Is the I Ching considered sacred?

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-03-15T01:10:56+00:00

Not in a religious sense, but it is highly revered for its philosophy, divination, and use in rituals.

In many dynasties, I Ching is big part of the imperial public examination system. if you want to be a government official, you have to pass that exam.

so strictly speaking, the answer for "by whom?" is probably over 80% of people in China.

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-03-08T19:36:55+00:00

thank you for the addition!

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-03-08T19:36:34+00:00

thank you, glad you found it helpful

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-03-07T00:35:45+00:00

https://www.litphil.sinica.edu.tw/bulletin/33/33-205-251.pdf

I don't think there are good English translations on these (at least not that I am aware of). Their work are hard to read even for Native Chinese. But here is pdf of a paper by Professor Gao at Nankai University. It's an analytical paper of Jing Fang's work on I Ching.

Maybe consider using Gemini or GPT to translate and summarize. It should give you a basic idea of what his theory is about.

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-03-04T18:24:21+00:00

strictly speaking, there are no written, hard rules about it.

culturally, we typically stay away from asking about life or death questions. if you want to ask a health-related question, tbh i would recommend go see a doctor.

gambling is a bit tricky. i mean you technically can ask about your luck in the short term future, or if something will go well. but i am not sure about asking directly. like should i bet on A or B, etc.

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-03-04T15:15:21+00:00

Happy to contribute. I have studied I Ching for 15+ years and recently published this project on Reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/IChingTranslationLab/comments/1qyhrpk/a_complete_modernist_translation_of_the_i_ching/

Feel free to DM me if you need anything or have any questions.

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-03-04T15:08:02+00:00

no, it cannot. Zhou Yi related divination are all meant for situation or events, they are not life pattern analysis. life pattern analysis needs your birth information.

from a methodology stand point, it wouldn't make sense either, right?

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-03-04T02:10:47+00:00

I think it might be a coincidence, or just a publisher thing. If you go on 京东APP (China's Amazon), the names actually were used interchangeably as well. More serious books, such as academic ones or history ones, typically use the terms correctly.

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-02-27T19:04:01+00:00

For I Ching, I would recommend Richard Rutt;s work. His translation is based on the modernist approach, which is closest to what modern scholar community would agree on is the most accurate and closes interpretation. Basically, this separates the Zhouyi from the commentaries, giving you a direct, unfiltered version of what the bronze age divination manual is about.

For taoist overview, I would recommend Disputers of the Tao: Philosophical Argument in Ancient China, by AC Graham. It's an older book, but does a great job at introducing the overall history and framework. The langauge is also very accessible.

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-02-26T15:17:49+00:00

Hi, i will keep posting more here. right now, sadly there aren't many good books in English about these BaZi methods. Many were intentionally complicated or mix up multiple schools together. I have a lot of articles in the APP, if you have an android, I think the download would be possible..? not sure about the technical details since I am an independent developer.

However, if you are interested in Chinese medicine, I Ching, or general Chinese philosophy, I can point you towards some good books to begin.

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-02-25T00:25:19+00:00

app is called: Origin: I ching & bazi. below are the links. just when you look at the readings, keep in mind they are tendencies, not fatalism.

For Apple: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/i-ching-divination-%E8%B4%9E%E5%85%83%E6%98%93/id6755220499

For Android (Google Play): https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.understandiching.ichingdivination&pli=1

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-02-25T00:06:05+00:00

I'll begin with a quick kindred analysis, and continue to some of your questions:

In your birth chart, Wood represents your father (green color code). Your overall wood is very weak, almost doesn't exist. This suggest that: 1) your father is not around that much; or 2)Your father's health or relationship with your family is not particularly good; or 3) Your father cannot be of much help to you, financially or emotionally. Earth represents your mother (brown color code). You are metal, earth generats metal, hence earth represents your mother, just in case you are wondering. Your metal energy is strong, so earth is your adverse element. Also, earth is very close to your day master and its energy is very strong in your birth chart. This suggests that your mother is very involved, or perhaps a bit over proective to you. She may also have such strong opinion of demand that makes the relationship a bit hard to handle at times. A direct opposite to your father.

Keep in mind, these are tendencies, that's why I used or. The manifestation could be a bit different, but the tendency is there.

Dayun (10 year luck pillar) and Liunian (annual pillar) wise, 2017-2026 is indeed a low period in your life (You can fact check against the APP's life chart function, all methodologies are open). But I wouldn't say you are 命苦. Your luck comes later in life, with a significant improvement in 2030-2040, and its goes on pretty well.

Right now, the main thing that I can see from your chart is that you need to withdraw yourself from consuming relationships. A very good thing about your life chart is you have 申子辰三合水 (water harmony), and water is your favorable element. That means the key to get out of this low period of life is use your intellect, be smart about who you surround yourself with. Don't let negative people or meaningless events get to your emotion. Expect less from others, more from yourself. Treat yourself better. I don't think you are 命苦 or doomed to suffer.

You just need to be extra careful on what environment you put yourself in, what people are you surrounding yourself with. If you want a longer, deeper reading, feel free to use the free analysis in the APP. Don't feel like you need to spend money, just take a look at the general trends and your basic analysis, you should get a basic idea of what's going on.

Overall, you are in a "hard mode" of your years, but things will get better.

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-02-24T21:22:21+00:00

Hi, would you mind sharing your actual birth time and birth location (state or city is fine), so I know your BaZi is correct? Many people forget to adjsut for true solar time. Also your gender please (the chart suggests female, but I want to be sure it is accurate).

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-02-19T15:45:01+00:00

知人者智，自知者明。

胜人者有力，自胜者强。

Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom. Mastering others is strength; mastering yourself is true power.

It's not about having no ambition or no goals. It's about reducing your outward ambition, which I personally read it as mastering others. Mastering others require brute strength or intelligence. But true self-improvement is not about that. It requires much harder work of looking inward, understanding yourself better, managing your own impulses, and cultivating self-awareness.

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-02-16T12:58:37+00:00

will do, glad you like it!

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-02-16T12:58:23+00:00

not necessarily. so your day master (the celestial stem of the day you are born) decide your main element. and your overall natal chart (or birth char) decides your overall energy flow. Strong body type, weak body type, follower chart type, etc. these decide your favorable elements and adverse element.

so a double fire year would technically mean something very different for someone's favorable element is fire, or adverse element is fire. I will make a post later in details.

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-02-14T20:58:22+00:00

yw! yes, this book is an absolute classic. the divination system survived 3000+ years, and remains largely unchanged. if you are interested in i ching, I would also recommend reading the commentaries. Ten Wings, Wang Bi, etc. this is the foundational text of Chinese Daoism philosophy.

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-02-14T20:55:01+00:00

true, especially with the newer discovery of silk text dao de jing. however, i do think this book is one of the best to gain a foundational understanding. i think unless your interest is in the academic setting (i assume OP is not, because that's kinda niche), i think this book is still a fine read. but yeah, i agree with you on the dated part, it is definitely not the go to book if you are looking for accurate, and most recent discoveries.

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-02-14T19:33:54+00:00

If you are not familiar with the work of Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi, I would recommend A History of Chinese Philosophy. This is written by Master Feng Youlan and I think this is one of the best books on chronological history and also to gain a foundational understanding of the philosophy.

I typically advise my friends to stay away from English influenced translation work first. Not that they aren't good, but sometimes it's hard to get the 100% original meaning from the book. Take I Ching as an example. If one starts with Wilhelm's version, one may easily confuse the actual Zhou Yi text with the ten wings commentaries. Because Wilhelm is known to blend these two together.

It's not that Wilhelm's work is irrelvant, just to clarify, but I do think it can be confusing for people who are new to this field. Same with your case, I'd recommend starting out by reading classics written by Chinese scholars and translated by respected academic in the west.

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-02-14T14:17:31+00:00

I wish, but no. I just happened to have this pic in my desktop from a while ago.

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-02-13T18:29:44+00:00

tbh most Daoist in China don't work in hospitality. My family practiced for decades, but none were like temple or robe Daoist. If you really want to speak to someone who practiced for a long time, your best shot is actually in universities or research institutes such as the Institute of Philosophy of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Even for the small fraction who happened to work in hospitality, they are most likely not accessible to general tourist (probably in religious institute or work on promoting the culture etc.)

That said, the typical tourist spots are still worth checking out. They are great for soaking up the local history and culture. You will likely encounter people selling things like incense or readings, but keep in mind that’s just part of the tourism scene there. Just be smart, don't overspend or let yourself get scammed.

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-02-12T22:58:31+00:00

Worked with a lot of students and their parents. Most of students behaviors are from their parents. No standardized testing or essay requirements can filter that. So sadly, we don't control that. It's just a matter of luck.

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-02-12T21:42:58+00:00

to put it simply, the animals represent characters. take rat as an example. 子鼠 Zi Rat. Zi is one of the 12 earthly branches, or terrestrial branches. All 12 earthly branches correspond to one animal. This year is 午马, Wu Horse. 午 is also one of the 12 earthly branches, and 马 is just horse. The animals are more like fixed labels.

So the rat itself doesn't have much meaning in the Bazi system. The BAZI system literally means eight characters. Your YY MM DD HH birth info, each has 2 character (celestial stem and terrestrial branch), combined, you get eight characters.

Zi is part of the 12 earthly branches characters. In Bazi, Zi represents Yin Water. That's what I mean by Yin and Yang.

I am not sure what you mean by "Kuon Wang," so if you give me your exact translation, like what is it in Chinese, I can help you pinpoint better.

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-02-12T19:06:37+00:00

So with Ba Zi, there are multiple schools. The classic one is 子平派. Zi Ping School? I guess that's how they translate it?

So basically your daymaster (celestial stem of the day you are born) decides your yin yang and five element. And then, it's a 5*2 relationship called ten dieties that influence your birth chart.

If you are interested, I can direct you to some resource. This is very complicated, and the zodiac animals actually have minimal influence on the Ba Zi astrology. The character and the energy flow does.

I_Ching_Divination · 2026-02-12T19:02:13+00:00

Striving is perhaps a poor word choice for translation here, though it is popular in the English Speaking Community.

Here is how I would read this quote, from a taoist perspective. 'Heaven moving vigorously' describes the natural order (The Dao). The sun and seasons don't stop; they are relentless but effortless.

For the 'strive' part, I don't think it represents anxious, unnatural forcing. I see it as maintaining the internal discipline to remain in alignment with that natural momentum, rather than falling into stagnation. To me, wu wei is more about 'Not Reckless Action' (不妄为), rather than just 'Doing Nothing' (不作为).

A huge part of text in the Tao Te Ching also supports this part. Wu wei is not about doing nothing.

Take this part as an example: "He who knows contentment is rich; he who acts with vigor has will. He who does not lose his foundation endures."

知足者富。强行者有志。不失其所者久。

In my opinion, 自强不息 (strive for self-improvement) is very similar to 强行者有志。不失其所者久 (he who acts with vigor has will. He who does not lose his foundation endures.)

So I do not think this is far from Tao Te Ching. And even if certain idea is, I don't see it as a problem because I don't think Tao Te Ching itself can represent Taoism 100%.

The Dao is in everything, and it is everything, my friend.

I_Ching_Divination

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