As Confucius states in The Great Treatise, divination is not the highest use of the I Ching. It can and should be used as a living reference for the highest moral and ethical standards for any individual in virtually any given circumstance.

After writing The Complete I Ching, Taoist Master Alfred Huang, encouraged by friends and family to further expound on the subtleties of the sacred text, decided to take a fresh approach. Considering the tremendous differences between life today and life three thousand years ago, the author began to discover new ways to present the ancient wisdom to modern readers. Now, in Understanding the I Ching, he offers a detailed commentary of the sixty-four hexagrams and their characters, including a detailed examination of the nature and principles of the first two gua—heaven and earth—as well as interpretations of the first hexagram and the guiding principles represented by its four characters.

With an in-depth analysis and study of the two different schools of interpretation, the construction of the hexagrams, and the placement and significance of the hexagram’s host, this scholarly yet easy-to-understand book provides exceptional insight for those who have studied the I Ching and seek a deeper understanding of its subtleties and profundity.