Hexagram, Handkerchief, and Butterfly: Crumpled Time in the I Ching Through the Lenses of Chaos and Complexity

• In Event: Perspectives on Chaos and Complexity Theories in Education

Abstract

This paper will critically examine the nonlinear concept of time in the “I Ching,” the oldest book collection based on the yin-yang philosophy in ancient China, through the lenses of the new science of chaos and complexity. It will first explore how changes are recognized, celebrated and used through subjective-objective situational analyses of sixty four hexagrams in the “I Ching,” then use the metaphors and stories of handkerchief, kneaded dough (Serres, 1991, 1995 & 1997) and butterfly effect (Gleick, 1987) in chaos and complexity theories to deconstruct the topological time in the “I Ching,” and finally draw an analogy between hexagrams and currere as both can be mapped as bounded infinite possibilities through synchronicity.

Author

• Jie Yu, Rollins College