References & Sources
This site transcribes classical texts from specific printed editions, most of them scanned by libraries that made the work public. This page names them. It also credits the modern scholarship the hexagram pages depend on, and links to the rest of the I-Ching web — which is small, mostly maintained by individuals, and much better than its search rankings suggest.
Where a source here disagrees with our reading, prefer the source.
Modern scholarship used directly
Material from these works appears on the hexagram pages.
- Hermetica — Yijing, Word by Word ↗Bradford Hatcher
The character-by-character gloss shown on every hexagram page comes from Hatcher's two-volume work, which he gave away free as PDFs. It pairs each character of the judgment, image and line texts with its English sense, and includes the widest collection of hexagram-name translations anywhere. If you want the Zhouyi in the original rather than through a translator's voice, go to the source.
- The I Ching, or Book of Changes ↗Richard Wilhelm, trans. Cary F. Baynes
The Wilhelm-Baynes translation, still the most widely read English version and the one whose vocabulary shaped how the Yi is discussed in English. Quoted here for comparison; it is under copyright and only excerpted.
- Chinese Text Project (中國哲學書電子化計劃) ↗Donald Sturgeon
The open-access digital library of pre-modern Chinese texts, and the reference we check readings against. Over 30,000 titles with a pre-Qin and Han focus.
Classical texts and their editions
20 of the 20 texts transcribed here record the edition and digitization they came from.
| Text | Period | Edition | Digitization |
|---|---|---|---|
| 卜筮正宗 王洪緒 (Wang Hongxu), style name 林屋山人 (Linwu Shanren) | Qing (清), originally compiled 康熙四十八年 (1709) | 光緒己丑重鐫 (Guangxu Jichou reprint, 1889), 掃葉山房藏板 (Saoye Shanfang) | NCPSSD digitization via Wikimedia Commons |
| 滴天髓闡微 任鐵樵 (Ren Tieqiao, commentary) | Qing (original text attributed to 京圖, Song) | 任鐵樵 (Ren Tieqiao) commentary, Qing 道光 era; compiled by 袁樹珊 (Yuan Shushan) | arteducation.com.tw (中華古詩文古書籍網) transcription |
| 遁甲演義 程道生 (Cheng Daosheng) | Ming | 欽定四庫全書 | CADAL / Internet Archive (Zhejiang University Library digitization of Siku Quanshu) |
| 撼龍經 楊筠松 (Yang Yunsong) | Tang (attributed) | 《欽定四庫全書》本 (Siku Quanshu edition) | zh.wikisource.org transcription of the Siku Quanshu edition |
| 皇極經世書 邵雍 (Shao Yong, 1011-1077) | Song (original), Qing (Siku Quanshu edition) | — | Siku Quanshu (欽定四庫全書) edition, CADAL scans |
| 焦氏易林 焦延壽 (Jiao Yanshou) | Western Han | 欽定四庫全書 (Siku Quanshu) edition, scanned by Zhejiang University Library | CADAL / Internet Archive — 677 pages across 4 volumes; plain text via ctext.org ↗ |
| 京氏易傳 京房 (Jing Fang) | Western Han | 《四部叢刊初編》本 (Sibu Congkan first series) | zh.wikisource.org transcription ↗ |
| 老子道德經 老子 (Laozi) | Pre-Qin (text); Wei dynasty (commentary, 226–249 CE) | — | CADAL/Archive.org (欽定四庫全書 manuscript); base text verified against ctext.org |
| 六壬大全 郭載騋 (Guo Zaisi, editor) | Ming–Qing (Siku edition) | 《欽定四庫全書》本 (Siku Quanshu edition) | zh.wikisource.org transcription of the Siku Quanshu edition |
| 梅花易數 Attributed to 邵雍 (Shao Yong) | Song–Ming (compiled after 1077; attributed to Shao Yong, 1011–1077) | — | ctext.org wiki transcription; eee-learning.com (易學網) |
| 欽定協紀辨方書 | Qing (1739, Qianlong 4) | 欽定四庫全書 | SKQS scans (CADAL volume 06067680 et seq.) |
| 三命通會 萬民英 (Wan Minying) | Ming (萬曆, Wanli era) | 萬民英 (Wan Minying), compiled c. 1550 | arteducation.com.tw (中華古詩文古書籍網) transcription |
| 神相全編 袁忠徹 (Yuan Zhongche, compiler) | Ming (明朝, compilation) | — | Ming dynasty woodblock print, scanned pages (573 pages) |
| 太乙金鏡式經 王希明 (Wang Ximing) | Tang (Siku edition) | 《欽定四庫全書》本 (Siku Quanshu edition) | zh.wikisource.org transcription of the Siku Quanshu edition ↗ |
| 淵海子平 徐大升 (Xu Dasheng, compiler) | Song–Ming (compiled) | 徐大升 (Xu Dasheng) recension, Song; after 徐子平 (Xu Ziping), Five Dynasties | arteducation.com.tw (中華古詩文古書籍網) transcription |
| 葬書 郭璞 (Guo Pu) | Jin (attributed, 276–324 AD) | 《欽定四庫全書》本 (Siku Quanshu edition) | zh.wikisource.org transcription of the Siku Quanshu edition |
| 增刪卜易 野鶴老人 (Yehe Laoren) | Qing (康熙, Kangxi era) | 野鶴老人 (Ye He Laoren), Qing 康熙 era, c. 1715 | zh.wikisource.org transcription ↗ |
| 周易本義 朱熹 (Zhu Xi) | Song (1177 AD) | 《四庫全書薈要》本 (Siku Quanshu Huiyao edition, Kangxi era) | CADAL / Internet Archive (Zhejiang University Library digitization), 342 pages in 2 volumes ↗ |
| 周易注疏 | 欽定四庫全書 (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries) | Zhejiang University Library via CADAL / Internet Archive | |
| 紫微斗數全書 陳希夷 (Chen Xiyi / Chen Tuan) | Song (attributed, 960–1279); Ming edition annotated | — | SKQS scan (南北山人編註 annotated edition, Ming woodblock reprint) ↗ |
Libraries and digitization projects
None of the above would be readable without these.
- CADAL / Internet Archive ↗
China Academic Digital Associative Library scans, largely via Zhejiang University Library, are the source for most of the Siku Quanshu (欽定四庫全書) editions transcribed here.
- Zhejiang University Library (浙江大學圖書館) ↗
The digitizing institution behind the CADAL Siku Quanshu volumes.
- NCPSSD (國家哲學社會科學文獻中心) ↗
National Center for Philosophy and Social Sciences Documentation — source of the 1889 Saoye Shanfang reprint used for Bushi Zhengzong.
- Wikimedia Commons ↗
Hosts several of the woodblock scans transcribed here.
- 易學網 (eee-learning.com) ↗
Transcription reference for the Meihua Yishu material.
The wider I-Ching web
- Yijing Dao ↗Steve Marshall
A full transcription of the Zhouyi, a beginner's guide, and a deep archive of scholarly book reviews from the Oracle journal. Opinionated and worth days rather than minutes.
- I Ching with Clarity ↗Hilary Barrett
The most active English-language community around the Yi — a free introductory course, the Answers blog, and a long-running forum. Oriented to divination as practice.
- Yijing.nl ↗Harmen Mesker
A working Yijing scholar's site, with close readings that take the text's Bronze Age context seriously.
- Yijing Dao — annotated links ↗Steve Marshall
Around a hundred links with real commentary attached.
- Hermetica — Yijing links ↗Bradford Hatcher
Roughly 150 links across fourteen categories. Updated infrequently, so expect some rot — but still the widest map of the field.
Something missing, or credited wrongly? Get in touch and we'll fix it.