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undo - As a main point of interest for you:
The
I Ching is based on a binary numerical system,
which starts with the number zero (0).
The 0 is yin, conceptualized as receptive,
female, and is constant, the essential
beginning point of every "cycle."
1 comes into being only after 0 is recognized. The 1 is yang, conceptualized as creative,
male, and is always changing, the essential
end point of every cycle:
As a binary sequence, a "cycle" refers to the number of "places" in the number sequence: one place results in (the "cycle" of) yin-0 to yang-1;
two places result in yin-00 to yang-11 (0 to 3); three places result in yin-000 to yang-111 (0 to 7); four places result in yin-0000 to yang-1111 (0
to 15); five places result in yin-00000 to yang-11111 (0 to 31); six places result in yin-000000 to yang-111111 (0 to 63). ...As a side point for
example, "8" can only come into being after the 0-7 cycle is complete, and the very act of conceptualizing "8" encompasses the full numerical
cycle following, and so on.
IMO -
It is quite clear that the numbers' order (sequence) was changed to reflect shifting male-female politics - perhaps the change from
matriarchy to patriarchy - when then-contemporary politics could not accept the female principle as the essential beginning point. Many of the I
Ching's revisions obviously occurred to "correct" this "misconception" of the yin-female as the beginning element, and to establish the
yang-male as "first," not "last," and thus, superior to yin-female.
These revisions resulted in the loss (in some circles) of the basic arithmetic principles contained in the
I Ching - not to mention the loss of
the concept of zero to the larger culture. In fact, much of the ongoing controversy surrounding the
I Ching is based in the continued need to
conceptualize the yang-male as superior to the yin-female, and hence, mandates denying the binary basis of the work.
Moreover, the conceptually constipated Western mind - while able to accommodate notions of "magic" - is totally terrified of the implications
inherent in acknowledging that an ancient and so-called primitive culture could not only apprehend the concept of 'nothing' as a numerical value,
but also, could understand it so well as to actually work with it. But I digress. The psychology (and politics) of denial is a whole nother thread.
Originally posted by undo
The piece I was talking about is part of the Canon of Yao. It's the second book in the series. Here:
www.sacred-texts.com...
Thanks for posting the link. It's a great site.
I'd just like to state for the record, that had Fu been interested in sharing his knowledge of I Ching and the knowledge had originally been a
device, you would not be trying to guess what the thing is. It would be diagrammed out in his writings, not just its application but the entire
thing.
For the record - any diagrams would be long lost/gone.
...But in any event, a device is NOT required - it simply would help see the (fixed) progressions, cycles and relationships. ...I'm talking about a
"visual aid" here, but the representation could be strictly arithmetic
Also, constructing a clock-calendar from the
I Ching is not a matter of guesswork - it is just a matter of application. The key to doing so
involves going back to the basics, in a literal way,
before moving on to symbolic interpretation. For Western
I Ching diviners, the main
obstacle is conceptual - some are convinced that the
I Ching is
only symbolic, and that such a literal, physical representation would
somehow threaten their preconceptions.
In fact, the
I Ching is many things. It is claimed by Taoists as the bible of earth-based philosophy-religion, by Feng Shui practitioners as
the sorcerors' bible, and by Confucianists as the government administrators' bible.
In China, the
I Ching is recognized as a divination manual, a book of philosophy, a book of history, an ancient dictionary, an encyclopedia, a
scientific treatise, and a mathematical model of the universe.
What kind of book is the Changes? A divination manual? A book of philosophy? A book of history? An ancient dictionary? An encyclopedia? A scientific
treatise? A mathematical model of the universe? All these ideas have been suggested by commentators past or present.
Education About Asia
NOTE: This link lists a wealth of respected scholarly references; I am partial to Cleary as a translator.
Chinese tradition, and the Chinese mind, are capable of accepting the
I Ching as
all of these things, and more.
It is only the provincial and culture-bound Western mind, with its need for dogmatic referents, that insists on choosing one approach as the "right"
one,
and on stipulating that the 'ancient human mind' was primitive, therefor savage, and unable to conceptualize, apprehend or understand
complex knowledge.
imo, as I've stated earlier - the
I Ching is a multi-purpose archive: a beautifully elegant system designed to survive this planet's and
mans' cataclysms, whether geophysical or political.
The key survives - it is the binary system, and the images attached to the tetragrams.
.
You've got the concept. 
