As we journey deeper into the 21st century, the thirst for ancient wisdom remains unquenched. Among the most revered of these ancient treasures is the I Ching, or the “Book of Changes.” This timeless Chinese classic, rich in philosophy, divination, and guidance, has been interpreted and reinterpreted by scholars, spiritual seekers, and enthusiasts alike. Each year, new renditions and commentaries on this age-old text are unveiled, aiming to make its profound teachings more accessible and resonant to contemporary readers.
2023 is no exception. With a myriad of authors offering fresh perspectives, updated translations, and innovative approaches to decoding the hexagrams, choosing the right book can be both exciting and overwhelming. Whether you’re a seasoned I Ching practitioner or a newcomer eager to dip your toes into its vast ocean of wisdom, our curated list of the “Best I Ching Books of 2023” promises to guide you to a version that resonates with your journey.
Join us as we explore the top ten books that not only honour the ancient spirit of the I Ching but also illuminate its teachings for the challenges and opportunities of our modern world.
Top 10 I Ching Books
A Guide to the I Ching
Carol K. Anthony | 4.7
Used by its readers as an oracle, this book, based on the terminology used in the classic Wilhelm/Baynes translation, puts the I Ching into modern language. This allows its wisdom to be applied to the situations of everyday life. Decoded are words such as the superior and inferior man, and the inferiors, which refer respectively to the true self, the ego, and the bodily self. Expressions such as crossing the great water and seeing the great man are seen to mean getting past the danger of giving up on oneself, and remembering the potential for good in every person. Understanding such words and phrases occurs in the context of the reader’s following his/her innermost feelings, since it is these that bring one into harmony with the ever-loving Cosmos and its protective powers.
The I Ching or Book of Changes: A Guide to Life's Turning Points
Brian Browne Walker | 4.7
This just might be the most elegant, distilled version of the I Ching there is on earth. For centuries, the I Ching or Book of Changes has been consulted for sage advice at life’s turning points. When its wisdom is sought with sincerity and sensitivity, this ancient Chinese oracle can help to promote success and good fortune and to impart balance and perspective to one’s life. Its lasting popularity lies in the profound lessons it teaches about how conscious attention to higher qualities leads to life’s greatest rewards: well-being, understanding, and peace of mind.
The easy-to-use format and contemporary language of this highly accessible translation will be a boon to new users, while long-time devotees of the I Ching will find their understanding of the ancient text distilled and enhanced. The ebook has been designed to mirror the beautiful look of the original paper edition.
The I Ching or Book of Changes
Richard Wilhelm, Cary F. Baynes, Hellmut Wilhelm, C. G. Jung | 4.7
The award-winning new translation of the ancient Chinese oracle and book of wisdom, by the acclaimed translator of the Tao Te Ching and The Art of War
Pose a question, then toss three coins (or cast your yarrow stalks) to access the time-honoured wisdom of the I Ching.
The I Ching, or Book of Change, has been consulted through the ages, in both China and the West, for answers to fundamental questions about the world and our place in it. The oldest extant book of divination, it dates back three thousand years to ancient shamanistic practices involving the ritual preparation of the shoulder bones of oxen. From this early form of communication with the other world, it has become the Chinese spiritual book par excellence. An influence on such cultural icons as Bob Dylan, John Cage, Merce Cunningham, Philip K. Dick, and Philip Pullman, the I Ching is turned to by millions around the world for insights on spiritual growth, business, medicine, genetics, game theory, strategic thinking, and leadership, and of course for the window it opens on China.
This new translation, over a decade in the making, is informed by the latest archaeological discoveries and features a gorgeously rendered codex of divination signs—the I Ching’s sixty-four Tarot-like hexagrams. It captures the majesty and mystery of this legendary work and charts an illuminating path to self-knowledge.
I Ching Workbook
R. L. Wing | 4.7
An important, new interpretation of the I Ching, the 5,000-year-old Chinese book of wisdom, in a unique workbook format designed to help truth-seekers find new meaning and enlightenment in its ancient lore.
Designed for those actively exploring this ancient system in order to better understand their lives, The I Ching Workbook serves as a simple guide to the study and interpretation of the I Ching’s advice. It provides a format for each of the 64 hexagrams that allows one to record the various responses of the I Ching.
Insights regarding health, relationships, business, politics, travel, career, social events, and inner development have been sought of the I Ching, or Book of Change, for thousands of years. With continued consultation of the I Ching concerning all aspects of your life, you will begin to perceive patterns to the I Ching’s responses—and therefore, certain patterns to the changes in your life. R.L. Wing’s new interpretation incorporates cultural and linguistic changes that will greatly enhance your understanding of our world’s most ancient book. You can now begin to use this valuable tool to bring new meaning and insight into your life.
The Living I Ching
Ming-Dao Deng | 4.6
From the author of 365 Tao and a leading authority on Taoist practice and philosophy comes a completely innovative translation of the classic text of Eastern wisdom, the I Ching.
The I Ching, or Book of Changes, is an ancient manual for divining the future. Its basic text is traditionally attributed to the Chinese King Wen, the Duke of Zhou, and the philosopher Confucius. By tossing coins, rolling dice, using a computer, or, more traditionally, counting yarrow stalks, one can create a seemingly random combination of heads or tails, odd or even, yin or yang, to construct six lines (for example, solid for odd numbers or broken for even numbers). These six lines make up a hexagram that provides advice, predictions, and answers to questions on topics from love and career to family and finance.
While known mostly as a tool of divination, the I Ching is also a repository of centuries of wisdom. Most of the existing translations offer either dense, scholarly commentary or little more than fortune-cookie platitudes, but in The Living I Ching Deng Ming-Dao takes a more holistic approach. His new translation recovers the true wisdom and philosophy of this ancient classic, so that the I Ching becomes more than just a book of fortune-telling – it becomes a manual for living.
The Taoist I Ching (Shambhala Classics)
Lui I-Ming and Thomas Cleary | 4.6
The I Ching , or “Book of Change,” is considered the oldest of the Chinese classics and has throughout history commanded unsurpassed prestige and popularity. Containing several layers of text and given numerous levels of interpretation, it has captured continuous attention for well over two thousand years. It has been considered a book of fundamental principles by philosophers, politicians, mystics, alchemists, yogins, diviners, sorcerers, and more recently by scientists and mathematicians.
This first part of the present volume is the text of the I Ching proper—the sixty-four hexagrams plus sayings on the hexagrams and their lines—with the commentary composed by Liu I-ming, a Taoist adept, in 1796. The second part is Liu I-ming’s commentary on the two sections added to the I Ching by earlier commentators, believed to be members of the original Confucian school; these two sections are known as the Overall Images and the Mixed Hexagrams. In total, the book illuminates the Taoist inner teachings as practiced in the School of Complete Reality.
Well versed in Buddhism and Confucianism as well as Taoism, Liu I-ming intended his work to be read as a guide to comprehensive self-realization while living an ordinary life in the world. In his attempt to lift the veil of mystery from the esoteric language of the I Ching , he employs the terminology of psychology, sociology, history, myth, and religion. This commentary on the I Ching stands as a major contribution to the elucidation of Chinese spiritual genius.
The Complete I Ching The Definitive Translation
Taoist Master Alfred Huang | 4.5
The highly regarded translation that honors the authentic Chinese spirit of the Book of Changes
Places new emphasis on the intricate web of interrelations among the names and sequence of the sixty-four hexagrams Includes historical information on the events out of which the I Ching was born Introduces several new methods of divination
For more than 3,000 years the I Ching has been the most important book of divination in the world. Revered by billions of Chinese as the Classic of Classics and consulted as a source of ancient wisdom, it has been embraced by the West in the last 50 years but has always been translated by Westerners who brought their own cultural biases to the work, distorting or misunderstanding its true meaning.
In The Complete I Ching Master Alfred Huang has restored the true essence of the I Ching by emphasizing the unity of Heaven and humanity and the Tao of Change, and, even more important, by including translations of the Ten Wings, the commentaries by Confucius, that are essential to the I Ching’s insights. Previous English translations have either given these commentaries a minor place in the book or have left them out altogether. But the Chinese say that the I Ching needs the Ten Wings to fly. Restored to their central place in the book by Master Huang, the I Ching at last flies in English.
I Ching The Oracle of the Cosmic Way
Carol K. Anthony and Hanna Moog | 4.5
This new I Ching differs from other versions of the ancient text in that it reveals the underlying Cosmic Principles of Harmony that are contained in each hexagram. Thus, the reader is able to clearly understand the causes of the good fortune or misfortune mentioned in the oracle text; he is then able, through the oracle’s counsel, to quickly correct his part in any adverse situation. As he brings his thoughts and attitudes into harmony with the Cosmos, he experiences that the Cosmos is entirely beneficent, and ready to aid him in all that he does.
This new version of the I Ching was written under the guidance of the Sage, the voice that speaks through the I Ching oracle. Once freed to speak for itself, the Sage wanted to expand beyond all previous commentaries. The consequence was that the whole I Ching became integrated around several main themes, the principle one being that the Cosmos achieves its duration through its Principles of Harmony. Moreover, the chief Cosmic energy (called chi by the Chinese) is love. The oracle sayings themselves, with few exceptions, remained as written in the Richard Wilhelm translation from the Chinese.
The purpose of consulting the I Ching oracle is to inquire, before an undertaking, whether we are in accord with these Cosmic Principles of Harmony, in regard to the situation at hand. When our view of the situation, or attitude about it meets with the words ‘success,’ or ‘good fortune,’ we are being assured that we will be supported by the invisible helping forces of the Cosmos. When our attitude is not in harmony, the oracle predicts ‘misfortune,’ meaning that these helping forces will not support what we do. The answers of the oracle are not to be taken as fortune-telling, but as reflecting the Cosmic consequences of an attitude that is not in harmony; in effect, all things not in harmony with these principles are bound to fail. All counsel given by the I Ching is directed toward helping us return to harmony with the Cosmos. In the light of these principles we will be able to recognize particular mistaken ideas that are the cause of the misfortune. This book is the first I Ching oracle that shows how to deprogram the obstructing ideas, and thus enable us to reunite with the Cosmic Harmony.
Also presented in this book is an innovative method of communicating directly with the Sage that speaks through the I Ching. This method allows us to clarify its message to the point where we have reached an adequate understanding. Regularly consulting the I Ching in this way leads to clarifying insights into our life’s purpose, and to a pronounced increase in our creativity. It was through this method, in combination with meditations and dreams, that the Sage gave the authors the completely new perspective on the nature of the Cosmos, human nature, and the place of humans within the Cosmic Whole described here. Rather than presenting us with fixed answers to every problem, this I Ching allows the Sage to show us the path by which we can return to harmony, and thereby achieve success that endures.
The Laws of Change I Ching and the Philosophy of Life
Jack M Balkin | 4.7
As important to Chinese civilization as the Bible is to Western culture, the I Ching or Book of Changes is one of the oldest treasures of world literature. In this masterful new interpretation, Jack Balkin returns the I Ching to its rightful place as a book of wisdom that teaches how to live one’s life in a changing and confusing world. Balkin’s comprehensive and perceptive commentaries highlight a clear, understandable version of the core text of the I Ching that preserves its striking imagery while remaining faithful to the long tradition of ethical interpretations of the work.
The Laws of Change: I Ching and the Philosophy of Life offers the most detailed commentaries available in English on the I Ching’s ethical and philosophical teachings, a comprehensive survey of different methods of consulting the I Ching, and an excellent history of the I Ching’s transformation from a Bronze Age diviner’s manual to a beloved book of wisdom that lies at the very heart of Chinese culture. This is an indispensable work for anyone who wants to understand the I Ching and its history.
I Ching: The Book of Change: A New Translation
David Hinton | 4.5
A master translator’s beautiful and accessible rendering of the seminal Chinese text
In a radically new translation and interpretation of the I Ching, David Hinton strips this ancient Chinese masterwork of the usual apparatus and discovers a deeply poetic and philosophical text. Teasing out an elegant vision of the cosmos as ever-changing yet harmonious, Hinton reveals the seed from which Chinese philosophy, poetry, and painting grew. Although it was and is widely used for divination, the I Ching is also a book of poetic philosophy, deeply valued by artists and intellectuals, and Hinton’s translation restores it to its original lyrical form.
Previous translations have rendered the I Ching as a divination text full of arcane language and extensive commentary. Though informative, these versions rarely hint at the work’s philosophical heart, let alone its literary beauty. Here, Hinton translates only the original strata of the text, revealing a fully formed work of literature in its own right. The result is full of wild imagery, fables, aphorisms, and stories. Acclaimed for the eloquence of his many translations of ancient Chinese poetry and philosophy, Hinton has reinvented the I Ching as an exciting contemporary text at once primal and postmodern.
Embracing Life's Journey Your Guide to Personal Growth with the I Ching
In ‘Embracing Life’s Journey: Your Guide to Personal Growth with the I Ching’, ancient wisdom meets modern technology to guide your personal growth. This innovative guide incorporates insights generated by advanced AI technology, offering a fresh, unique perspective on the I Ching’s timeless wisdom.
Harnessing the power of the state-of-the-art language model, ChatGPT, we have delved into the vast knowledge of the I Ching. The result is a groundbreaking interpretation of the 64 hexagrams, demystifying their intricate language, and making the profound wisdom of the I Ching accessible and relatable.
This book is more than a manual—it’s a companion on your journey of self-discovery and transformation. It complements the GrowthGuide app, an AI-based I Ching tool designed to streamline your consultation of this ancient oracle.
Whether you’re facing a decision, seeking inner peace, or on a quest for personal growth, this book illuminates your path. Learn to navigate life’s complexities, harness your potential, and cultivate a deeper understanding of your inner self and the world around you.
Step into a journey of personal growth with the I Ching and explore how the powerful and beautiful insights of the I Ching illuminate the path towards self-realisation and mindful living. ‘Embracing Life’s Journey: Your Guide to Personal Growth with the I Ching’ is your compass to navigating life’s myriad paths with wisdom, peace, and resilience.
Useful Links
- Revolutionary I Ching App Harness ChatGPT for Hexagram Insights, Download AI Ching App
- What is the I Ching
- How to consult the I Ching
- Consult the I Ching Online
- Discover the ‘Daily I Ching’ for universal guidance.
- Access all the I Ching Hexagrams 1 to 64
- Buy the book, Embracing Life’s Journey Your Guide to Personal Growth with the I Ching
- Little Panda Learns the Tao: Stories of Nature’s Balance. Download on Amazon
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