How to read the Book of Changes?

Starting from the basic knowledge, the integration of two instruments, three talents and four images, five elements and six hexagrams, seven stars and eight diagrams, and heavenly stems and earthly branches began. To learn the philosophical part of the Book of Changes, we should first start from the source of the theory of Yin-Yang and Five Elements, and then learn sixty-four hexagrams, images and words, as long as we simply know the principle of generating grams of Yin-Yang and Five Elements.

After laying a good foundation, I recommend three advanced books, Zhu's The Original Meaning of Zhouyi, Kong's The Justice of Zhouyi and Cheng Yi's The Book of Changes, all of which are representative works of Zhouyi School. If you want to learn image numbers, I recommend reading the Book of Changes written by Li Dingzuo in the Tang Dynasty, which has collected many classics of the Han Dynasty. In addition, the Confucian doctrine of the mean and Taoist Laozi and Zhuangzi are also good choices.

The content of Zhouyi includes two parts: classics and biography.

But it is generally considered to be an integrated work in Qin and Han Dynasties. Classics are mainly composed of 64 hexagrams and 384 hexagrams, each of which has its own interpretation (hexagrams) for divination. It contains seven languages * * * and ten quatrains explaining hexagrams, which are collectively called Ten Wings. It is said that it was written by Confucius. It is generally believed that it was formed during the Qin and Han dynasties, not by one person at a time. Since the Song Dynasty, scholars have always doubted that Yi Zhuan was written for Confucius. The Book of Changes is just one of its main functions. In fact, the Book of Changes contains a wealth of knowledge such as astronomy, geography, military affairs, science, literature and agriculture.

Reference to the above content: Baidu Encyclopedia-Yijing