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"Book of Changes" remains popular in China
With thousands of years of history, "I-Ching," or "Book of Changes," remains popular in China with its naive philosophy of changes. The 88-year-old Ren Jiyu, China's prestigious scholar on philosophy and religion, gave a speech at the State Library to deliberate on the importance of the philosophy in modern society on Saturday. The book first came into shape in Zhou Dynasty (1,100-771 BC). It divides the world into Yin and Yang. Yin represents weak, conservative or retiring things, while Yang represents things that are active, enterprising and strong. The two factors work on each other, giving birth to new things and propelling the development of the society. The book encourages people to act positively in compliance with natural rules, which is still important in modern times, Ren said. On its appearance, the "I-Ching" became the fortune-tellers' Bible and a classic of world philosophy. More than 4,000 philosophy texts and 2,000 fortune-telling charts have derived from the "I-Ching" in the past thousand years, Ren acknowledged. However, another noted ancient philosopher, Xunzi said those who knew the "Book of Changes" well would never use it to tell their fortune, for they wouldn't need to tell their fortune after having learnt the essence of the book and the rules of nature well. It was progress for people in the remote antiquity to want to know what tomorrow would be, but a retrogression for modern people to take fortune-telling seriously, Ren said. The State Library invites scholars each week to give public speech on various topics including literature, aesthetics, economy and architecture.
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