The Translation that Became a Classic: Networking Richard Wilhelm’s <i>I Ging</i> Influence in Scandinavia

Abstract This article explores the impact of Richard Wilhelm’s I Ging in Scandinavia to demonstrate how its uniqueness and authority have elevated it to classic status. I Ging , the German translation of China’s ancient canonical text known as Yìjīng (易經) or the Book of Changes , has been the seminal text behind Scandinavia’s engagement with the Book of Changes . After Dane Jens Windeleff discovered I Ging in the 1960s, he published a Danish translation in 1973, which is the first Yìjīng translated into a Scandinavian language. Since then, Sweden has created its own translation of I Ging in 1981, and many Scandinavians have been inspired by the classic’s ideas to produce artwork, divination methods, music, and theatrical performances. This article begins with a brief overview of China’s Yìjīng up to Wilhelm’s German translation. It argues that I Ging , through its integration with Jungian depth psychology and Cary F. Baynes’s English translation, has evolved into an amalgamation of accruals. Then, the Scandinavian reception of I Ging is shown in a network, discussing Yìjīng as a depository of ideas whose rendering into I Ging created influential German literature. What follows is a case study of Windeleff and his Danish translation before a discussion of the ongoing reception of I Ging ideas in Scandinavia. Since these ideas span decades across creative mediums, and there is no change in the reception pattern after the 2002 Yìjīng translation, I Ging serves as both a transmitter of Chinese thought and a classic.