SKETCHES INSPIRED BY THE BOOK OF CHANGES
Changes? Why sketches?
Lines on paper are not set in stone. After all, there’s an eraser at the end of the pencil.
Or make a chalk drawing. The little boy isn’t the least bit afraid of making mistakes. Again the eraser works wonders.
The old man in China comes to the park every odd-numbered day of the week. After just a few minutes, the sun evaporates his water-painted characters.
With a rake and a stick he draws geometry in the Portuguese sand. How long will it last? The sea gives; the sea takes away.
Sketches inspired by the Book of Changes. Its history dates back to the Zhouyi, written in the Bronze Age. Since then, nothing in everyday life has remained the same. Only change itself has remained a constant.
The imagery employed in the book traces the interplay between eight natural phenomena. Just as a chessboard is eight squares wide and eight squares long, comprising sixty-four squares, so the Book of Changes comprises sixty-four chapters. Eight natural archetypes, followed by sixty-four fundamental encounters and at last an infinite number – let’s call it a thousand, for convenience’s sake – of possible changes. Just like moves on the chessboard.
There are three types of works on the I Ching. Original, direct translations from Chinese. Commentaries on these. And texts and visual works loosely inspired by the Book of Changes. What you will find in 8ismeerdan1000 falls into the latter category.
A Bronze Age text is not easy to understand. Comparing multiple sources side by side helps to make sense of it. In the index below, I refer to the sometimes differing naming of the chapters used by the various authors.
AH = Alfred Huang wrote The Complete I Ching, an original translation from Chinese into English. A classic and extremely readable work.
RW = Richard Wilhelm lived in China as a missionary in the early 20th century. He translated the I Ching into German. For a long time, this was regarded as the most authoritative translation in the West.
JB = Jack Balkin wrote The Laws of Change. A book with the clarity of a legal scholar, which he in fact is.
JJ = Julie Tallard Johnson wrote the I Ching for Teens. Unconventional, original, and not only for teens.
DM = Deng Ming-Dao wrote The Living I Ching. Excellent structure and poetic.
RR = Richard Rutt wrote Zhouyi with the subtitle Translation with Commentary of the Book of Changes. Indispensable historical perspective.
SD = Sarah Denig wrote The Everyday I Ching. The influence of Carl Gustav Jung, who wrote the introduction to Richard Wilhelm’s I Ching, shines through.
INTRODUCTION
chapter 1: INITIATING / Initiating (AH) / The Creative (RW) / The Dynamic (JB) / Initiation (JJ) / Heaven (DM) / Active (RR) / The Creative Force (SD)
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chapter 2: RESPONSE / Responding (AH) / The Receptive (RW) / The Receptive (JB) / Mother Earth (JJ) / Earth (DM) / Earth (RR) / Responsiveness (SD)
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chapter 1 & 2: Initiating & Response
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A MOVIE WITHOUT END
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THE NAVEL OF THE WORLD
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LINES AND ARROWS
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chapter 3: BEGINNING / Beginning (AH) / De Aanvangsmoeilijkheid (RW) / Difficulty in the Beginning (JB) / Difficulty at First (JJ) / Sprouting (DM) / Massed (RR) / Inexperience (SD)
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chapter 4. PLAY / Childhood (AH) / Difficulty at the Beginning (RW) / Youthful Inexperience (JB) / Youthful Energy (JJ) / Youth (DM) / Dodder (RR) / Inexperience (SD)
chapter 5: WAINTING / Needing (AH) / Waiting - Nourishment (RW) / Waiting (JB) / Waiting (DM) / Waiting (RR) / Waiting (SD)
hoofdstuk 6: CONFLICT / Contention (AH) / Conflict (RW) / Conflict (JB) / Crossroads (JJ) / Dispute (DM) / Dispute (RR) / Conflict (SD)
chapter 7: MULTITUDE / Multitude (AH) / Het Leger (RW) / Het Leger (JB) / Spiritual Warriors (JJ) / Armies (DM) / Troops (RR) / The Army (SD)
coming soon …
chapter 8: UNITY / Union (AH) / Holding Together (RW) / Union (JB) / The Sacred Dance of Love (JJ) / Joining (DM) / Joining (RR) / Joining the Right Group (SD)
coming soon …
chapter 9: SARTING SMALL / Little Accumulation (AH) / The Taming Power of the Small (RW) / Small Accumulation (RB) / Starting Small (JJ) / Smallness Tames (DM) / Farming: Minor (RR) / Exercising Restraint (SD)
chapter 10: WALK / Fulfillment (AH) / Treading (RW) / Treading (JB) / Caution (JJ) / Walking (DM) / Stepping (RR) / Treading Carefully (SD)
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chapter 12. STANDSTILL
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chapter 17. FOLLOWING
chapter 18. DECAY
chapter 19. APPROACHING
chapter 20. OBSERVING
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chapter 21. BITING THROUGH #1
chapter 22. BEAUTY
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chapter 21. BEAUTY #2
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chapter 24. RETURNING
chapter 25.
chapter 25. UNITY #1
chapter 26. ACCUMULATION
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chapter 27. JAWS
chapter 27. JAWS #2
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chapter 28. GROTE OVERMAAT
chapter 29. DARK
chapter 30. LIGHT
chapter 30. LIGHT
chapter 31. RESONANCE
chapter 32. RESILIENT
chapter 33. WITHDRAWAL
chapter 34. GREAT STRENGTH
chapter 34. GREAT STRENGTH
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chapter 35. STRAIGHT AHEAD #1
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chapter 36. DARKENING OF THE LIGHT #1
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chapter 37. FAMILY
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chapter 38. ESTRANGEMENT
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chapter 39 OBSTACLES
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chapter 40. LIBERATION #1
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chapter 41. DECREASE
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chapter 42. INCREASE
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chapter 43. BREAK-THROUGH
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chapter 44. ENCOUNTER
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chapter 45. GATHERING TOGETHER
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chapter 46. GROWING UPWARD
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chapter 47. EXHAUSTION
chapter 48. REGENERATION
chapter 49. REVOLUTION
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chapter 50. EMBRACING THE NEW
chapter 50. EMBRACING THE NEW
chapter 51. SHOCK
chapter 51. SHOCK
chapter 52. KEEPING STILL
chapter 53. GRADUALLY
chapter 53. GRADUALLY
chapter 53. SUBORDINATE
chapter 53. SUBORDINATE
chapter 55. ABUNDANCE
chapter 56. GUEST
chapter 56. GUEST
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chapter 57. GENTLE AND PENETRATING #1
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chapter 58. MIRROR #1
chapter 58. MIRROR #2
chapter 58. MIRROR #3
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chapter 59. DISPERSION #1
chapter 59. DISPERSION #2
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chapter 60. CONCENTRATION
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chapter 61. INNER TRUTH
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chapter 62. KLEINE OVERMAAT
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chapter 63. PERFECT
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