I Ching Oracle: The Principle and Practice of Chinese Divination

About the event

Venerated as the "first among the classics" of ancient China, the Yijing / I Ching (Book of Changes) has had far-reaching impacts on Chinese religion, philosophy, and politics. This spectacular text has been widely used as a book of oracles or a divinatory manual.

In this talk, Professor John Lai will illustrate the underlying principles and centuries-old practice of I Ching divination in the face of our uncertain lives and fast-changing world.

Speakers

Prof. John Lai received his DPhil in Oriental Studies from Oxford (2005), and is currently Professor in the Department of Cultural and Religious Studies, Chinese University of Hong Kong. His research interests focus on Chinese religion and literature, and Global Yijing (Book of Changes) studies. He has published more than ten books, including An Annotated Anthology of the Yijing Commentaries by the Early Qing Jesuit Joachim Bouvet (2020); Christian Yijing: A Critical Study and Annotated Edition of Yijing benzhi (Original Meaning of the Yijing) by Lü Liben, a Chinese Catholic Believer in the Qing Period (2024).

Booking information

You can attend this event in person at the Weston Library or online via Zoom. The event is free and open to all but booking is required.

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For more information email fob@bodleian.ox.ac.uk