Sources

Fathoming the Cosmos and Ordering the World: The Yijing (I Ching, or Classic of Changes) and Its Evolution in China

Citation Formats

General Reference

Divinity Atlas. "Fathoming the Cosmos and Ordering the World: The Yijing (I Ching, or Classic of Changes) and Its Evolution in China." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/fathoming-the-cosmos-and-ordering-the-world-the-yijing-i-ching-or-classic-of-changes-and-its-evolution-in-china.

APA Style

Divinity Atlas. (n.d.). Fathoming the Cosmos and Ordering the World: The Yijing (I Ching, or Classic of Changes) and Its Evolution in China. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/fathoming-the-cosmos-and-ordering-the-world-the-yijing-i-ching-or-classic-of-changes-and-its-evolution-in-china

BibTeX

@misc{divinityatlas-fathoming-the-cosmos-and-ordering-the-wo,
  author = {Divinity Atlas},
  title = {Fathoming the Cosmos and Ordering the World: The Yijing (I Ching, or Classic of Changes) and Its Evolution in China},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://divinity.interactivelion.com/sources/fathoming-the-cosmos-and-ordering-the-world-the-yijing-i-ching-or-classic-of-changes-and-its-evolution-in-china},
  note = {Accessed August 30, 2026}
}

Richard J. Smith's history was written specifically because no existing source covered the Yijing's various interpretive sequences, such as the King Wen sequence and Shao Yong's xiantian diagrams, together with the history of who attributed what to whom, a gap the author identifies and fills by tracing each attribution back through the textual record from the Zhou Yi core to the present, including the text's reception by Wilhelm and Jung in the West. That attribution history, verifiable against the primary layers it traces, is the real basis for using it here. This record has not independently traced a documented history of scholarly disagreement with Smith's specific attributions. Use it for the history of the Yijing's interpretive sequences and their attribution.

Facts

Assessment

Reliability Tier

A scholarly history from a university press tracing the Yijing's various interpretive sequences and who attributed what to whom, from the Zhou Yi core to its reception by Wilhelm and Jung in the West.

Notes

The standard scholarly history of the Yijing from the Zhou Yi core to the present. Covers the King Wen sequence, Shao Yong's xiantian diagrams and the Fu Xi ascription, the Song images-and-numbers school, and the text's reception in the West including Wilhelm and Jung. Added because no source in the corpus covered the sequences and their attributions together.

Citation

Author

Richard J. Smith

Publisher

University of Virginia Press

Publication Year

2008

URL

https://www.upress.virginia.edu/title/2188/

Source Type

academic monograph

Cross-Tradition Connections

Associated With

King Wen of Zhou

This source names King Wen of Zhou directly: "interpretive sequences, such as the King Wen sequence and Shao Yong's xiantian diagrams, together with the history of who attributed what to whom, a gap the author identifies and fills by tracing..."

Source Fathoming the Cosmos and Ordering the World: The Yijing (I Ching, or Classic of Changes) and Its Evolution in ChinaRichard J. Smith

Claims Backed By This Source (721 claims)

This source backs 721 claims across the atlas. As facts: 597 well-attested, 1 partially Attested, 2 scholarly debate. As cited relationships: 22 holds, 2 connected. Plus 97 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.

Disposition By Topic

I Ching Hexagrams, 384 claims: 320 well-attested, 64 general references.
Articles, 157 claims: 154 well-attested, 1 partially Attested, 2 general references.
Bagua Trigrams, 72 claims: 64 well-attested, 8 general references.
Sacred Geometry, 20 claims: 14 well-attested, 1 holds, 5 general references.
Historical Figures, 18 claims: 10 well-attested, 3 holds, 5 general references.
Religious Symbols, 15 claims: 6 well-attested, 8 holds, 1 general references.
Scripture Portions, 13 claims: 10 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate, 2 general references.
Numerology Systems, 9 claims: 4 well-attested, 2 holds, 2 connected, 1 general references.
Sources, 9 claims: 8 well-attested, 1 holds.
Directions, 8 claims: 4 holds, 4 general references.
Ages, 5 claims: 3 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
Figures, 4 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 scholarly debate, 1 holds, 1 general references.
Numbers, 3 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
Rituals, 3 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 general references.
Scriptures & Texts, 1 claims: 1 general references.