The Original I Ching

“Margaret Pearson’s I CHING is an important book, not only because it is the first interpretation, ever, by a woman in a wholly male-dominated field, but because of its freshness and directness. While being rooted in the most recent scholarly discoveries and research, it achieves the nearly impossible, simply by being real, relevant, and readable. Obscurity, pomposity and ponderousness are thrown out of the window. A delight.” —Richard Burns, poet“Her interpretation and translation is unique, not only in the sense that she has made a meaningful separation of the original text from the commentaries…but also in the sense that she approaches the text with an ungendered and holistic perspective.” —Xinzhong Yao, Director, King’s China Institute, King’s College London“Pearson’s mission was to restore the text to its original form. Simultaneously, she kept an eye on the clarity of the text, concerned that it be comprehensible to non-scholars. Whether customers use the book for consultation, meditation, or scholarly research, having this ancient text restored to its original form is something very valuable indeed.” —New Age Retailer

Dr. Margaret J. Pearson studied Chinese literature with Hellmut Wilhelm, and history with Jack Dull and Chan Hok-la. She has taught Chinese history and thought for over forty years at Skidmore College, the New School for Social Research, Pace University, State University of New York (Albany) and Marymount Manhattan College. She has been elected to life membership at Clare Hall, Cambridge University and to membership in the Early China Seminar at Columbia University.

Dr. John S. Major, formerly professor of Asian studies at Dartmouth College, is an independent scholar based in New York City. He has published extensively in the field of early Chinese intellectual history, including a translation of the Huainanzi.