What is the future of book publishing? If only Dr. Margaret J. Pearson could predict! Pearson, the author of a new translation of the I Ching—The Original I Ching: An Authentic Translation of the Book of Changes (Tuttle, Sept.)—is a true believer in the power of the popular and time-tested "fortune-telling" book. But when it comes to outright prediction, she explains that that is not how it works. "I Ching readings are a method of gaining insight," she says. "I don't know the future either. But if someone wants to know the future of their publishing house, this process could help them gain clarity on the timing of a particular decision. That's what kings and queens used it for."
Pearson, who teaches early Chinese intellectual history at Skidmore College, spent 14 years working on her translation and, among other goals, aimed to eliminate the antifemale stance rampant in the standard Bollingen version. "Not in the text but in the footnotes. We know more now about what early China was like. People use the I Ching when they're vulnerable, and some Jungian therapists use it during therapy. I couldn't bear the bias and undertook my own translation."
Tuttle, whose specialty is books that bring the East to the West, is hosting some guided coin readings by Pearson today. "I look forward to dealing with publishing professionals, people with open minds," she says. "I'm not saying it will solve all your problems—the world is not like that—but the book was created for people doing something worth doing, and facing good things and bad things. It can be very encouraging."
If you're interested in an I Ching reading, stop by the Tuttle booth (2838), 10:30 a.m.–noon. The publisher will be passing out three Chinese coins for use in the readings, along with a limited number of ARCs, and Pearson will be conducting readings for groups of 10 to 15 people.
"People can ask questions about the next thing they are going to do. I will talk about formulating questions. All these people are in the midst of making decisions. I don't need to know the question, I'm just helping people find their own answers, for instance, if they're thinking about hiring a certain person or publishing a certain book in a certain year. Should I retire now? is a good question."
