易经 (yì jīng) — the Book of Changes, a classic Chinese divination text and philosophical work

Definition

易经 (Yìjīng, 'Book of Changes') is an ancient Chinese classic used both for divination and as a philosophical work. As a proper title it has no close synonym within the HSK curriculum.

noun
the Book of Changes, a classic Chinese divination text and philosophical work

Examples

  • 易经，。
    Tā zuì jìn zài yán jiū yì jīng, xiǎng liǎo jiě qí zhōng de zhé xué sī xiǎng.
    He has been studying the Yijing recently, wanting to understand its philosophical ideas.
  • 易经，。
    Hěn duō rén yòng yì jīng lái zhān bǔ, yù cè wèi lái de biàn huà.
    Many people use the Yijing for divination to predict future changes.
  • 易经。
    yì jīng Shì zhōng guó gǔ dài zuì zhòng yào de wén xiàn zhī yī.
    The Yijing is one of the most important ancient Chinese texts.

Origin

Compound word
构词法gòucífǎ
偏正piānzhèngModifier + head

The first part narrows down the second: it says what kind of thing the head is.

易yìchanges
经jīngclassic

易 refers to changes and 经 to a classic text, giving the classic of changes.

Characters in this word

A drawing of the thing itself, worn down over three thousand years into a few strokes.

The early form of 易 was a drawing of a filled container, not a chameleon. It showed something full that could be given out.

Open 易 →

Most characters — around four in five — are built this way: one part hints at the meaning, the other at the pronunciation.

This origin belongs to the traditional form 經; 经 is its simplified writing.

Meaning part形符xíngfú
糹Written in full as糸mìsilk; thread
Sound part声符shēngfú
巠
巠jīng經jīng
Same sound today

The traditional form 經 combines 糹 (silk; thread) with 巠, which gives the sound.

Open 经 →

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