The literal meaning of the chinese words "I Ching"(Yee Jing) is "Change Book". This is interpreted as "The Book of Changes". It is supposed to have originated in the "Chou I"(Jou Yee), "The Changes of Chou". This text bears it's name as a mark of it's period of origin, the Chou Dynasty (circa 1100BCE).
The Book of Changes deals with the concept of process since every change is founded in process. We could, infact, change the title to "The Book of Ings", for in the English language, all change can be encapsulated using a word ending in 'ing'.
Part of chinese mysticism suggests that 'all that exists' is associated with the term T'ai Chi. T'ai Chi translates as "Great Breath" and has its roots in the term T'ai I, "Great Change". T'ai I is supposed to be derived from the concept of Wu Chi, "Devoid of Breath" or "Breathless". The latter concept is generalized to mean "The Infinite", so that we can create "From the infinite came a change/breath".
T'ai Chi therefore symbolizes both form and process; it is the ideal (the one), and all it's manifestations, accentuated from the many (Wu Chi).Traditionally, T'ai Chi breaks down into it's two fundamental, and thus pure, elements, yin and yang. Yin and yang symbolize process. Process has two aspects, contraction, called yin, and expansion, called yang. Since these are fundamental, and bias, states, the return to the whole requires that the yin aspects and the yang aspects blend. In a literal sense, if T'ai Chi symbolizes "Great Breath" then yin/yang symbolize the processes of breathing in and breathing out which make up the overall concept of breathing. In a more refined sense there is an analogy here with processing of information in the human brain.
Much of this is analogous to levels of consciousness. Within all of us is "All that one knows". This pool contains both conscious and unconscious knowledge. We are never aware of this until we wish to communicate, either within ourselves or to others. The pool corresponds to Wu Chi. An attempt to communicate causes part of the pool to become emphasized (T'ai Chi). This 'object' is then serialized and sent out as a sequence of signals (process - yin/yang). In reverse, signals are received(process) that 'create' an object(form). Once fully created, this sinks into, is added to, the pool.
The process of process can also be called refining; the process of
refinement.
The process of refinement can also be called the path of
refinement.
Inherent in this is the concept of "Tao"(Dao), translated as "Way"(or "Path"). This is found in the well known text The Tao Te Ching(Dao Dir Jing), "Way Virtue(Power) Book" or, "The Book of the Way of Virtue(Power)". Confucius is quoted as saying:
"He has not lived in vain who dies the day he is told about the Way" (Book 4, section 8, The Analects).
The I Ching existed before Lao Tsu's Tao Te Ching (500BCE). The I Ching existed before the Analects (Lun yu) of Confucius(500BCE). (Confucius is supposed to have met Lao Tsu in 517BCE). The I Ching is supposed to have influenced both.
The Tao Te Ching helped to develop the philosophy/religion of Taoism. The Analects helped to develop the philosophy/religion of Confucianism.
The 'bible' of the former is The Analects (Lun yu) and following the "Records of Rites" (Li Chi). The bible of the latter is the "Tao Tsang", all 1120 Volumes. An accumulation of various texts over 1500 years.
The religion of Taoism was formed from four sources, Lao Tsu's Tao Te Ching, the 'science' of Alchemy, and the concepts of longevity and immortality, which included both the concept of the five elements, and the search for a magical land from whence one could acquire a source of eternal life.
Behind BOTH philosophy/religions is the I Ching, and behind all is the concept of refinement.
To refine something means to either create something from 'raw' materials, or to improve something that already exists. This implies a development from many (raw materials) to one. We can symbolize this using a pyramid:
- (Refined, corrupted)
---
-----
-------
---------
------------- (Raw, Pure)
The use of the term 'corrupted' together with the term 'refined' manifest the dual nature of a refined product. The product, when compare to the pure, but raw, materials is a corruption of these materials, these materials are within the refined form and therefore not in their 'natural' state. For example, an electron and a proton are the raw materials of atoms. Atoms are therefore the refined, but corrupted, forms of protons and electrons, but when considered in the context of molecules, atoms are the raw, and pure, materials.
An upside down pyramid can be used to symbolize both a breaking down of the refined to the pure, as well as the enhancement of that that already exists.:
------------- (Refined) (Enhanced state - high value)
---------
-------
-----
---
- (Pure) (Simple state - low value)
It is easier, however, to combine these into the traditional pyramid shape with the intension noted:
- (Refined, corrupted) OR (Pure)
---
-----
-------
---------
------------- (Raw, Pure) OR (Refined)
Simply changing one's perspective enables this symbolism.
The path of development is from the bottom to the top, and can by
symbolized by equal periods of structural time:
--------- End
--------- Beginning of End
--------- End of Middle
--------- Beginning of Middle
--------- End of beginning
--------- Begin
What is meant by structural time is that each level of refinement requires a time period to develop with a set beginning , middle, and end, even though the actual time required may be different for each level.
The pyramid symbolizes the structural aspect of refinement. The ladder symbolizes the temporal aspect of refinement.
In the pyramid, since the top position is the end product, and the other positions the parts that went into the product's creation, the whole structure manifests wholeness (T'ai Chi). Each level has it's requirements from the previous level together with processing time to advance upwards. We therefore have a relationship between the structural and temporal:
--------- +-+ - L6 (Refined, corrupted) OR (Pure)
--------- ^ | -^- L5
--------- | V --|-- L4
--------- ^ | ---|--- L3
--------- | +-----> ----|---- L2
--------- +---<-- ------|------ Level1 (Raw, Pure) OR (Refined)
(L1 to L2 etc)
All processing is considered to be within the scope of the yin/yang concept (temporal aspect). Therefore, in the temporal symbol, these biases can be manifest by a simple method of using a broken line to symbolize yin and an unbroken line to symbolize yang:
---------
--- ---
--- ---
---------
---------
--- ---
Implied in this is that, starting at the bottom, the process works on that which is supplied and produces a processed (or 'pure') substance at the top. This symbol can therefore be used to symbolize BOTH the procedural and structural elements. What is implied is the proportionality element. (This was easily seen in the pyramid structure as each line became shorter. Here, the line position has both structure and temporalness in it.). In this case, this symbol of six lines is called a hexagram. A symbol of two lines is a digram, a symbol of three lines is a trigram, and so forth.
When a top level of refinement is reached, the completed form can also become the raw material for another level of refinement. In fact, each level of the pyramid can contain it's own pyramid symbolizing sub-levels of refinement.
Continue with More Refinements - Trigrams and Hexagrams