RICHARD WILHELM

translator of the I Ching for the European reader

The text of this post has been translated from Dutch to English with DeepL. It will be manually edited and streamlined soon.

Richard Wilhelm (10 May 1873 – 2 March 1930) was a German Sinologist, theologian and missionary. He lived in China for 25 years, became fluent in spoken and written Chinese, and grew to love and admire the Chinese people. He is best remembered for his translations of philosophical works from Chinese into German that in turn have been translated into other major languages of the world, including English. His translation of the I Ching is still regarded as one of the finest, as is his translation of The Secret of the Golden Flower. Both were provided with introductions by the Swiss psychiatrist Carl Jung, who was a personal friend.

Richard Wilhelm

the English edition of Richard Wilhelm’s I Ching from 1950

Richard Wilhelm's granddaughter directed this documentary, a profound introduction to the Chinese world view. "I Ching" is an actual living oracle with it's roots in antiquity and protected from the west for centuries. This riveting documentary shows how Wilhelm first had to be uniquely trusted, before translating these predictive secrets and sharing the Oracle with Carl Jung, who published the I Ching for the first time for western audiences.