Yi-Jing is also called “The Book of Changes” or “I-Ching,” depending on the area and translation. It is one of the most ancient books in Chinese literature. The book has influenced almost evey aspect in Chinese culture, specifically the time before Cultural Revolution, which is one of the disastrous tragedies in Chinese history.
There are many sayings about how the book got its name. The first common way is based on its text. The word “易” (the sound is “Yi", fourth tone) in Chinese means “changes,” which is a picture word composed by other two picture words, the sun “日" and the moon “月." It depicts the daily astronomical change between the sun and the moon. This saying is well accepted since the book is more like a formula to describe the nature through ancient Chinese people’s observation. The other saying is less recognized but still exists. It is said the word “易" actually came form the word "蜴," which shares the same pronunciation with “易" but represents as lizard. Lizard can change its color to adapt the environment, which gives a vivid analogy to the concept of the book, the Book of Changes.
There are three main major concepts that are included in Yi-Jing: (1) never changing, (2) always changing, and (3) changing to simplify. Textually, Yi-Jing is composed of sixty four hexagrams (also known as sixty four gua), which are the permutation of the eight…
