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Annotation of researchv10dc/man/manx/ching.6, revision 1.1

1.1     ! root        1: .TH CHING 6 sola
        !             2: .CT 1 games
        !             3: .SH NAME
        !             4: ching \- the book of changes
        !             5: .SH SYNOPSIS
        !             6: .B /usr/games/ching
        !             7: [
        !             8: .I hexagram
        !             9: ]
        !            10: .SH DESCRIPTION
        !            11: The
        !            12: .I "I Ching"
        !            13: or
        !            14: .I "Book of Changes"
        !            15: is an ancient Chinese oracle
        !            16: that has been in use for
        !            17: centuries
        !            18: as a source of wisdom
        !            19: and advice.
        !            20: .PP
        !            21: The text of the
        !            22: .I oracle
        !            23: (as it is sometimes known)
        !            24: consists of sixty-four
        !            25: .I hexagrams,
        !            26: each symbolized
        !            27: by a particular
        !            28: arrangement of
        !            29: six straight
        !            30: .B ---
        !            31: and broken
        !            32: .B -\ -
        !            33: lines.
        !            34: These lines
        !            35: have values ranging
        !            36: from six through nine,
        !            37: with the even
        !            38: values indicating
        !            39: the broken lines.
        !            40: .PP
        !            41: Each hexagram
        !            42: consists of two major sections.
        !            43: The `Judgement' relates specifically
        !            44: to the matter at hand
        !            45: (E.g.,
        !            46: `It furthers one to have somewhere to go.')
        !            47: while the
        !            48: `Image' describes the general attributes
        !            49: of the hexagram and how they apply
        !            50: to one's own life
        !            51: (`Thus the superior man
        !            52: makes himself strong and untiring.').
        !            53: .PP
        !            54: When any of the lines
        !            55: have the values six or nine,
        !            56: they are moving lines;
        !            57: for each there is an appended
        !            58: judgement which
        !            59: becomes significant.
        !            60: Furthermore, the moving lines
        !            61: are inherently unstable and
        !            62: change into their opposites;
        !            63: a second hexagram
        !            64: (and thus an additional judgement)
        !            65: is formed.
        !            66: .PP
        !            67: Normally, one consults the oracle
        !            68: by fixing the desired question
        !            69: firmly in mind
        !            70: and then casting a set of changes
        !            71: (lines) using yarrow-stalks
        !            72: or tossed coins.
        !            73: The resulting hexagram will be the answer
        !            74: to the question.
        !            75: .PP
        !            76: Using an algorithm
        !            77: suggested by S. C. Johnson,
        !            78: the Unix
        !            79: oracle simply reads a question
        !            80: from the standard input
        !            81: (up to an EOF)
        !            82: and hashes the individual characters
        !            83: in combination with other indicia
        !            84: which happen to be lying
        !            85: around the system.
        !            86: The resulting value
        !            87: is used as the seed
        !            88: of a random number generator
        !            89: which drives a simulated
        !            90: coin-toss divination.
        !            91: The answer appears on the
        !            92: standard output.
        !            93: .PP
        !            94: For those who wish
        !            95: to remain steadfast
        !            96: in the old traditions,
        !            97: the oracle will also accept
        !            98: the results of a personal
        !            99: divination using,
        !           100: for example, coins.
        !           101: To do this,
        !           102: cast the change
        !           103: and then type the
        !           104: resulting line values
        !           105: as an argument.
        !           106: .PP
        !           107: The impatient modern may prefer to settle for
        !           108: Chinese cookies; try
        !           109: .IR fortune (1).
        !           110: .SH "SEE ALSO"
        !           111: It furthers one to see the great man.
        !           112: .SH DIAGNOSTICS
        !           113: The great prince issues commands,
        !           114: .br
        !           115: Founds states, vests families with fiefs.
        !           116: .br
        !           117: Inferior people should not be employed.
        !           118: .SH BUGS
        !           119: Waiting in the mud
        !           120: .br
        !           121: Brings about the arrival of the enemy.
        !           122: .PP
        !           123: If one is not extremely careful,
        !           124: .br
        !           125: Somebody may come up from behind and strike him.
        !           126: .br
        !           127: Misfortune.

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