fkegan
March 21st, 2008, 11:40 PM
Greetings All,
I have posted a complete explanation of the King Wen Sequence of the I Ching hexagrams in a new page accessible from my website page on the Flux Tome Perspective Upon the I Ching: www.stars-n-dice.com/fluxtome.html or directly www.stars-n-dice.com/tetraktys.html .
The difference between my explanation and the others about is that mine is not based upon the King Wen Sequence being set up as 32 pairs by line structure. It does not put the hexagrams on a number line, or in a circle or along a curve of any kind. It does not assume there is anything unique to any Chinese commentary or mathematical system.
Instead, my explanation is based in the philosophical framework of the Pythagorean Tetraktys or the view that a complete analysis of any subject can be made in ten specific points grouped into a 1- Monad, 2-Dyads or linear polar opposites, 3 stages of process or narrative, and 4-Tetrad of perpendicular double dichotomies.
That a single Sequence fits the 32 pairs by line structure and the Pythagorean decad analysis of the Tetraktys, and all the other mathematical and philosophical conjectures folks have developed is simply a testament to the mystic poetry of the King Wen Sequence which works from whatever perspective one might choose to employ.
The benefit of the Tetraktys matrix to explain the King Wen Sequence is that it is so absolutely and totally philosophically satisfying. It has no issues of how well does it fit the algorithm, are these math or landscape points the truly right ones. It just fits into place seamlessly. However, try it out yourself and see what you find.
A bit of background on my perspective and its development:
In the late 1970's I had the opportunity to teach an astrologer friend of mine in Belgium the basics of the I Ching. In the course of our hours of study, it suddenly occurred to me that it was now quite simple to repeat the original insight of determining the meaning of each hexagram from just the line pattern of Yang and Yin lines.
The fundamental principles to achieve this clarity about the hexagrams is to make a change in perspective from the standard view of hexagrams being composed of independent Yang and Yin lines. Instead the principle is that the gua (hexagram or trigram) is a gestalt matrix whose background state is the set of Yin line places. A trigram or hexagram is thus a matrix background which is represented graphically by all Yin lines.
The individual hexagrams are formed as the open space between the pieces of the Yin lines is either filled in as a Yang line or left open to remain gestalt background called a Yin line.
The meaning of the individual line places are illustrated and explained by the Pythagorean Eidos (dot-patterns on the dice cube) from first sprout or root to structure or stem, to passion or line of development, to 4-heart or soul of inner space, to 5-complete individual organization and Self, to 6-the flower or seed pod that opens the transition to the next situation.
The meaning of the hexagram arises from 2 simple principles: There is a natural structural motion from line 1 up through line 6 (the Yin process). There is a a specific dynamic from a Yang line place toward an open Yin line place.
Putting these together one can understand and explain the meaning of each hexagram. One example--hexagram 3, the first and 5th line places only are Yang. The only focus is upon the beginning and the overall organization, everything else is background. This is the situation of the first application of the chisel to carve the marble sculpture. The artist has the overall plan in mind and the chisel point has begun the transition from mental image to concrete reality. Difficulty at the beginning or Strikes.
After working on my Flux Tome perspective, publishing several books on the topic, and reading the Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library by Guthrie (ISBN 0-933999-51-8) I realized that the brief comments in Wilhelm hex. 11 and 41 about the King Wen Sequence being in sets of 10 which is the same decad arrangement of the Tetraktys.
Looking at the hexagrams ending in 1 (1,11,21,31,41,51 and 61), starting with hexagram One Ch'ien I saw even its Chinese ideogram name referred to the concrete imagery of the water cycle. Those first 10 hexagrams are each composed by trigrams which illustrate the water cycle from their traditional nature images: sunshine, earth topography, thunder, rain, mountain, wind and finally lake.
The water cycle starts with and is fully energized and explained by the action of sunshine to produce clouds that form water that flows over the earth until it reaches the sea.
The big twist is to read the King Wen sequence like a poem, that is to not get hung up with the rhymes or line value pairs; rather to keep to the philosophical matrix taking hexagram one alone as monad, two and three as polar opposites of the Planet Earth topography and the thunderstorm energy that strikes and starts the rain fall.
Then the Triad narrative process of hexagrams 4-5-6 beginning with the energy given to rain falling upon a mountain to produce artesian springs or rushing torrents; central core of the water vapor in the clouds that will eventually fall over the Earth topography and pick up that energy of elevation--and finally the rain water falling through the sunshine, no longer controlled by that energy and now controlled by its elevation over the topography.
Then the final Tetrad of the double dichotomy of perpendicular axes- 7 and 8 as water absorbed into the earth and 8 water flowing along the topography. And 9 the weather systems in the atmosphere that control the motion and elevation of the clouds finally ending the entire set of 10 with the low point of the topography that fills with water where it sits quiescent under the sunshine ending one water cycle and starting the next.
Q.E.D.
Check it all out for yourself through www.stars-n-dice.com.
Dr. Frank R. Kegan :bows:
I have posted a complete explanation of the King Wen Sequence of the I Ching hexagrams in a new page accessible from my website page on the Flux Tome Perspective Upon the I Ching: www.stars-n-dice.com/fluxtome.html or directly www.stars-n-dice.com/tetraktys.html .
The difference between my explanation and the others about is that mine is not based upon the King Wen Sequence being set up as 32 pairs by line structure. It does not put the hexagrams on a number line, or in a circle or along a curve of any kind. It does not assume there is anything unique to any Chinese commentary or mathematical system.
Instead, my explanation is based in the philosophical framework of the Pythagorean Tetraktys or the view that a complete analysis of any subject can be made in ten specific points grouped into a 1- Monad, 2-Dyads or linear polar opposites, 3 stages of process or narrative, and 4-Tetrad of perpendicular double dichotomies.
That a single Sequence fits the 32 pairs by line structure and the Pythagorean decad analysis of the Tetraktys, and all the other mathematical and philosophical conjectures folks have developed is simply a testament to the mystic poetry of the King Wen Sequence which works from whatever perspective one might choose to employ.
The benefit of the Tetraktys matrix to explain the King Wen Sequence is that it is so absolutely and totally philosophically satisfying. It has no issues of how well does it fit the algorithm, are these math or landscape points the truly right ones. It just fits into place seamlessly. However, try it out yourself and see what you find.
A bit of background on my perspective and its development:
In the late 1970's I had the opportunity to teach an astrologer friend of mine in Belgium the basics of the I Ching. In the course of our hours of study, it suddenly occurred to me that it was now quite simple to repeat the original insight of determining the meaning of each hexagram from just the line pattern of Yang and Yin lines.
The fundamental principles to achieve this clarity about the hexagrams is to make a change in perspective from the standard view of hexagrams being composed of independent Yang and Yin lines. Instead the principle is that the gua (hexagram or trigram) is a gestalt matrix whose background state is the set of Yin line places. A trigram or hexagram is thus a matrix background which is represented graphically by all Yin lines.
The individual hexagrams are formed as the open space between the pieces of the Yin lines is either filled in as a Yang line or left open to remain gestalt background called a Yin line.
The meaning of the individual line places are illustrated and explained by the Pythagorean Eidos (dot-patterns on the dice cube) from first sprout or root to structure or stem, to passion or line of development, to 4-heart or soul of inner space, to 5-complete individual organization and Self, to 6-the flower or seed pod that opens the transition to the next situation.
The meaning of the hexagram arises from 2 simple principles: There is a natural structural motion from line 1 up through line 6 (the Yin process). There is a a specific dynamic from a Yang line place toward an open Yin line place.
Putting these together one can understand and explain the meaning of each hexagram. One example--hexagram 3, the first and 5th line places only are Yang. The only focus is upon the beginning and the overall organization, everything else is background. This is the situation of the first application of the chisel to carve the marble sculpture. The artist has the overall plan in mind and the chisel point has begun the transition from mental image to concrete reality. Difficulty at the beginning or Strikes.
After working on my Flux Tome perspective, publishing several books on the topic, and reading the Pythagorean Sourcebook and Library by Guthrie (ISBN 0-933999-51-8) I realized that the brief comments in Wilhelm hex. 11 and 41 about the King Wen Sequence being in sets of 10 which is the same decad arrangement of the Tetraktys.
Looking at the hexagrams ending in 1 (1,11,21,31,41,51 and 61), starting with hexagram One Ch'ien I saw even its Chinese ideogram name referred to the concrete imagery of the water cycle. Those first 10 hexagrams are each composed by trigrams which illustrate the water cycle from their traditional nature images: sunshine, earth topography, thunder, rain, mountain, wind and finally lake.
The water cycle starts with and is fully energized and explained by the action of sunshine to produce clouds that form water that flows over the earth until it reaches the sea.
The big twist is to read the King Wen sequence like a poem, that is to not get hung up with the rhymes or line value pairs; rather to keep to the philosophical matrix taking hexagram one alone as monad, two and three as polar opposites of the Planet Earth topography and the thunderstorm energy that strikes and starts the rain fall.
Then the Triad narrative process of hexagrams 4-5-6 beginning with the energy given to rain falling upon a mountain to produce artesian springs or rushing torrents; central core of the water vapor in the clouds that will eventually fall over the Earth topography and pick up that energy of elevation--and finally the rain water falling through the sunshine, no longer controlled by that energy and now controlled by its elevation over the topography.
Then the final Tetrad of the double dichotomy of perpendicular axes- 7 and 8 as water absorbed into the earth and 8 water flowing along the topography. And 9 the weather systems in the atmosphere that control the motion and elevation of the clouds finally ending the entire set of 10 with the low point of the topography that fills with water where it sits quiescent under the sunshine ending one water cycle and starting the next.
Q.E.D.
Check it all out for yourself through www.stars-n-dice.com.
Dr. Frank R. Kegan :bows: