The Multimedia I Ching (Bollingen Series, 572)

The I Ching, or Book of Changes, has been consulted as an oracle and explored as a book of wisdom and philosophy for 3000 years. Now Princeton University Press offers an interactive CD-ROM edition of this great classic, built on the entire text of the original Wilhelm/Baynes translation that has inspired over a million readers since its publication in the early 1950s. Through its familiar system of 64 six-line "hexagrams," the I Ching attempts to render all phenomena in the universe in terms of the interplay of the primal forces of Heaven and Earth.

In this CD edition, China's ageless work is harmonized with a stunning landscape of natural beauty, meticulously rendered architecture, and a background of gentle music and narration. In the open-air Pavilion, users can consult the Oracle through the traditional method of yarrow stalk divination or the simpler coin divination--or by entering a hexagram--for instant access to the appropriate readings of the Image, the Judgment, and the Lines. The text reader incorporates all levels of the text and all the Wilhelm commentary. The Library's rooms serve as a guide to the rich text of the Book of Changes, allowing effortless exploration of the deeper levels of the work, including the Ten Wings and other writings on the I Ching representing over 2500 years of study by Taoists, Confucians, and other scholars of this great work. Throughout the I Ching, tours await to guide you to both the deep resources of the disc and the many tools for using them.

From its early days, when sages cut the work apart to shuffle its pages, the I Ching has awaited three thousand years for a medium deep enough to hold it--and responsive enough to adapt the Changes to each user. Whether you seek wisdom, advice, translations of each original Chinese text, or an experience deep within another culture's thought, The Multimedia I Ching is a perfect environment. Finally, the world's oldest hypertext finds its home.

Both Mac and Windows versions are on the same hybrid disc.

Sample the I Ching on the internet at http://iching.princeton.edu

CD edition features
-Generates Oracle hexagrams through precise duplication of Yarrow or Coin methods
-Stores, files, and prints Oracle readings and texts

And includes
-Tours of material through voice and animation
-3-D walk-through or quick map-based navigation
-Ambient sounds of nature and classical Chinese instrumentals
-Preference settings for sounds, screens, and destinations
-Full texts of Wilhelm/Baynes' I Ching and Hellmut Wilhelm's Change: Eight Lectures on the I Ching