Zhou Yi, also known as Yi Jing, or I Ching, The Book of Changes, is an important Confucian classic. It contains two parts, Jing, the main text, and Zhuan, the appendix. The main text Jing has 64 hexagrams, which in total comprise 384 Yao lines. Each hexagram and Yao line has its own explanatory notes.

 The book was written by the legendary emperor Fu Xi, who observed the orbits of the sun, the moon and the stars, the mountain ranges and river flows, and analysed the patterns on the fur and feather of animals and birds, to create eight symbols () corresponding to heaven, earth, thunder, wind, water, fire, mountain and marsh respectively. These eight symbols were later referred to as the Eight Trigrams. According to legend, King Wen of the Western Zhou Dynasty arranged these trigrams in a certain layout, and created the 64 hexagrams. Modern studies show that The Book of Changes may have originated in the early Western Zhou Dynasty. It was originally used for divination purposes, for example, to consult on future changes of nature and society for decision-making. The appendix Zhuan is an elaboration of the Jing, and the author was purported to be Confucius. In the Zhuan, Confucius said, “Zhou Yi is the result of ancient sages’ observation and imitation of the world and the natural environment. It reveals the natural law of changes of Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang, It also embodies profound philosophy of life.”

The ancient Chinese, with lengthy practices in life, established a knowledge system to examine and analyse the world. The core of the system is Yin and Yang, and the Five Elements.

The ancient Chinese believed that there are two forces in the universe: one is Yang, and the other is Yin. We can see that there are always two opposing sides of all things in the world. For example, Yang and Yin, the sun and the moon, the day and the night, the male and the female, the positive and the negative, cold and hot, summer and winter, the king and the ministers, up and down, etc. the wise people of the past analysed and formed the concept of Yin and Yang, to explain the two forces that are contradicting each other and at the same time, enhancing each other. Such forces are found in the nature, and also in the human society. With the working of the two forces, the universe becomes lively with power, which drives the development of all things in the universe. The Zhuan says, “The Dao consists of a Yin and a Yang.” This contradiction and opposition of Yin and Yang, and the transformation between the two, are regarded the fundamental law of the universe.

The Five Elements, gold, wood, water, fire and earth, are the basic elementswhich build up the world, according to the ancient Chinese philosophers.Theancient Chinese people used the Five Elements to explain the origin of all things in the world, because they hadobserved that even though there were many kinds of things in the world, there were only five basic clements and the many kinds of things in the diversified world had a lot in common. The word “Element” in Chinese is行 (xing), which means movement. It contains a very important concept that all things are interconnected, and are subject to change and transformation. The concept of the Five Elements was further developed to be connected to the Five Orientations (east, west, south, north, and middle), the Five Colors (green, red, white, black, and yellow), the Five Organs liver, lung, kidney, spleen, and hear), and the FiveConstant Virtues (benevolence, justice, rites, wisdom, and trust).

By the Warring States Period, the theorics of the Five Elements and Yin and Yang, two very important conceptsin Chinese culture, had been combined to illustrate the changes of all things in the universe. In such a worldview, the world is holistic,established with the Five Elements, with Yin and Yang as the driving force of change.

Through the medium, namely the Five Elements and Yin and Yang, resonance could be established among Heaven, Earth and Man. And the concepts of the Resonance between Heaven and Man and the Oneness of Heaven and Man had been established.

Initially, it was emphasised that the Dao of Heaven was connected with the Dao of Man. The phenomena of nature had been linked with the activities of man, and created a strong mystical sense. Today, when we talk about the Resonance between Heaven and Man and the Oneness of Heaven and Man, we emphasize the importance of connectedness and relevance in the Chinese way of thinking. The Chinese attach great importance to the connectedness and relevancc among the things in the nature and among the people, and also between the people and the nature. Chinese culture regards the world as a “network of relations” in which nothing is an isolated individual.

According to the concept of the Onencss of Heaven and Man, man is a part of the universe, and is also a part of all things. The relationship between man and nature is not the relationship between transforming and being transformed. The ultimate goal of man's own development, and man's transforming of nature, is toachicve harmony of the entire world so that all things (human beings included) have their own place.

Cultural Notes

The Yao lines, the Trigrams and the Hexagrams

A Yao fine is the basic line which forms a trigram. There are the odd (unbroken) Yao line, a long horizontal line (), also known as Yang Yao, and the even (broken) Yao line, a line broken into two (), also known as Yin Yao.

A trigram consists of three Yao lines and a hexagram, six.

The combinations of the 8 trigrams make the 64 hexagrams. A hexagram is made up of the upper half (also called the outer trigram) and the lower half (also called the inner trigram). For example, the “Fu” hexagram () consists of the trigram “Kun” () in the upper half and the trigram “Zhen” () in the lower half.