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Work #1193 · Early

The Book of Changes (Yi Jing)

Anonymous (traditionally Fu Xi for hexagrams; King Wen and Duke of Zhou for line-statements; Confucius for the Ten Wings commentaries)
Hexagrams: legendary, pre-1000 BCE; line-statements: c. 1000-750 BCE; Ten Wings commentaries: c. 500-100 BCE · Classical Chinese
Divinatory-philosophical text / Hexagram-commentary system · Confucianism / Chinese classical canon / Chinese divination

Confucian classic — divinatory-philosophical text of 64 hexagrams; fifth of the Five Classics

Attribute Fingerprint

Rows where works disagree are highlighted in gold. The full ontology grid is shown.

Attribute The Book of Changes (Yi Jing) (Early)
Time · Extent Infinite
Time · Ontological Status Relational
Time · Grain Continuous
Time · Freedom Non-Deterministic
Time · Traversability Non-Linear
Time · Dimensionality One
Time · Direction Bi-directional
Space · Extent Infinite
Space · Ontological Status Relational
Space · Curvature Flat
Space · Dimensionality Three
Space · Locality Non-Local
Matter · Extent Infinite
Matter · Ontological Status Relational
Matter · Conservation Conserved
Matter · Dimensionality Three
Matter · Locality Non-Local
Observer · Time Instance Single
Observer · Space Instance Single
Observer · Knowledge Extent Partial
Observer · Knowledge Retainment Total
Observer · Physicality Embodied
Observer · Agency Active
Observer · Number Plural
Observer · Metaphysical Agency Impersonal
Observer · Moral Authority Tradition
Observer · Theological Method
Energy · Extent Infinite
Energy · Ontological Status Substantival
Energy · Conservation Conserved
Energy · Dispersibility Reversible
Information · Ontological Status Substantival
Information · Cosmic Conservation Conserved
Information · Personal Conservation Conserved
Information · Granularity Discrete

Dimension-by-Dimension Evidence

What each work's passages reveal about its stance on each of the six dimensions.

Time

The Book of Changes (Yi Jing)

The multi-millennium arc from legendary origins through Han canonisation to contemporary reception.

Space

The Book of Changes (Yi Jing)

The Chinese imperial-philosophical setting; the modern global reception.

Matter

The Book of Changes (Yi Jing)

The embodied diviner-philosopher whose practice the text assists.

Observer

The Book of Changes (Yi Jing)

The diviner-philosopher as proper participant-observer of changes.

Energy

The Book of Changes (Yi Jing)

The yin-yang energies of cosmic change.

Information

The Book of Changes (Yi Jing)

The 64-hexagram content as paradigm informational-philosophical structure.

Internal Tensions

Where each work's argument pulls against itself.

The Book of Changes (Yi Jing)

The Yi Jing has been variously assessed — universally canonical within Chinese tradition, variously received in the modern West (Jungian-analytical interpretation alongside more sceptical philosophical assessments). Recent Mawangdui-manuscript discoveries have altered scholarly understanding of textual history.