MuseoMag: MuseoMag 2019_02

MuseoMag 2019_02

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Title:: MuseoMag 2019_02

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Title:: Early Chinese wisdom that is still valid today: Our museum guide, Anne Havik, invites you to dive into China's "Bible" in the frame of the workshop "I Ching"

26 museomag 02 ‘ 2019 EARLY CHINESE WISDOM THAT IS STILL VALID TODAY OUR MUSEUM GUIDE, ANNE HAVIK, INVITES YOU TO DIVE INTO CHINA’S “BIBLE“ IN THE FRAME OF THE WORKSHOP “I CHING” © MNHA / tania weiss ‘If I would be given 50 more years, I would dedicate all of them to studying the I Ching!’ This phrase came out of the mouth of the Chinese philosopher Confucius, so it is said, while he was dying. The I Ching, also known as the book of transformation, is probably one of the oldest books we know, and can be seen as China’s ‘Bible’, although it doesn’t give any prescription about right or wrong. It has a very long tradition of interpretation and rewriting, in the begin- ning in China, but later also in Europe, by, for example Carl Jung. Its origins probably lie around 3000 B.C., but are difficult to prove, since there is no documentation which can confirm this. It is confirmed though that it’s very very old, and that it was used in China, since the very beginning of what we know for sure of the Chinese culture. And the most fascinating part of it, is that this book is still used by many people today. THE LINES: SYMBOLS FOR FORCES So, what is it? It is a totally incomprehensible book for someone who first picks it up and tries to read it. Its texts are enigmatic and full of Chinese metaphors, which are very difficult to understand, even for Chinese people living now. It is an oracle – in a way comparable with the Tarot – that is based on the principle of Yin and Yang, and that claims to have all the answers for eve- ry possible situation imaginable. If you ask the I Ching a question, there are 64 possible outcomes which are visualised, in the first place, by six lines, or actually by a combination of 2 x 3 lines, and then explained in an almost incomprehensible text. There is a way to un- derstand the lines though, without using the text, or by using the text only at a later stage, because the lines are symbols for forces we all still understand, like for example water, fire, sky, earth and thunder. Answers from the I Ching are always composed of two of these ‘forces’. During my workshop I try to ex- plain how visualising these elements, and their inte- raction, can open your door towards the I Ching, and, more broadly, towards the fascinating Chinese culture, and way of thinking, which is much less individualistic than ours. “Today, I am still fascinated by the fact that a book that was created so long ago, can still be consulted and used today”, says Anne Havik, our museum guide.

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