Week 10 Question

How does Dick use the I Ching and how did his views on the oracle and its role in the novel shift over time?

The I Ching is an old famous Chinese text that is often referred to as the ‘oracle’. The book refers to the idea that it can ultimately predict the future through the tossing of six coins and 64 hexagrams. Within the book, there are hexagrams that each have a different symbol/element used to help guide the reader with its wisdom (Mountfort, 2016). The I Ching is said to be related to the Zhou dynasty and has a long-lasting place in the history of Chinese history. 

Philip K. Dick is the late author of the award winning masterpiece ‘The Man in the High Castle’. It is explained by Mountfort (2016), that throughout Dick’s famous novel, he did indeed use the I Ching as an oracle in order to actually write it. Dick used the I Ching to help develop the direction that he wanted to take when writing ‘The Man in the High Castle’. Throughout the journal written by Mountfort (2016), it is explained that the oracle is used because the I Ching represents the idea of chance and it suggests that because there are many different hexagrams, it could also mean that there are also different alternative outcomes. Almost like a game with dice, the I Ching relies on different possibilities. 

Mountfort (2016), says that Dick often refers to the oracle (the I Ching) as the actual author of his book because he consulted it and it gave him advice on the direction that he should go when writing and even finishing the book. The Man in the High Castle is a book written about three main characters that consult the I Ching, and Dick explains that he used the oracle because his characters did. It was also explained that if the oracle had not directed the narrative in such a specific way, then Dick would not have had his characters act in the particular way that they do throughout the book. 

Over time it was mentioned that Dick actually had a negative time with the oracle and that at one point he fell out with the I Ching. However, Mountfort (2016), says that over time, Dick eventually consulted the I Ching again and his ‘falling out’ shifted overtime. Dick’s novel is often depicted as being related to the uchronie genre which means that it is a piece of work consisting of a made-up time period through the real world. 

Philip K. Dick was an American author who created a piece of work that he proposed was written partially by the I Ching or the oracle. He consulted an ancient Chinese text to create his famous novel, and it probably would not be as famous as it is today if he had not.

References

Mountfort, P. (2016). The I Ching and Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle. Science fiction studies. Blackboard. https://blackboard.aut.ac.nz/