In the 'Ten Wings', a series of ten commentaries on the I Ching and often credited (probably falsly) to the hand of Confusius, there is one wing which writes only about hexagrams 1 and 2 (wing seven "The Commentary on the Words of the Text (Wen Yen)), stating that all the others are derived from these. The general consensus amongst the various sources is that this is all that remains of the 'full' wing which would comment about the rest of the hexagrams. But maybe this is not the case. Since hexagrams 1 and 2 are the only pure hexagrams, pure yin and pure yang, if we then treat these two as a special case and the rest of the hexagrams as the manifestation of the interaction of yin/yang, then we can group the remaining 62 in order.
A result of doing this is that, using the complementary concept, where a hexagram on the left side in some way complements a hexagram on the right side, we find some interesting semantic pairings (I have also included the link to the hexagram details for you to read the meanings linked to the chinese name for a hexagram - these are found in the hexagram page immediately following the hexagram diagram):
Hexagram 01 Giving,Powering Hexagram 02 Receiving
Hexagram 03 Difficult Beginnings Hexagram 64 Difficult Endings
Hexagram 04 Masking (Socialization) Hexagram 63 'Correct' Sequencing
(initial completion) (final completion)
Hexagram 05 Waiting, Serving Hexagram 62 Portraying,Acting,Pretend
(serve tradition)
Hexagram 06 Compromising Hexagram 61 Sympathizing
Hexagram 07 Uniforming Hexagram 60 Standardising
Hexagram 08 Uniting Hexagram 59 Dispelling
(Attracting) (Making things clear)
Hexagram 09 Small Gaining Hexagram 58 Self Reflecting
(Intenseness - also Bartering)
Hexagram 10 Treading (a path) Hexagram 57 Cultivating
Hexagram 11 Balancing Hexagram 56 Restrained Journeying
Hexagram 12 Neutralizing Hexagram 55 Overflowing
Hexagram 13 Grouping Hexagram 54 Wasting,Immaturing
Hexagram 14 Directing Hexagram 53 Maturing
Hexagram 15 Evening, Levelling Hexagram 52 Self Restraint
Hexagram 16 Foreseeing Hexagram 51 Enlightening
Hexagram 17 Believing Hexagram 50 Transforming
Hexagram 18 Correcting Hexagram 49 Unmasking
Hexagram 19 Approaching Hexagram 48 Founding
Hexagram 20 Contemplating Hexagram 47 Enforced Waiting
Hexagram 21 Problem Solving Hexagram 46 Ascending
Hexagram 22 Facading Hexagram 45 Honouring
Hexagram 23 Pruning, Cut back Hexagram 44 Seeding,Seducing
Hexagram 24 Returning,Come back Hexagram 43 Cuttings,Spread-Out
Hexagram 25 Non-Involving,Disentangling Hexagram 42 Refining,Augmenting
Hexagram 26 Social Restrain(hold firm) Hexagram 41 Concentrating
Hexagram 27 Hungering Hexagram 40 Relaxed Structuring
Hexagram 28 Exceeding Hexagram 39 Bypassing, Obstructing
Hexagram 29 Containing,Overcoming Hexagram 38 Mirroring, Opposing
Hexagram 30 Guiding Hexagram 37 Strict Ordering
Hexagram 31 Restrained Joining Hexagram 36 Uncompromising,Hiding
Hexagram 32 Commiting Hexagram 35 Progressing
Hexagram 33 Retreating, Tricking Hexagram 34 Inspiring
The point I am making is that the 'traditional' hexagram sequence may have started off as a map of similar influences on hexagrams with similar meanings and structures (e.g. 64 is the reverse of 03 with a line added, and both deal with difficulties. 63 is the reverse of 04 with a line added, and both deal with transformation; 04 at the start where one learns a social 'mask', 63 at the end where a process of transformation occurs; mask and body become one.) If we put the list in a numeric sequence from yang to yin, then the only number out of sequence is pure yin (02).
The most likely dichotomy here seems to emphasize begin/expand (yang) with end/contract (yin). Thus many of the pairings can be read as "you begin with X (left side hex) and you end with Y (right side hex)".
Another point is that the current sequence seems to reflect refinement where the first 'book' starts with the pure trigrams of yin and yang doubled as hexagrams of 1 and 2, and ends with the hexagrams 29 and 30; what may be called the pure mixed trigrams doubled; the former symbolize earth and heaven (air) and the latter fire and water. The second book begins with the social concepts (and therefore refined over the pure but raw yin/yang) of wooing and marriage (31,32) and end with the transformation hexagrams of 63 and 64. Of note is the fact that the books are imbalanced as far as hexagrams are concerned, 30 in book I and 34 in book II. This format is associated with two of the ten wings. These wings, 1 and 2 are combined and called the "Commentry on the Judegement" (T'uan Chuan).
As we see in the link "The Qabalah and the I Ching" the format is not restricted to China and there is the suggestion that there is a relationship between the two systems in that either the I Ching and the Qabalah have a common source, or, they symbolize the concept of refinement so well that they seem to be tied but infact have evolved seperately.
From this author's point of view, both the I Ching and the Qabalah as well as the Tarot and Astrology are manifestations of typologies created by humans and these typologies reflect an underlying template within the mind of humans.
The fact that a copy of the I Ching dating back to 168 BC was dug up in 1973 and found to have a different order to the 'traditional' sequence suggests that the traditional sequence is of later development and so the above comments about refinement suggest a possible tie-in with alchemy and Taoism, which puts a development path for the 'traditional' order ranging from 168 BC to 1100 AD.
As far as the ten wings are concerned they seemed to have been developed between 600 BC and 100 AD and it is in one of these that we find the Fu Hsi and King Wen arrangements. However, there is evidence to suggest that the world of thought arrangement did not exist until the Sung Dynasty when it was either discovered or created by one Ch'en T'uan (c906-989CE). This has ramifications as to the true content of the Shuo Kua wing prior to this time. (See "The Trigrams of Han" by S. Moore for details).
With regard to the refinement concepts, however, the traditional format of the I Ching together with the Fu Hsi sequence and the King Wen sequence combined with actual hexagram interpretations strongly suggest a modelling of paths of refinement and that this system existed PRIOR to the development of Confuscianism and Taoism (500BC). Since texts from 600 BC exist refering to the I Ching, and the Duke of Chou, the originator of the line comments, existed circa 1000 BC, the I Ching as we know it was probably in a usable form around 800BC.
I have shown in the first part of this link the emergent character of a binary tree resulting from the simple application of a dichotomy. This suggests that, for each step that is predictable, a specific state is mapped. Experience over time would enable the development of a system of prediction as well as a system of analysis of the past. If we treat the individual as having a future time cone and a past time cone, then the binary tree extends from the individual both forwards and backwards:
\------------/
\ / Future
\ /
\ /
\ /
\ /
\/
(ME)
/\
/ \
/ \
/ \
/ \ Past
/ \
/------------\
Using the yin/yang symbols, we develop a tree system forwards and have a tree behind. The tree behind is analysed top-down, and the tree forward is created bottom-up. The number of levels that we decide to use is immaterial, although the I Ching system suggests that six is deep enough. At any moment in time we are at the end of, at the beginning of, and in the middle of a hexagram. The determination of current position is based on past contexts, and tried-and-true paths can strongly influence descision making. Furthermore, this is not a serial system, we can have many trees operating at the same time within different timeframes. The 'meanings' of this information can be strongly subjective but there is also a level objectivity in that common psychological states can be mapped to a system that is applied sociologically.
In the creation of typologies, an initial observation, in the form of a dichotomy, can be written down and, as such, becomes timeless (all x are y or z). This form can now be used as feedback for the creation of another dichotomy based on a finer level of observation (all x are a or b). By this process we build a typology, the whole of which is now applied at one timeframe (you are this type) even though it needed a number of timeframes to develop. This shows the oscillation between temporal and non-temporal states within development, and the feedingback of data to help create more data. The temporal componant is the derivation of the single dichotomy which upon expression is added to the developing hierarchy that becomes the 'whole' typology.
What determines the 'completeness' of a typology is, I suggest, it's usefulness. The Myers-Briggs Type Indicator is founded on four dichotomies and is useful for determining the sociological aspects of behaviour. Fewer dichotomies make it too general and increased dichotomies make it too specific, and therefore too personal; there is a 'window' where the system works when applied to individuals within a group.
As far as the I Ching is concerned, it's level of completeness is set at sixty-four hexagrams. What is of interest is that, when we compare the I Ching and the MBTIŽ, as we can do since they are based on dichotomies and can be layed-out on a binary tree, we find that the words used to describe specific states share common themes within identical positions. What this implies is that the binary tree manifests a form of template that has PRECISE meanings for all positions, irrespective of actual content. This is an emergent property and it's presence only becomes obvious after analysis, it is not a 'known' level of consciousness; the tree more of a template.