by Lady Wu » Sat Feb 08, 2003 9:49 pm
I agree with Jon's point that we shouldn't overextend ourselves and go into religion and philosophy too much, since we don't have experts here on those areas and we don't want to misrepresent any side. However, I think that to fully appreciate SGYY one needs some background on the traditional philosophy that is so much part of the Chinese culture and reflected in the novel.
I'm not ready to give an exegesis of the I Ching text, but if you look at it carefully, there is zero religious content. Heck, the text doesn't even say that it can be a divination tool. In terms of historical relevance, some have argued that the I Ching documents the rise to power of the first King of Zhou dynasty, but I remain neutral on that point.
"Whatever you do, don't fall off the bridge! It'll be a pain to try to get back up again." - Private, DW 8