Journal paper

Issue No.	VOL.43（Autumn）
Title	A Preliminary Investigation of the Yijing Scholarship in Western Xia
Author	NG, WAI-MING
Page	1～24
Abstract	The popularization and impact of the Yijing [Classic of Changes] scholarship in Western Xia (the Tangut Empire) remains largely unknown. The unearthing of Tangut documents in Khara-Khoto has paved the way for a preliminary investigation of the Yijing in Western Xia. This article is the first academic study of the Yijing in Western Xia, highlighting the ways that the Yingjing’s symbolism and divination were incorporated into Tangut traditions. Yijing-related ideas and practices played a considerable role in different aspects of Tangut culture, such as medicine, architecture, art, military strategy, political terminology, calendar, divination and the perception of the world. The Tangut people adopted elements from the Yijing based on their own cultural needs and preference. Like many other non-Sinic ethnic groups, the Western Xia’s reception of the Yijing was selective and the preference for practical values such as divination, geomancy, medicine and the military was salient. The Tangut people were only interested in Yijing divination and paid less attention to its text, images and numbers. The kind of multiculturalism and hybridity that characterize Western Xia culture is also evident in its Yijing scholarship. This pioneering study will shed new light on Song-Western Xia cultural relations and the integration of the Yijing into non-Sinic religions and cultures on China’s northwestern borders.
Keyword	the Yijing on China’s Ethnic Frontiers, Western Xia, Tangut documents from Khara-Khoto, localization
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