Ten Wings

The Ten Wings (十翼 Shí Yì) is a collection of commentaries (傳 zhuàn) to the classical Chinese Book of Changes (易經 Yìjīng) traditionally ascribed to Confucius, though they were likely composed by later scholars.^[1] These writings represent the earliest known interpretations of the 周易 Zhōuyì, the Bronze Age divination manual underlying the Book of Changes (易經 Yìjīng). By offering philosophical and moral insights, the Ten Wings transformed the text from a practical guide for divination into a profound treatise on metaphysics, ethics, and cosmology.^[1]

The Ten Wings consist of the following commentaries on the Book of Changes (易經 Yìjīng):

1. 彖傳 Tuàn Zhuàn, or First Commentary on the Judgment 彖上傳 Tuàn Shàng Zhuàn^[2]
2. the Second Commentary on the Judgment 彖下傳 Tuàn Xià Zhuàn
3. 象傳 Xiàng Zhuàn, or First Overall Image 象上傳 Xiàng Shàng Zhuàn (sometimes called Greater Xiang or Big Images 大象 Dà Xiàng)
4. Second Overall Image 象下傳 Xiàng Xià Zhuàn (aka Lesser Xiang or Little Images 小象 Xiǎo Xiàng)
5. 繫辭傳 Xìcí Zhuàn, or the First Commentary on the Appended Phrases 繫辭上傳 Xìcí Shàng Zhuàn
6. Xìcí Xià Zhuàn, its Second Commentary 繫辭下傳 (the two Xìcí are also called the Great Commentary 大傳 Dà Zhuàn, to emphasize their importance)
7. 文言傳 Wényán Zhuàn, Commentary on the Words
8. 序卦傳 Xùguà Zhuàn, the Sequence of the Hexagrams
9. 說卦傳 Shuōguà Zhuàn, the Explanation of the Trigrams
10. 雜卦傳 Záguà Zhuàn, the Assorted or Miscellaneous Hexagrams

Doubts concerning Confucius' authorship of the Wings were expressed by Ouyang Xiu (1007-1072) and Sima Guang (1019-1086) during the Northern Song dynasty. They were further consolidated by Yao Jiheng [zh] (1647-1715) and Kang Youwei (1858-1927) of the Qing dynasty. The 20th-century sinologists provide argumentation for rejection of the traditional creed.^[3]