Research Series on Traditional and Modern Prediction Studies, Volume 2: An Introduction to Prophecy and the History of I Ching Studies/传统

"From ""Heterodoxy"" to the Driving Force of Civilization: A Repositioning of the History of I Ching Studies

從「旁門左道」到文明原動力：易學史的再定位

In the contemporary Chinese publishing market, works related to the ""I Ching"" (Yijing) have long occupied an awkward position. On one hand, it is one of the oldest and most core ideological sources of Chinese culture; on the other hand, it is repeatedly reduced to divination and fortune-telling, even being labeled as ""metaphysics"" or ""superstition."" This has made it difficult for serious I Ching studies to enter the mainstream academic and public discourse. Against this backdrop of academic and publishing challenges, An Introduction to Prophecy and the History of I Ching Studies, co-authored by Zhang Chunjin and Pan Yanzhao, provides a rare and significant breakthrough.

As the second volume in the ""Research Series on Traditional and Modern Prophecy Studies,"" this book's ambition extends beyond merely compiling a comprehensive history of I Ching studies. It seeks to redefine the disciplinary nature of I Ching studies and its place in civilization. The authors explicitly propose that the essence of the I Ching is not metaphysics but rather the earliest form of ""prophecy studies"" to take shape in human history. Furthermore, they argue that the history of I Ching studies should not be viewed merely as a branch of intellectual history or the history of classical texts but as one of the core threads in the history of Eastern civilization's origins. This assertion directly challenges the long-standing mainstream narrative, which measures Chinese civilization against the Western ""three elements of civilization"" standard and effectively ""discounts"" its history to a little over 3,000 years.

在當代中文出版市場中，「易學」相關著作長期處於一種尷尬位置：一方面，它是中華文化最古老、最核心的思想源頭之一；另一方面，卻又屢屢被簡化為占卜、算命，甚至被貼上「玄學」「迷信」的標籤，導致真正嚴肅的易學研究，難以進入主流學術與公共視野。張春津、潘延召合著的《預測與易學史概論》，正是在這樣的學術與出版困境中，提供了一次少見而重要的「破局」。

作為「傳統與現代預測學研究叢書」第二種，本書的企圖心並不止於補寫一部易學通史，而是重新界定易學的學科屬性與文明位置。作者明確提出：易學的本質，不是玄學，而是人類最早成形的「預測學」；易學史，也不只是思想史或經學史的一支，而應被視為東方文明起源史的核心線索之一。這一判斷，直接挑戰了長期以來以西方「文明三要素」為標準、將中華文明史「折算」為三千餘年的主流敘事。