My confession to make as a bagua stylist is that I’ve never read through the I ching or even really pondered it. I have absolutely no idea how the triagrams relate to bagua or any of that.
Now with all these I ching and triagram discussions, I feel left out. Plus, I’d just like to read the damn thing. Tai chi introduced me to the Tao te Ching, and I really feel like the tao te ching affected my life.
So…Can anyone recommend or warn against certain translations and editions of the I ching?
Mr. Nemo, this version is a good start:
“The I-Ching - Or Book Of Changes - A Guide to Life’s Turning Points”
Author - Brian Browne Walker
Publisher- St. Martins Press
ISBN 0-312-09828-6
Mr. Nemo:
After going through a number of Yi Jing books, I think the best place to start is with:
Ta Chuan (The Great Treatise) by Stephen Kartcher (check the spelling–he has a bunch of stuff but you can get this at Border’s—close to Daoist perspective)
Alfred Huang’s Yi Jing book has served me the best. He has the original character writings along with cultural explanations of what things met during the early (BC) times. For example, you might read a passage about marrying maidens and he explains how the ritual took place during that time and what the symbols actually stood for.
There is another guy out of the University of Hawaii Press with the closest translations to the daoist perspective. I have not found it yet but will probably order it soon.
As far as martial arts goes, I do not know of any direct translations to Bagua Zhang. You might check with the Count to see where he got his diagram (posted on his website).
Made it myself
based on our bagua chi kung,
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i still like the original Richard Wilhelm translation, i think that it is pretty straightforward and not too pretentious as far as the whole “oriental mysticism” aspect which one usually sees attached to these kinds of books.
Translations
Richard Whilhelms’s stuff is “..somewhat truncated..”, just look at his half translated “Secret of the Golden Flower”. I know this sounds very biased but in my opinion Thomas Cleary is the man for definitive translations. He is very experienced in the fields he talks about and seems to elucidate the profoundity of the areas he engages with.
I love it.
Count,
Don’t take this wrong, but you just gave me a much needed laugh. I was checking out your diagram when I noticed of the animals was translated as “Big Bird”. For some reason it through me into fits. Too bad I’m not making it to LA.
Thanks,
Daniel
The Study of I Ching
IMHO, reading the translations of the IC as background knowledge is fine but is a very limited knowledge. In fact reading the notes and articles, which were written or organized by King Wen and Confucius only provides a facade of the capability of the IC.
The I Ching study helps to develop a few things:
Logical skills: such as categorizing things and events, organizing them and put them in order, fussy logic, functional logistics, etc…
Learn the universal langauge of mathematics.
Drafting and graphing thoughts. i.e. Landscaping time wave - Time Wave theories.
Learning and develop thought patterns such as partical, linear, 2 Dimensional, 3 Dimensional, relativitic (space/time), etc…
Understanding the nature of time and manipulate it. i.e. Divination( I will explain this in the follow paragraph.)
Although the classical notes have great wisdoms that is trans generations and quite universal, it is largely built upon an agrcultural based economy. A society that most of us couldn’t really relate. Reading them and trying to figure out the “secret” is like panning for gold by a running river. Intensive labour for not that great a reward. For example, cross the river is one event that always comes up. Today, we will think what’s the big deal? In the early people’s society, they were sort of hunter/getheror and may be some farming, and rivers were unpredictable (flooding which is still a problem in many countries today). Finding a better position to live a better live is an important event. If we look at the translations and not going deep into it, then it’s no more than some words. How a person approach this event is also I Ching at work. Partical thinking person will say easy just swim across it. Linear thinking person will say I will use tools (boat), which involve logistics already. 2D thinking person will find the best way to build a boat, find the best loction to cross, and perhaps taking goods and people across (becoming scientific about it). 3D thinking person ask the W5 questions. Relativitic thinking leads people (the whole tribe or country) to solve the problem at the root, i.e. strategicly relocate and use engineering skill to capitalize the forces of nature. The river crossing operation is not much different with a space campagn. Both mystics of the pass and the scientist of present tries to made the best “educated guess” to manipulate time (the future). If they are sucessful they MAKE history (not that you and I can’t)! In a way, failure makes history as well. 
Colonializing space and crossing the river are some food for thoughts. Remeber the Matrix the movie? Orcale only tells you what you want to hear and it’s for your ears only.
Mantis108
Contraria Sunt Complementa
Thanks for the replies everyone. I’m looking forward to reading and trying to figure out this thing.
“Big bird” is sometimes translated as “pheonix.” I agree, “big bird” is much less bada$$-sounding.
mantis 108..
Excellent!
Lung Men Taoists
It seems logical to me that Ba Gua practitioners would want to read the version of the I Ching that Tung Hai Chuan most likely would have been exposed to.
Thomas Cleary has a translation of the Lung Men I Ching published. It is like Taoist Classics Volume 4 or somthing like that.
It’s a good text, but it hasn’t helped my circling much…
Just Bum this up
Just Bumming
Mantis108
Contraria Sunt Complementa
I Ching book
I just found an I Ching book by Jou Tsung-Hwa. As I recall he was the gentleman who teaches e-mei bagua. I started to read it, but I’m recovering from accidentally eating a hash brown. I can’t stand pot or hash, and it knocked me off my ass. I still feel crappy.
It looked good though.
Merciless is Mercy.