Book of Changes

This is a personal translation of the 易经. It is known in English as the Book of Changes or the Classic of Change. To me, the book's beauty is found in the lives it has led. It was used to divine the future, then as a book on morality, and then a book on metaphysics. Each time, the change was made by a dutiful commentator just clarifying its meaning. The words were not changed. The book's essence was changed by merely adding. It is a book that stands the hierarchy of essence and appearance on its head. According to the Book of Changes, appearance is static and essence is dynamic.

This translation removes all the commentaries thus changing its meaning again. This is not an attempt to get to the original meaning. It is just another change.