The encounter between Confucius and the I Ching was a milestone event in Chinese intellectual history. This relationship can be divided into three stages, completing a fundamental philosophical transformation.

First Stage: Late-Life Intellectual Turn

According to the Records of the Grand Historian, Confucius developed a strong interest in the I Ching in his later years, expressing “If I could have a few more years, studying the I Ching at fifty, I could avoid major mistakes.” During this period, he studied the I Ching so intensively that he “wore out the leather bindings three times.”