The Yi-Jing has been translated dozens of times, in every European language. Not all translations are equal : some are faithful to the Chinese text, others interpretative ; some are in the public domain, others under copyright. This overview presents the main editions available, clearly distinguishing those that can be read freely online from those that require the purchase of a book.

Public domain translations

These are the only ones ask-yijing relies on for canonical texts. They are freely accessible and reusable.

Legge (1882) — English

James Legge (1815-1897), Scottish missionary and sinologist at Oxford, published in 1882 The Yî King in the Sacred Books of the East series (Vol. XVI), edited by Max Müller.

Characteristics :

  • Very literal translation, sometimes austere, but precise
  • Includes a long introduction, the 64 hexagrams and the “Appendices” (the Ten Wings commentaries)
  • First English translation of reference, still cited today by sinologists
  • Public domain confirmed (author † 1897 + 70 years)

Verified access :

This is ask-yijing’s reference translation for English.

Philastre (1885-1893) — French

Paul-Louis-Félix Philastre (1837-1902), French colonial administrator and orientalist, published between 1885 and 1893 the first complete French translation of the Yi-Jing, directly from Chinese. The work is titled Le Yi-King ou Livre des changements de la dynastie des Tsheou and was published by Ernest Leroux in Paris.

Characteristics :

  • Full translation : 64 hexagrams, judgement, image, line commentaries
  • Includes the classical commentaries of Cheng Yi (11th century) and Zhu Xi (12th century), themselves in the public domain
  • Archaising style : late 19th-century prose, sometimes dense, but faithful
  • Public domain confirmed (author † 1902 + 70 years)

Verified access :

This is ask-yijing’s reference translation for French.

de Harlez (1889) — French, secondary source

Charles de Harlez (1832-1899), Belgian orientalist, published in 1889 Le Yih-king, traduit d’après les interprètes chinois avec la version mandchoue, in the Mémoires of the Royal Academy of Belgium.

Characteristics :

  • Scientific translation, drier than Philastre
  • Useful for cross-checking ambiguous passages
  • Comparative approach (Chinese text + Manchu version)
  • Public domain confirmed (author † 1899 + 70 years)

Verified access :

ask-yijing uses it as a comparison source when Philastre is ambiguous.

McClatchie (1876) — English, historical secondary source

Thomas McClatchie (1813-1885), English missionary in China, published in 1876 A Translation of the Confucian Yi-king, the first complete English translation by a Westerner.

Characteristics :

  • Pre-dates Legge, less reliable, but of historical interest
  • Translation sometimes influenced by a questionable theological reading
  • Public domain confirmed (author † 1885 + 70 years)
  • Useful mostly for cross-checking, not direct use

Access :

Copyrighted translations

These editions are not used by ask-yijing for quotations, but it is useful to know them. Their editorial quality and readability are real ; you just need to acquire the book to consult them.

Wilhelm (1924) — German, and Wilhelm/Baynes (1950) — English

Richard Wilhelm (1873-1930), German missionary and sinologist, published in 1924 I Ging, Das Buch der Wandlungen with Diederichs (Jena). This German translation was decisive for the Western reception of the Yi-Jing in the 20th century, notably because Carl Gustav Jung prefaced the 1930 edition.

  • German version (1924) : Wilhelm’s original is in the public domain since 2001 (author † 1930 + 70 years). Several scans are available.
  • English translation by Cary F. Baynes (1950) : under copyright. It is the most widely read edition in the English-speaking world. Prefaced by Jung (whose original German preface from 1930 remains under copyright).

Contemporary English translations

Several 20th-century sinologists have proposed well-regarded English translations (notably Richard John Lynn, 1994, based on Wang Bi’s commentary ; Thomas Cleary, 1992 ; Stephen Karcher, 1997). All are under copyright.

Contemporary French translations

Several French translations have been published in the 20th and 21st centuries. All are under copyright and require the purchase of a book.

Among the major French-language contributors, Cyrille Javary (born 1947) is probably the most influential for the contemporary reception of the Yi-Jing. A sinologist and founder of the Centre Djohi in 1985, he has published several works with Albin Michel and Hachette — notably a major translation-and-commentary of the Yi-Jing co-signed with Pierre Faure. His approach combines sinological rigour with accessibility. French-speaking readers who want to go beyond Philastre will find in his work a demanding contemporary reference.

Other French-language authors (Étienne Perrot earlier, and various recent translators) have also proposed French versions of the text. Choosing a modern edition is a matter of taste and reading context.

How to choose

For a first contact with the text, online and free :

  • In English : Legge on Sacred-Texts.com
  • In French : Philastre on labirintoermetico.com

Both translations demand some effort (19th-century language), but they give access to the canonical text without a modern interpretative filter.

For regular reading, buying a modern edition can make sense : reading comfort is much higher, the critical apparatus (notes, index, version comparison) complements the text. It is a classic bookshop investment, not necessary but appreciable.

For scholarly or comparative use, contemporary sinologists (Lynn, Rutt, Shaughnessy) offer critical apparatus that 19th-century translations don’t have.

ask-yijing’s position

Our service relies exclusively on public domain translations for canonical quotations. This choice has three reasons :

  1. Legal rigour : no copyright conflict, no risk of style plagiarism.
  2. Accessibility : our readers can verify every quotation on a source freely available online.
  3. Accepted slowness : public domain translations require more contextual work, which pushes us to write proprietary guides rather than lean on the comfort of modern editions.

We do not rule out that the service may eventually integrate other sources, under licence. For version 1, we stay in the public domain.

To go further

For an introduction to the Yi-Jing, see What is the Yi-Jing?. For the practical method, see How to cast the Yi-Jing. For editorial positioning, see Why use the Yi-Jing today.

Sources

All main translations cited in this article are in the public domain.

  • Legge, James (1882) — The Yî King (The Sacred Books of the East, Vol. XVI), Oxford University Press. Internet Archive · Sacred-Texts.
  • Philastre, Paul-Louis-Félix (1885-1893) — Le Yi-King ou Livre des changements de la dynastie des Tsheou, Ernest Leroux, Paris. Full PDF.
  • de Harlez, Charles (1889) — Le Yih-king, Royal Academy of Belgium. Gallica BnF.
  • McClatchie, Thomas (1876) — A Translation of the Confucian Yi-king, Internet Archive.
  • Wilhelm, Richard (1924) — I Ging, Das Buch der Wandlungen, Diederichs, Jena. German public domain since 2001.

The copyrighted editions mentioned in the article (Wilhelm/Baynes, Lynn, Cleary, Karcher, recent French editions) are not quoted verbatim and are not used as source by ask-yijing.