Understanding the I Ching

An illuminating introduction to the ancient classic of Chinese divination—the must-have companion to the bestselling Wilhelm-Baynes translation of the I Ching, or Book of Changes

The West’s foremost translator of the I Ching, Richard Wilhelm thought deeply about how contemporary readers could benefit from this ancient work and its perennial insights into change and chance. For him and his son, Hellmut Wilhelm, the Book of Changes represented not just a mysterious book of oracles or a notable source of the Taoist and Confucian philosophies. In their hands, it emerges, as it did for C. G. Jung, as a vital key to humanity’s collective unconscious. Understanding the I Ching bring the observations and insights of the Wilhelms together in a single volume. This invaluable book is the essential introduction to the I Ching and the meaning of its hexagrams.