Home›Sources›The Sacred Books of the East, Volume XVI: The Yi KingSourcesThe Sacred Books of the East, Volume XVI: The Yi KingCitation FormatsGeneral ReferenceGeneral Reference Citation TextDivinity Atlas. "The Sacred Books of the East, Volume XVI: The Yi King." Accessed August 30, 2026. https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/the-sacred-books-of-the-east-volume-xvi-the-yi-king.Copy General ReferenceAPA StyleAPA Style Citation TextDivinity Atlas. (n.d.). The Sacred Books of the East, Volume XVI: The Yi King. Retrieved August 30, 2026, from https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/the-sacred-books-of-the-east-volume-xvi-the-yi-kingCopy APA StyleBibTeXBibTeX Citation Text@misc{divinityatlas-the-sacred-books-of-the-east-volume-xvi, author = {Divinity Atlas}, title = {The Sacred Books of the East, Volume XVI: The Yi King}, year = {2026}, url = {https://www.divinityatlas.com/sources/the-sacred-books-of-the-east-volume-xvi-the-yi-king}, note = {Accessed August 30, 2026} }Copy BibTeXJames Legge's 1882 translation of the Yi King, part of Max Muller's Sacred Books of the East series published by Clarendon Press, was the first major scholarly English translation of the Chinese classic, and it is notable for keeping the base text, the Zhou Yi, visibly separate from the later Ten Wings commentary layer rather than blending them, a distinction many later popular editions blur. As a scholarly translation of a primary text it sits at this atlas's top tier. It is strong evidence for what the earliest layers of the text actually say and for how they differ from later interpretive additions. Being nineteenth century scholarship, its notes reflect the state of Sinology at the time, and a claim resting on more recent textual or archaeological findings needs a modern source alongside it.FactsClaims Backed By This Source (2,904 claims)Comments (0)Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)FactsAssessmentReliability TierWell-attested1The first major scholarly English translation of the Yijing, published by a university press and distinguishing the base text from its later commentary layers rather than blending them, the standard of care that earns a primary translation the top tier.NotesWell-attestedThe first major scholarly English translation. Legge translates the Zhou Yi and the Ten Wings separately and says so, which later popular versions often do not. Tier corrected from 4 to 1: the site uses a three-tier scale (1 scholarly or peer-reviewed, 2 reputable secondary, 3 the tradition's own account). Scholarly translations and primary manuscripts are tier 1; 4 and 5 were outside the scale.CitationAuthorWell-attestedJames Legge (trans.)PublisherWell-attestedClarendon Press, OxfordPublication YearWell-attested1882URLWell-attestedhttps://archive.org/details/wg916Source TypeWell-attestedbookClaims Backed By This Source (2,904 claims)This source backs 2,904 claims across the atlas. As facts: 2,317 well-attested. As cited relationships: 188 holds. Plus 399 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.Disposition By TopicHexagram Lines, 2,106 claims: 1,536 well-attested, 186 holds, 384 general references.Articles, 769 claims: 769 well-attested.I Ching Hexagrams, 11 claims: 11 general references.Sources, 8 claims: 8 well-attested.Sacred Geometry, 4 claims: 2 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.Historical Figures, 3 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.Numbers, 2 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 general references.Esoteric Texts, 1 claims: 1 general references.Well-attested2,317ArticlesA Beginning That Has Already Gone as Badly as It WillA Cavern Inside the Double Defile at the Entrance to DangerA Change of Heart That Disperses More Than One GrievanceA Chronic Complaint That Nonetheless Does Not KillA Course Weighed Whole at the End, and the Joy Beyond ItA Cup of Spirits and a Vessel of Grain Passed Through the WindowA Dispute Not Carried ThroughA Dispute Set Aside Early and the Careful Step That FollowsA Field Where There Is No GameA Leap Gathered but Not Taken, Where Readiness Outranks SpeedA Line About Duration Rather Than About AdviceA Little of the Deliverance Sought, and No More Than a LittleA Mandate from Above and Companions Who Share the BlessingA Match Chosen by Suitability Rather Than by RankA Pig Covered in Mud, a Cart Full of Ghosts, and a Bow UnbentA Pleasant Position That Only Steadiness Can KeepA Retreat That Is a Return, and the Relief It BringsA Return Still Freely Available Before Restraint Reaches DownA Stirring Too Slight for Action, and the Turn It Points TowardA String of Fishes Led in Order Through the Palace GateA Thong of Yellow Oxhide and the Firmness It Stands ForA Victory at the Summit That Empties What It WonA Victory With an Instruction Attached to ItA View Correct in Its Place and Still Too Small for the TaskA White Horse Flying On, and a Suitor Taken for a RobberA Wound in the Left Thigh and the Strength of a HorseAbiding Long in the Due Mean, and the Reading That Needs No ActionAbility Held Quietly Until the Position Can Bear ItAccepting a Delay Instead of Fighting ItAccess Used for Comprehension and Then Given UpAcknowledged Merit Carried Modestly Through to CompletionActing Decisively While Telling One Party from AnotherActing on a First Impulse That Wants NothingActing Under Warrant, or Falling Back to WatchingAdorned and Bedewed, and the Constancy That Has to Hold ItAdorning the Feet, and the Carriage That Is Left BehindAdvance Checked at the Outset, and the Generous MindAdvancing in Company at the Foot of the ApproachAdvancing Like a Marmot, With the Place Not Its OwnAdvancing on a Relation That Was Only NeglectedAgitation Pursued as If It Were EnduranceAmong the Overthrowers Without Sharing in the WorkAn Accustomed Path Walked Before the Tiger Is NearAn Approach Mistaken for a Threat, and the Patience to Tell Them ApartAn Army Sets OutAn Unfit Position and the Timed Withdrawal It Calls ForApprehension Honestly Felt as What Carries One Past the TigerApproach in the Highest Mode from the Base of the EarthAttaching to the Wrong Company, and the Injury It InvitesAttachment Moved from the Inward Mind, Not from NeedShowing 1 to 50 of 1,157 entities carrying this claim. NextHolds188Hexagram LinesApproach, Line 1Approach, Line 2Approach, Line 3Approach, Line 4Approach, Line 5Approach, Line 6Biting Through, Line 1Biting Through, Line 2Biting Through, Line 3Biting Through, Line 4Biting Through, Line 5Biting Through, Line 6Conflict, Line 1Conflict, Line 2Conflict, Line 3Conflict, Line 4Conflict, Line 5Conflict, Line 6Contemplation, Line 1Contemplation, Line 2Contemplation, Line 3Contemplation, Line 4Contemplation, Line 5Contemplation, Line 6Darkening of the Light, Line 1Darkening of the Light, Line 2Darkening of the Light, Line 3Darkening of the Light, Line 4Darkening of the Light, Line 5Darkening of the Light, Line 6Duration, Line 1Duration, Line 2Duration, Line 3Duration, Line 4Duration, Line 5Duration, Line 6Enthusiasm, Line 1Enthusiasm, Line 2Enthusiasm, Line 3Enthusiasm, Line 4Enthusiasm, Line 5Enthusiasm, Line 6Fellowship, Line 1Fellowship, Line 2Fellowship, Line 3Fellowship, Line 4Fellowship, Line 5Fellowship, Line 6Following, Line 1Following, Line 2Showing 1 to 50 of 188 entities carrying this claim. NextGeneral References399Esoteric TextsI Ching (Book of Changes)Hexagram LinesAbundance, Line 1Abundance, Line 2Abundance, Line 3Abundance, Line 4Abundance, Line 5Abundance, Line 6After Completion, Line 1After Completion, Line 2After Completion, Line 3After Completion, Line 4After Completion, Line 5After Completion, Line 6Approach, Line 1Approach, Line 2Approach, Line 3Approach, Line 4Approach, Line 5Approach, Line 6Before Completion, Line 1Before Completion, Line 2Before Completion, Line 3Before Completion, Line 4Before Completion, Line 5Before Completion, Line 6Biting Through, Line 1Biting Through, Line 2Biting Through, Line 3Biting Through, Line 4Biting Through, Line 5Biting Through, Line 6Breakthrough, Line 1Breakthrough, Line 2Breakthrough, Line 3Breakthrough, Line 4Breakthrough, Line 5Breakthrough, Line 6Coming to Meet, Line 1Coming to Meet, Line 2Coming to Meet, Line 3Coming to Meet, Line 4Coming to Meet, Line 5Coming to Meet, Line 6Conflict, Line 1Conflict, Line 2Conflict, Line 3Conflict, Line 4Conflict, Line 5Conflict, Line 6Contemplation, Line 1Showing 1 to 50 of 399 entities carrying this claim. NextComments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0 open reader challenges)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.View At A Past YearThe atlas records no dated fact of its own for this entry, so there is no other year to choose.Show This Year