| Abstract |
This paper takes on the view that the I Ching study in the East and the West are based on different academic traditions and cultural backgrounds. Therefore, the I Ching study in the West is not equivalent to that of the East, nor can it be judged under the eastern standards and criteria. The I Ching study in the West can only be interpreted correctly based on the western academic tradition and historical background. This essay focuses primarily on Richard Wilhelm’s Constancy and Change to illustrate the influence of historical background in Wilhelm’s study of the I Ching, and thus demonstrates the western I Ching study is closely related to its own historical era. Wilhelm’s philosophy of the I Ching can be classified into three categories. First, I Ching is taken as an active book of divination. Second, the study of the I Ching is based upon analytical psychology. Third, the opposition and collaboration in the organic philosophy of the I Ching are taken into considerations. Wilhelm’s philosophy of the I Ching is realistic and practical, evolving through the historical problems that the era faces. Wilhelm was situated in the post-war Weimar Republic, and the cultural spirit at that time had a profound internal division and a strong desire for wholeness. The anxiety and fear at that era not only sparked off rich creativity in man, but also resulted in man’s psychasthenia and their inclination for the unknown. Wilhelm’s philosophy of the I Ching is incubated at such period, hence I Ching is taken as a book of divination, which can direct and assist man into the future. Also, with analytical psychology as a special methodology to interpret the I Ching, with the consideration from opposition to collaboration, and the establishment of an organic philosophy, Wilhelm aims to fulfill the historical desire for wholeness. |
