周易注疏

Annotated Book of Changes

Wang Bi and Kong Yingda's definitive commentary on the I Ching, spanning the Wei and Tang dynasties—the scholarly foundation for all later interpretation.

About This Text

The Zhouyi Zhushu (周易注疏) is the standard annotated edition of the I Ching, combining Wang Bi's 3rd-century commentary with Kong Yingda's 7th-century subcommentary. Part of the authoritative Thirteen Classics (十三經注疏), this text presents a three-layer reading: the original Zhou dynasty text (經), Wang Bi's philosophical annotations (注), and Kong Yingda's expansive subcommentary (疏) that became the basis for imperial examination studies throughout Chinese history.

Edition: 欽定四庫全書 (Complete Library of the Four Treasuries)

Commentators

王弼

Wang Bi

226–249 CE · Annotations (注)

韓康伯

Han Kangbo

Jin Dynasty · Annotations (注)

孔穎達

Kong Yingda

574–648 CE · Subcommentary (疏)

Three-Layer Structure

The Zhouyi Zhushu presents a layered reading experience spanning nearly two millennia of scholarship:

Original I Ching text

周文王/周公 (~11th c. BCE)

Wang Bi's commentary

王弼 (3rd c. CE)

Kong Yingda's subcommentary

孔穎達 (7th c. CE)

Volume Structure (1,251 pages)

VolumeJuanContentPages
1卷一Upper Canon (hexagrams 1–30)177
2卷二Upper Canon continued84
3卷三~四Lower Canon (hexagrams 31–64)185
4卷五~七Lower Canon + Great Commentary pt.1239
5卷八~九Lower Canon hexagrams 44–57173
6卷十~十一Hexagrams 58–64 + Great Commentary183
7卷十二~十三 + 略例Appended commentaries + Wang Bi's Brief Examples210

Read the Text

All 64 hexagrams with three-layer commentary. Select a hexagram to begin.

Upper Canon 上經(Hexagrams 1–30)

Lower Canon 下經(Hexagrams 31–64)