Home I Ching Connexion Introductions The structure of the I Ching
The structure of the I Ching
The I Ching consists of the Hexagrams, the Judgements (attributed to king Wen of Chou) and the Lines (attributed to his son Tan, the duke of Chou). All of these can be found in the text of the seperate hexagrams, together with the main part of the commentaries known as the 'Ten Wings'.

The fifth and sixth wing, Ta Chuan or 'Great Appendix', the eighth wing, Shuo Kua or 'Discourses on the Trigrams', and the ninth wing, Hsü Kua or 'Treatise on the Sequence', are an exception. You can find these commentaries under Appendices.

Arrangement of the Ten Wings

The first and second wing
T'uan Chuan 1 to 30 and 31 to 64 consist of the 'Commentaries on the Judgement' that accompany the judgements in the text of the seperate hexagrams.

The third and fourth wing
Hsiang Chuan 1 to 30 and 31 to 64 both consist of two sections. The first of these is the 'Image', the second the 'Commentaries on the Lines'. Both sections can be found in the text of the separate hexagrams.

The fifth and sixth wing
These are the sections 1 and 2 of the Ta Chuan. They are a general commentary, although sometimes commentaries on specific hexagrams, even on specific lines, are included. Both sections consist of twelve chapters.

Section1
Chapter 1:The Changes in Creation and in the Book of Change
Chapter 2:On the wording and the use of the Book of Change
Chapter 3:On the words of the signs and lines
Chapter 4:The deeper meaning of the Book of Change
Chapter 5:TAO and its relation to the light and dark force
Chapter 6:Application of TAO on the Book of Change
Chapter 7:The effects of the Book of Change on people
Chapter 8:On the use of the appended explanations
Chapter 9:On the Oracle
Chapter 10:The fourfold use of the Book of Change
Chapter 11:On yarrowstalks, signs and lines
Chapter 12:Summary


Section2
Chapter 1:On signs and lines, on creating and working
Chapter 2:Cultural history
Chapter 3:On the structure of the hexagrams
Chapter 4:On the nature of the trigrams
Chapter 5:Commentary on some of the lines in the Book of Change
Chapter 6:On the general nature of the Book of Change
Chapter 7:The effect of some hexagrams on building character
Chapter 8:On the use of the Book of Change: The lines
Chapter 9:The lines (continued)
Chapter 10:The lines (continued)
Chapter 11:The value of prudence as doctrine of the Book of Change
Chapter 12:Summary

Section 2, Chapter VII: 2-4, contain the 'Appended Judgements' that appear in a different arrangement in the text of the nine hexagrams concerned.

The seventh wing
Wen Yen or 'Explanation of the Words and Sentences' is an additional commentary on the first two hexagrams, see: Wen Yen on Ch'ien and Wen Yen on K'un. Like the Ta Chuan it originated around Confucius.
Some experts argue that the Wen Yen commentaries must have once existed for all 64 hexagrams, but failed to escape the fires of the great bookburnings of Chin in 213 BC.

The eighth wing
Shuo Kua or 'Discourses on the Trigrams', contains some pre-confucian material in a very lucid style. Chapter 3 is a notable, if not notorious, exception. A commentary out of the school of Confucius has been included.
A reference is made to two arrangements of the trigrams, the Primal Arrangement, attributed to the mythical sage Fu Hsi, and the Inner World Arrangement, attributed to king Wen of Chou.

The ninth wing
Hsü Kua or 'Treatise on the Sequence', aims at giving an explanation why the hexagrams are given in their present order. Although an occasional rational or intruiging explanation cannot be denied, the effort falls short of its intentions. At best it seems a rather stretched mnemonic on the general theme of things being unable to last forever, and hence being followed by something else.

The tenth wing
Tsa Kua or 'Miscellaneous Signs', characterizes the hexagrams in as far as they approximate, or are opposed to, one another in meaning. They are mostly in rhyme and this, as much as their meaning, may have influenced their grouping.
They can be found in the text of the separate hexagrams, sometimes as a complete poem that also covers (and appears in) the related hexagrams, sometimes in part, with a reference to the hexagrams concerned.
 
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