Divination, Order, and the Zhouyi

Divination, Order, and the Zhouyi deals with the interpretation of the Zhouyi, a divination work of early China composed during the late 9th century BC that embodies a unique method of divination through symbolic, verbally formulated images. This divination system was originally meant to serve the Zhou King as he carried out the Mandate of Heaven. After the Western Zhou dynasty ended, biased interpretation by those other than the royal scribes appeared. Richard Gotshalk seeks to return to the original meaning of the work, which facilitates a greater understanding of the concrete world as a realm of change in which something is at stake and action needs to be appropriate to the reality of the changing world.