Joseph A. Adler received his Ph.D. in Religious Studies from the University of California at Santa Barbara in 1984, with a dissertation on Zhu Xi's understanding of the Yijing. Most of his work has focused on the religious dimensions of Neo-Confucianism in China. Since his retirement from teaching at Kenyon College in 2014 he has continued to reside in Gambier, Ohio.

• 1. What is the Yijing?


• 2. Layers of Change


• 3. Yijing Divination


• 4. The Early History of Yijing Interpretation


• 5. Early Modern Views of the Yi


• 6. The Yijing in Modern China and the West


• 7. Why the Yijing?


• Bibliography

This book provides an introduction for the general reader to this classic sacred text. Joseph A. Adler explains the Yijing's multi-layered structure, its origins, its history of interpretation from the early first millennium BCE up to the present day, its function of divination, its significance in the history of Chinese thought, and its modern transformations. He explores why the Yijing has been considered the most profound expression of traditional Chinese thought and what meaning it can have for contemporary readers.