Pinyan transliteration)
literally means something like “regular
change” or the “change that does not
change,” that is: change we can count
on taking place – persistent change. In
this regard, the I-Ching is looked upon
as a reflection in miniature of the
physical and spiritual world we live in.
The I-Ching reflects how our inner and
outer world moves and changes.
There are many books and studies on
the history of the I-Ching and a quick trip
to your web browser will put you in
touch with that information. Here we are
primarily interested in the I-Ching as an
oracle.
The I-Ching consists of 64 hexagrams,
each consisting of six lines placed one
above the other, and read from the
bottom upward. Each line may either be
solid or broken (have a gap in the
center) and the total number of
combinations total sixty four. Solid lines
are considered masculine and Yang in
nature, while broken lines are feminine
or Yin in nature.
In invoking the I-Ching as an oracle,
various methods are used to decide
whether each of the six lines is yang
(solid) or yin (broken), perhaps the most
traditional method being the use of
yarrow stalks in a somewhat complex
method of dividing and re-dividing a
group of stalks to arrive at a
determination for each line. There are
many other methods as well, perhaps
the most popular being to throw three
coins and see how many come up
heads and how many tails. Two or more
heads make the line solid or yang, and
two or more tails make it broken or yin.
Regardless of methods, the result is to
perform the task six time and build up
from the bottom to the top six lines to
form a hexagram.
While the hexagrams are each made up
of six lines, some of these lines can be
what are called “moving‟ or „changing‟
lines. In other words, each of the six
lines may be static or moving. By
moving we mean that line is in the
process of changing into its opposite, as
in a yang (solid line) becomes a yin
(broken) line and vice versa. How are
these determined?
Using the coin method, if two out of the
three coins are heads, then the resulting
line is a static (unchanging) solid or
 A Brief History of the I-Ching
yang line. However, if all three coins are
heads, then the resulting solid or yang
line is moving or changing into its
opposite. The same is true for the yin or
broken lines.
Therefore, you have in some cases two
hexagrams to consider, the first
hexagram that was cast and a second
hexagram that results by changing any
moving line into its opposite. When
using the hexagrams as an oracle, it is
traditional to examine the first hexagram
as the response to your questions, and
then look at the second hexagram (if
there is one) as what will come of the
situation, that is: how it will change even
further. Keep in mind that some
hexagrams have no moving/changing
lines and there will be no second
hexagram. The first hexagram is all the
answer this is to the question.
As for displaying the hexagrams,
although there have been several ways
to display a hexagram (such as in a
circle, etc.), by far the most common
and traditional method is to arrange the
six lines staked one upon the other and
that is the method used here. Let‟s
recap and look toward how these lines
might be interpreted.
The Hexagram Lines
The hexagrams of the I-Ching are made
up of solid and broken lines, solid Yang
lines and broken Yin lines. The best clue
to what these two lines mean is their
simple physical shape.
The Yang or solid line is unbroken,
undifferentiated, and most of all: One.
And here “One” means the „all and
everything that is‟, the conscious and
unconscious considered as a unity.
The Yin or broken line is just that,
broken, differentiated, representing
duality, the “Two” in everything. These
are the essential building blocks of the I-
Ching, the One and the Two.
It is easy to understand what is meant
here by the “Two,” the familiar
experience of duality, the „me against
the world‟ kind of thing – self and other.
It may be more difficult to understand
the nature of the “One.” While the One
is undifferentiated, the concept of “One”
does not mean the „one‟ that results
when the two-distinction is dropped, that
is: when we stop isolating ourselves
from the rest of the world, and somehow
merge in „becoming one‟.
Instead, the concept of “One” (as
regards the I-Ching) means the “The
One and the Two” together, that is: the
whole enchilada, including universal
oneness and also any duality or two-
ness, while the concept of “Two” means
duality as we know it, as in the self and
other. This is a key concept that must be
understood in order for the oracle to
make sense. Let me repeat it.
Our common idea of the one and the
two is that when we consider the „one,”
we are talking about the “two” losing it‟s
„dividedness” and becoming one, as in
the popular playing with words to the
point that “alone” (two) becomes „All
One‟ (one). This is NOT what is being
presented here. Instead, in I-Ching
analysis, the „two‟ is divided or contains
(for example) the Self and the Other, as
we all understand it, but the „one‟ here
means containing both the concept of
“Self and Other – the (Two) and the
“unity (One) AND the „Self and the Other
(Two)‟.
In other words, the solid or yang (solid)
line contains all and everything in a
static and unchanging state, while the
yin (broken) line indicates the activity
 A Brief History of the I-Ching

that occurs when the yang line divides So the first bi-gram combination
and becomes two, becomes active. indicates the motion from stillness in
Yang is unchanging; yin is change. That stability to movement or change.
is the concept. Now let‟s look at the Stillness turns into change. Something
combinations of the yang and yin lines. is coming or arising.
The Four Bi-Grams Bi-Gram #2 Yin-Yin
The Yang or solid line and the Yin or --- ---
broken line can be combined in only four --- ---
ways. The Chinese place the Yang and
Yin lines one on top of the other, always
reading from the bottom line, never the Here we have pure activity, pure
top. change. Things are in total flux, motion.
Traditionally, when looking at the four bi- Bi-Gram #3 Yin-Yang
grams, the yang line is placed on the
bottom, with the yin line on top, as -------
shown below. --- ---
--- --- Activity coming to rest
-------
We need to be able to read these Bi-Gram #4 Yang-Yang
bigrams, so let‟s begin. The yang or
solid line represents pure potential, -------
everything in whatever balance the -------
cosmos can afford – an enclosed
Pure rest or potential
system. The yin or broken line always
indicates movement or change – activity
and motion. The Eight Trigrams
Since these four bi-grams circle or Trigram: Tui
cycle, we could examine them in any
order. However, regardless of which --- ---
bigram we might begin with, the order of -------
sequencing from that point forward is
not arbitrary, but very strict. Let‟s start -------
with the most traditional pair, the bigram Here we see that this trigram consists of
with one solid line in the first position, on bigram #1 arising from bigram #4.
top of which is one broken line, the Yin
The trigram Tui is change or activity
on top of the Yang. Remember, that the
slowly emerging from potential. Spring,
Chinese read these lines from the
arising. “Awakening”
bottom upward.
Trigram: Chen
Bi-Gram #1 Yang-Yin
--- ---
--- ---
--- ---
-------
 A Brief History of the I-Ching

------- Moving from bigram #3 through bigram

Here we see that this trigram consists of
bigram #2 arising from bigram #1.
Chen suggests great activity from now
dwindling potential. Energy to
overflowing. “Blossoming”
Trigram: Kun
--- ---
#4 on to bigram #1, we have the trigram
Ch‟ien, pure potential. Inactive.
This leaves two final trigrams that do not
follow this cyclic progression, and to
many writers these two trigrams are the
key trigrams to the whole series, what
we might call the „archetypes of
change‟.

--- ---
--- --- Trigram: Kan

Kun, pure activity --- ---

Trigram: Ken -------

------- --- ---

--- --- One trigram has a single solid or Yang

line enclosed between two Yin or broken
--- --- lines.
Here we see that this trigram consists of Kan - brief stillness in a sea of activity.
bigram #3 arising from bigram #2. “An island.”
Ken, activity beginning to wane. First Trigram: Li
signs of waning activity. “Activity
Actively Becoming Stillness.” Seeking -------
peace. --- ---
Trigram: Sun -------
------- The other has a single Yin or broken line
------- enclosed between two Yang or solid
lines.
--- ---
Li - A brief flurry of activity. “A Gap”
Here we see that this trigram consists of
bigram #4 arising from bigram #3. The Trigrams

Sun - activity slowing to a creep, going The male (undivided line) is the
to potential. Hardening off, solidifying. observer, taking things in with the eye
“Naturally Becoming Still” and the mind, embracing; the female
(divided line) is the observed, the object
Stillness overtaking activity. or one in the flow of things, participating,
Trigram: Ch’ien not observing. Think of the yin or female
as the „action‟, what is happening and
------- the yang or male as the stationary
------- observer.
-------
 A Brief History of the I-Ching

These eight trigrams represent all of the
various ways that the four bigrams (the
four stages of activity) can be combined
to form groups of three.
The Three Lines
Each trigram consists of three lines,
which are read from the bottom upward.
The first or bottom line represents the
basis or starting value or concept.
Take time to be present hold the
question you have clearly in mind before
invoking the oracle. And trust the oracle.
If you don‟t get the answer you had in
mind, at least you have learned what
you did have in mind, your own bias.
Rather than click and click on the oracle
till you get what you hoped for, why
bother with the I-Ching at all? If you do
use the oracle, learn to trust it.

The second or middle line points out the

kind of change, the movement from one Michael@Erlewine.net
state or stage to another.
The third or top line represents the final
stage or outcome, what the transition
results in.
There you have brief introduction to the
lines, the trigrams, and how they can
work together. Don‟t expect to just get it
all at once. There is a reason scholars
have for thousands of years tried to
understand the I-Ching in all its
simplicity. The simplest things are
always the hardest to understand, which
is why most of us are confused by a
simple switch or binary statement. Is it
“On‟ or is it “Off‟? If it is “„On,” then what
is “Off,” and so on, or as Paul Simon
wrote, the „nearer your destination, the
more you‟re slip-slidin‟ away.” When we
get close to very simple truths, they
change or flip as you try to grasp them.
The I-Ching is no exception, as it may
be the most compact piece of logic you
or I may ever encounter, very difficult to
grasp with the mind, but if the mind can
but relax, the I-Ching displays the very
nature of the mind itself.
And last but not least, take your time to
form the questions. As Shakespeare
wrote in one of his sonnets:
“You are no more yourself than you now
here live.”