Glossar

The Tàijí symbol shows how Yin and Yang blend into each other: when Yang reaches its greatest abundance it already contains the seed of Yin – and vice versa. Any human action should ultimately aim at (re)establishing of the balance of Yin and Yang.

see Dao. Dao is traditionally referred to as “the path”.

see Daoism

Traditional Chinese Medicine; originated in the 1st millennium BC and is still practiced worldwide. Therapeutic methods include Chinese drug therapy, acupuncture and moxibustion.

Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_medicine

Virtue. Central notion of the traditional interpretation of the I Ching. Meaning: inner strength, inner voice that reconnects man with his own inner being, helping him to walk the right path (Dao). Further names for te in the classical interpretations: virtue, inner qualities, spirit, character.

Oral transmission of the Dharma in lecture form. Cf. Deshimaru 1991, 144

The “Ten Wings” (also known as the “Commentaries”) are a part of the Textus receptus and were conceived from about 200 B.C. on. They consist of 10 text sections which, among other things, explain the hexagram names and texts, explain the symbolism of the trigrams and order of the hexagrams and include ethical-moral instructions and a philosophical-ethical interpretation. Especially the  9th Wing is attributed to Confucius and shows in which order the hexagrams follow each other.

The model Follow the Path of Dao distinguishes individual trigrams according to their qualitative dynamics. At the test points, Kan, the water, and Li, the fire, the focus abruptly shifts from self-relation to world-relation, or vice versa.

Read more: quiet point, landmark point

Received text (Latin).

The I Ching is mainly known as a  canonical script of China engraved in stone and is one of the so-called “Stone Classics”, stone slabs with doctrinal texts, dated to year 175 AD. Scholars from all over the country were obliged to copy these texts and use them in their teachings.

The I Ching in the form of textus receptus consists of two text parts: the Classical Text (jingwen) and the Commentaries (zuhuan).
The Classical Text forms the basis of interpretation and serves as a manual of divination. It has two parts: The hexagram text – a general description of the situation – and the line texts, which consider different aspects of the situation. In terms of origin, the Classical text is dated to the 8th century BC. The traditional view is that the invention of the eight trigrams goes back to the mythical first Chinese emperor Fu Xi, the hexagrams are attributed to the Zhou king Wen Wang (1231-1135 BC), and the line texts are said to have come from his son, the Duke of Zhou (d. 1105 BC). In fact, however, it is more likely that the Classical Text is a collection of oracle vocabulary (such as the inscriptions on the oracle bones), ancient songs, and traditional folk wisdom that was later compiled by one or possibly more authors.
Remarkable in this context is a peculiarity of the Chinese language: Texts are automatically ambiguous and equivocal when heard – and thus awaken the association of a mystical language of the gods. The authors of the I Ching were certainly aware of this ambiguity of oral language and tried to adopt this phenomenon in writing. In return, when it comes to the interpretation of a (written) text, both, the figurative expressiveness of the character itself as well as the associative ambiguities and variations in meaning that arise during pronunciation, should  be taken into consideration.
The Commentaries, also known as the Ten Wings, were written much later (from about 200 B.C. on) and consist of 10 text sections which, among other things, explain the hexagram names and texts, explain the symbolism of the trigrams and order of the hexagrams, include ethical-moral instructions and a philosophical-ethical interpretation according to Confucian moral concepts. (cf. Hertzer, 40-42)

The fact that the earliest parts of the I Ching date from the 8th century BC, but the Stone Classics were elaborated some 1000 years later, raises a number of questions: What changes in content and structure of the textual material occurred during these 1000 years? Has there really always been only one valid version of this text or were there several variants in circulation? And, should there have been variants: What political and socio-cultural influences ultimately led to the selection of the version of the I Ching that became part of the in the Stone Classics?
Against this background, the archaeological discoveries made 1972 in Mawangdui (near Changsha / Hunan; silk books) and 1977 in Shuanggudui (near Fuyang / Anhui; bamboo and wooden strips) are of particular interest: In Mawangdui a tomb library was discovered that also contained a copy of the I Ching, which, however, is much older than the textus receptus known so far. This version of the I Ching deviates to approx. 25% from the textus receptus, among other things in the order, how the hexagrams follow each other; the archaeological finds in Shuanggudui still need to be analyzed. (cf. Hertzer, 51-52)

Bibliography

— Hertzer, Dominique. 1996. Das Alte und das neue Yijing. Die Wandlungen des Buches der Wandlungen. München: Diederichs.

These words belong to the “Ten Wings” of the I Ching (a collection of texts which is attributed to Confucius), more precisely, to the 3rd and 4th wing; they refer to both trigrams and give clues as to what to do best.

However… also Wang Bi speaks about images…

Traditional Acupuncture, a sub-system of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), is deeply rooted in Five Element Theory (Wu Xing, Five Phases). It’s aim is to help people restore their balance at all levels (body, mind, soul) and grow and mature. For that purpose Traditional Acupuncture relies mainly on using the meridians’ elements points (ancient points).

Acupuncture points can be understood as an energy pattern. It is possible to activate them not only through needles or finger pressure, but also through meditation, opening our minds to their metaphorical imagery.

Read more: Recommended Literature on Traditional Acupuncture

The eight trigrams are the basis of the I Ching. They are composed of three solid (Yang) or broken (Yin) lines. Two trigrams form a hexagram, one image of I Ching.
The colored trigrams link to the respective chapters in the I Ching Course where they are explained in detail.

Chinese Name	Traditional Image	Traditional Characteristic	Modern Interpretation	Phase Element Organ
Kun	Earth Mother	receptive, dark, nurturing, soft, flexible, adaptive, fertile	stability; compassion, commitment; peace Dysfunction: brooding	Earth Spleen (SP)
Dui	Lake youngest daughter	heiter, zufrieden, erfüllt, offen	humility; connection, inspiration Dysfunction: melancholia	Metal Lung (LU)
Li	Fire middle daughter	hot, bright, luminous, adherent, intelligent	discernment Dysfunction: chaos	Fire Small Intestine (SI)
Sun	Wind Tree eldest daughter	gentle, penetrating, well-rooted, flexible	thinking, planning, acting Dysfunction: resignation	Wood Liver (LIV)
Qian	Heaven Father	creative, clarity, conscious, extending	expression, passion; warmth, love Dysfunction: egocentricity	Fire Heart (HE)
Zhen	Thunder eldest son	erregend, stark, schnell, in Bewegung, umwälzend	decision-making, flexibility Dysfunction: fury	Wood Gallbladder (GB)
Kan	Water middle son	abysmal, dangerous, exposed to uncontrollable forces basic trust; intuition	basic trust; intuition Dysfunction: anxiety	Water Kidney (KI)
Gen	Mountain youngest son	to hold still, to persevere; a meditative state	disengagement; transformation Dysfunction: Trauer	Metal Large Intestine (LI)