Best I Ching Book for Kindle

[__dru__]

Hello

I would like to buy a book that helps interpret the hexagrams and/or is the book of changes.

There seem to a be a few on Amazon like this:

The I Ching or Book of Changes (Bollingen Series 31) eBook : Wilhelm, Hellmut, C. G. Jung, Hellmut Wilhelm, Richard Wilhelm, Cary F. Baynes: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

The I Ching or Book of Changes (Bollingen Series 31) eBook : Wilhelm, Hellmut, C. G. Jung, Hellmut Wilhelm, Richard Wilhelm, Cary F. Baynes: Amazon.co.uk: Kindle Store

smile.amazon.co.uk

Can anyone please make a recommendation?

 

[Liselle]

I think what I'd do is follow Hilary's advice for picking a translation, look at her list of recommended books, read through her reviews, check to see which of those are available for Kindle, and buy from that list.

(You might already know this, but you can find all of these links via the menu in the site banner at the top of every page. Hover your mouse over the "Learn the I Ching" heading on the left, go down the left hand column to "Book Reviews," then read through the sections to the right.)


My own favorite book - Hilary's - doesn't have a Kindle version, but I very much recommend it anyway if you don't already have it.

I also own Jack Balkin's book in the Kindle-for-PC version, and I like it. It's similar to Wilhelm, but it goes into more detail and is written in contemporary English.

I also like Bradford Hatcher's book. It's available (for free, amazingly) in pdf form - can pdfs be put onto Kindles?

Another personal opinion is I wouldn't buy Stephen Karcher's book as my first or only book. I've heard advice which says it works well as a complement to something like Balkin.

Speaking of complements - another piece of general advice is don't rely on one book, try your best to have at least three quite different ones. It's utterly impossible for any author to capture every angle on the I Ching, and different points of view are very important.

 

[fai_35]

I would like to buy a book that helps interpret the hexagrams and/or is the book of changes.
Can anyone please make a recommendation?

Hi dru,

The Wilhelm translation is one that many westerners are familiar with. It could be that he was one of the earlier westerners who translated the Book about 100 years ago. Be aware that Wilhelm was a German theologian and a missionary, and the translation was done at a time when the white European colonialists exerted a fair amount of power over Asia. His German translation was rendered to English by Baynes; so a step further away from the original text. I wouldn't recommend it.

If you want a closer* translation without too much added commentary, I’d recommend Liu Ming. He was born Charles Belyea, a westerner who lived in California. His Changing Zhouyi:: the heart of the Yijing offers some guidance to interpreting the cryptic text; it’s a reader friendly translation. By closer* I mean closer to the original Chinese text.

Bradford Hatcher's work offers a Chinese-character-to-a-set-of-possible-English-words approach to translation. If you are ready for it, it could be helpful bridge to the original Chinese text.

For a more technical rendition (with consideration of positions of lines, etc.), I’d recommend Hua Ching Ni’s translation. He offers commentaries and guidelines to interpretation.

Invariably all translations carry a bit of the translator’s bias, so readers be aware. A few versions may be helpful especially when you are stuck and can’t seem to get the message. But be wary of those who give themselves too much of a poetic license and then culturally misappropriate the Chinese Classic.

 

[my_key]

For starting out Wilhelm is a good point of origin although commentary tends to be easier to follow in Alfred Huang or Jack Balkin translations.