ABSTRACT
The Yijing or Book of Changes is China's oldest and most important philosophical text. Because it is China's earliest attempt to understand and order the world, the Yijing became the foundation of Chinese philosophy, greatly influencing all of the succeeding philosophical traditions, including Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, and Neo-Confucianism. The second part of the Yijing is the classic text along with the commentaries that were composed at different times between Confucius in the sixth century BCE and the Han dynasty in 206 BCE. Professor Tze-ki Hon, a noted expert on the Yijing, offers a contemporary interpretation of the hexagram Qian that illustrates the importance of knowing the situation one is in. Kun denotes the great capacity and sustaining power of the earth, the ground of life itself. Yijing philosophy, especially the yin-yang way of thinking, had a profound influence on almost all Chinese philosophical traditions. This chapter examines its influence on Daoism and Confucianism.
