I Ching by Kerson Huang (PDF)

Description

For three thousand years, people have sought personal insight and a window on the future from the I Ching, or the Book of Changes, the classic Chinese oracle and book of wisdom. Drawing on archeological findings, previously published only in Chinese, indicating how the I Ching was actually used by those who created it, and motivated by a lifetime of personal use and fascination, Kerson Huang has created a new translation of great significance. Restoring the I Ching to its original form, Huang underscores its first use as a practical oracle by Chinese farmers. His translation beautifully preserves the starkly poetic voice of the original, while his comments clearly and simply explain the images and detail the historical references buried within the verse. Huang reveals the I Ching as an epic poem equivalent to The Iliad and The Odyssey–one hexagram recalls the dethroning of Feng Feng; a series of lines portray Wang Hai, one of the three High Ancestors of the Shang dynasty; a third contains a sage proclamation of Lord Tang. Each hexagram and its corresponding interpretation is presented on a two-page spread, making this version unusually easy to use and understand. Introductory chapters detail the evolution of the I Ching, from the philosophical reinterpretations of Confucius to the modern musings of Carl Jung, and clearly explain both the coin method and yarrow-stalk method for consulting the oracle. Over 55,000 copies in print.

User’s Reviews

Editorial Reviews: From the Back Cover Three thousand years ago, the I Ching was created as a simple oracle, consulted by farmers and kings alike. Now, stripping away more than two millenia of interpretive distortion and dogma superimposed on the text by successive generations of scholars, world-renowned physicist Kerson Huang and his wife Rosemary have succeeded in restoring the book to its original form. In this important new translation, the Huangs reveal the stark poetry of the authentic I Ching, reconstruct the numerous historical tales that were once an essential element of the text, and present the hexagrams and their judgements clearly and concisely. Most importantly, they allow the ancient classic to serve its intended purpose as a practical handbook for divination. A professor of particle physics at MIT, Kerson Huang has been consulting the I Ching since his childhood in Canton. He brings to this work both a unique ability to bridge the cultures of East and West, and the fascinating perspective of the scientific mind confronting the great mysteries of the human soul. “Rosemary and Kerson Huang, poet and physicist-poet, have made a superb translation and appreciation of the bone-old book.” -Phillip Morrison, author of Powers of Ten About the Author Rosemary Huang has consulted the I Ching regularly and pursued her translation through years of research.Kerson Huang, Ph.D., grew up in Canton, China and is currently a professor of physics at MIT. He and his wife Rosemary have consulted the I Ching regularly and pursued their translation through years of research.

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐I purchased a used copy and was fortunate to receive the insert with the corrected trigrams in the top row. Hope this helps anyone with the older edition.

⭐The Problem with the I Ching is that you can’t tell which version to buy without reading the actual text from the book, which you can not do over the computer. You actually need to go to a physical store and compare the different translations of the I-Ching and see which version suits you best, BUT THIS VERSION IS THE BEST. Its the one I bought after going to the store and reading and comparing the other versions.The text is so much more readable and understandable than the other versions of the I-Ching they sell. It at times seems like someone who knows what you are doing is talking to you when you ask a question and then read the text from this book. Its not a jumble of confusion like the other versions. That is what made me buy the book.Other versions of the I- Ching have lines that can not be understood, and didn’t seem to realate to the question i asked. Every line of text in this book is clear to read, understand and I could usually just read the sentences and know how they related to the question I asked. That is not always true with the I ching. When the sentences in the other I-ching books don’t make sense you have to figure them out before you can even apply them to your question. That does not happen with this book. It reads like someone is “talking” to you. The sentences just make sense.Also, there is a very easy to undersand chart in the back of the book on how to form a hexagram some books leave this out or the chart is difficult to understand. In summary this book makes the I- Ching understandable.

⭐This version is the most “authentic” one out there. For a scholarly reading there’s really no other choice. Heck, for any non superstitious reading this is the best choice. Even if you’re into woo spirituality nonsense this is the best book. It’s completely stripped of all the accreted nonsense that has been attached over the years. All the other translations are garbage.If you want the REAL I Ching, this is it.There is no other choice.It doesn’t have the confucian ten wings commentary so you’ll have to think for yourself… but trust me. It’s better that way.

⭐This translation of the I Ching presents a starkly beautiful, poetic explanation of the hexagrams. I got more insight in the few hours of work I did with this book in two months of previous research. The book also contains a fairly indepth summary of the I Chings history. This section is enjoyable in its own right, and helps to clear up some of the more ponderous references contained in the oracle. For instance, the allusion to drinking a cup of wine as a penalty refers to a game. There are many such little bits of cultural history woven into the translation. The section on physics and the I Ching is interesting, though a bit dry. In context, however, this brings more life to the book. It helps ground the oracle in the present day while looking toward the ancient origins of this facsinating oracle. I highly reccomend this translation.

⭐I’ll begin by saying that dealing with the seller was entirely satisfactory. The book itself, Kerson Huang’s translation of the I Ching, is a flawed effort. Huang’s long introductory chapters are engaging, literate, and informative. The actual body of the text is so spare, so lean, that there is little left to trigger the reader’s own intuitive faculties. Huang’s version of the I Ching strips away all of the Confucian commentaries and narratives, which is his goal. What is left is really not functional as a book of divination.I would recommend Huang’s introductory material highly, and for this reason I do not regret the purchase. When it comes to practical divination, it will be necessary to look to other translations with more flesh on the bone.

⭐I was completely ill-informed by what this is. It’s not like the I Ching I’m used to. The reviews sounded good but this is not anything like what I thought. Buyer beware

⭐From little boy in China Kerson Huang learnt the I Ching; his father used it as is custom in China. He have mastered keepin’ the translation down to the authentical basic and yet he gives easy understandable hints in how to relate to it. Ekcelent !

⭐I bought this based on reviews thinking it would be a bit easier to work with than my old The I Ching, or, Book of Changes by Wilhelm and Baynes but after comparing the two I feel that latter is much better as for each hexagram it paints a picture giving deeper insight. Huang’s version also had some line interpretations that were just way off.

⭐This is a valuable translation/interpretation which is stripped of all the Confucian baggage that the original has attracted. It is probably closer to the original than other versions, and I was intrigued that it was written by a Professor of Physics and his wife, a poet. This partnership has revealed the stark poetic form of the original. There are some 70 pages of history, guidance, and explanations of the basics, followed by the translation of the text. And yes, it is stark and none the worse for that.This is a version more suited to those who have been studying the Yi for some time, and who will appreciate the power of the short, sharp Commentaries, Judgements and Yao.I like it.

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