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   Study on the I Ching



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A Semiotic Study on Iching
Interactive Installation/Generative Art

Being an enthusiast of classical Chinese culture, I am fascinated by the philosophy of the I Ching. By generating eight basic elements through the combination of two yin and yang symbols, The I Ching forms sixty-four hexagrams which provides a tool for understanding the world. However, from a literary perspective, the I Ching is a genre of writing that utilizes symbols, guided by visual logic that is not perceived as sacred, inevitable, or unchangeable. It is not a stone tablet left by gods or extraterrestrials but a creation of humans. It possesses a recognizable logic, a comprehensible, and even replicable creative process. To me, it is an open framework. 

In my attempt to create this project, I have rewritten and expanded upon the I Ching within this framework and aim to make its original/contemporary meaning accessible to more people through sound visualizations by coding language,p5js. 

In this project,I take the natural sound tracks represented by the I Ching Bagua to visualize them as images and vibrating lines in coding language P5js.



Procedures：
Step 1: Record the sounds of eight natural elements in nature, each corresponding to one of the eight trigrams in the I Ching.
Step 2: Import the recorded sounds into p5.js.
Step 3: Use p5.js to visualize the eight natural sounds as generative images that reflect the characteristics of each natural element. All visuals are generated using algorithmic data.
Step 4: Create an individual audio track for each natural sound.
Step 5: Pair the visualized sound images in every possible combination (8 × 8 = 64) to depict specific natural scenes.



Visualization Part 1: The Eight Gua in Iching
Breakdown: 
乾(Qian)-The Heaven(1)
坤(Kun)- The Earth(2)
巽(Xun)- The Wind(3)
离(Li)- The Fire(4)
兑(Dui)- The Rain(5)
坎(Kan)- The Water(6)
艮(Gen)-The Mountain(7)
震(Zhen)- The Thunder(8)



Visualization Part 2: Combination+4 Hexagrams

Step  1:Combination
Formula1_The Sky + The Earth _乾(Qian) + 坤(Kun) = 泰(Tai) = (1) + (2)
Formula2_The Wind + The Fire _巽(Xun)+ 离(Li) = 家人(Jiaren) = (3) + (4)
Formula3_The Mountain+ The Water_山(Gen) + 兑(Dui) = 咸(Xian) = (5) +(7)
Formula4_The Thunder+ The River_震(Zhen) + 坎(Kan) = 解(Xie) = (6) + (8)


Formula1_The Sky + The Earth _乾(Qian) + 坤(Kun) = 泰(Tai)Formula2_The Wind + The Fire _巽(Xun)+ 离(Li) = 家人(Jiaren)


Formula3_The Mountain+ The Water_山(Gen) + 兑(Dui) = 咸(Xian)
Formula4_The Thunder+ The River_震(Zhen) + 坎(Kan) = 解(Xie)


Step  2: Visualization(4 Hexagrams)



泰 TAI / Gaze at the Earth，In the Cosmo / 在宇宙凝视地球




家人 Jiaren / The Windy Bonfire Night / 在风中的篝火夜晚




咸 Xian / The Spring Mountain in the Rain / 在雨中的春山





解 Xie / On the River，Before the Summer Rain / 下暴雨前的夏日湖面