編者說：英國著名漢學家閔福德（John Minford）耗時12年翻譯的《易經》。這本書由紐約企鵝出版集團下的維京出版社於2014年底出版。此書的出版在學術界引起高度的關注。在書里，閔福德有對《易經》及歷代文人評註的詳細敘述。此前西方較著名的《易經》譯本，分別來自19世紀末英國傳教士理雅各和德國傳教士衛禮賢。

西方學者從其所處的西方成長，學習，經歷，理解或相關環境對《易經》的翻譯，固然有西方人的味道，而中國本土的學者用英文翻譯《易經》的並不多見，今著名易經應用與研究學者陳彥雄先生（一道子）從國人的角度，對易經的理解，對易經長時間應用及對易經智慧的發掘后，用英文翻譯《易經》。時下，一道子英文翻譯《易經》的過程備受海內外專家學者的關注，包括國際易學聯合會及一些高校的專家學者也予以鼓勵，關懷。本人也十分期待一道子英文版《易經》早日問世。今提前發佈一道子英文版《易經》的部分已經翻譯的《易經》名句中英文解讀，以共各位品味個中玄妙奧語。

The interpretation of famous quotations from Zhouyi: (一)

一，“天尊地卑，乾坤定矣。卑高以陳，貴賤位矣。動靜有常，剛柔斷矣。方以類聚，物以群分，吉凶生矣。在天成象，在地成形，變化見矣。”
 
譯文：從開天闢地開始，天高在上，地低在下，高者尊貴，低者卑賤，乾坤所代表的天地的位置就確定了，重要的是天地的法則也確定了。在下的地和在上的天羅列出來，高貴與卑賤的事物的地位就排定了。乾陽坤陰，天剛地柔，天動地靜，運動與靜止有規律，陽剛和陰柔就明確分開了。宇宙間各種事情根據類別而聚集，萬物根據類別而分為不同的群體，吉祥與兇險也就產生了。代表物質不同存在形式的氣，天上的日月星辰呈現出它們的形象，地上的山澤草木呈現出它們的形態，世間萬事萬物的變化就體現出來了.

對於中國傳統文化要“取其精華，去其糟粕”，國學中的很多精華現在仍然具有指導價值。
 
From the beginning of the universe, the heaven has been high up and dignity, the earth has been underneath and humble. And since the location of the heaven and the earth being determined, the important law between the heaven and the earth has been identified and thus the status of the noble and the ignoble of all things arranged. Therefore, Qian means positive and Yin, negative; the heaven stands for hardness and the earth, softness; the heaven has been in the state of constant motion and the earth, in the opposite, quiet and calm. Thus Yang and Yin are also clearly separated.

Since all sorts of things in the universe being gathered and divided into different groups according to their categories, the state of auspiciousness and disaster has been brought into being. And thus we can see the changes of all things around us: different forms of qi to show different substances, different images to show the moons and stars in the sky, different forms to show the plants and vegetation on the ground.

A correct attitude toward the Chinese traditional culture should be taken is to "take the essence and discard the dregs". Many of its essence still have the instruction value for the modern times.
 
 
二、“聖人設卦觀象，繫辭焉而明吉凶，剛柔相推而生變化。是故，吉凶者，失得之象也。
 
譯文：聖人創立了八卦並觀察卦象，又在卦象後面綴上卦辭來表明事物的吉凶情況，陽剛與陰柔相互促進而產生變化。因此，吉凶就是失去或得到的表現。得到為吉，失去為凶，這是常規理解，也是一種常規認知。還有一種理解，得到為凶，失去反吉，這種情況並不少見，正是體現了《周易》的辯證，所謂“捨得”就是這個道理。
 
The saint set up the Eight-hexagramsand watched the images of thehexagram and composed the hexagram-records to indicate their possible auspicious or ill luck endings and the possible changes between Yang and Yin accordingly.

Therefore, the auspicious or ill luck is sometimes interpreted as Lost or Gained. So the conventional understanding of this is: Gaining means auspicious and Losing, ill luck. There is another understanding which is opposite to this: Gaining means ill luck and Losing, auspicious. Such cases can be seen here and there and this is an embodiment of the dialectical principle of Zhouyi, the principle of "being ready to give up".
 

三、“是故，君子居則觀其象，而玩其辭；動則觀其變，而玩其占。是以自天佑之，吉無不利。
 
譯文：因此，君子平時就觀察卦象，而且玩味那卦爻辭；有所行動時就觀察卦爻的變化，而且玩味占卜出來的結果。因此才能得到來自上天的保佑，能夠吉祥而沒有什麼不利。我們要提倡智慧周易、實用周易、百姓周易、現代周易和快樂周易。學習《周易》，研究《周易》，使用《周易》，要本着快樂的精神，它不應是負擔，而是樂趣，在觀象玩辭、觀變玩佔中領略先人的智慧，感受天、地、人的和諧統一。
 
Therefore, the gentleman should observe the images of the hexagrams and ponder their lines and hexagram-records at ordinary times; pay attention to the changes of the lines and hexagrams during your action, and ponder the results from the divination. Only for doing so can one get the blessing from the Heaven and be fortunate.

We should advocate the use of Zhouyi in a wise and practical way, in a popular and modern style and encourage to learn it happily. Only by doing this can we learn, study and use it happily and without any burden, just enjoy the fun and the wisdom from our ancestors in the process of observing changes of the images of thehexagrams and the pondering of their hexagrams and understanding the harmony of the heaven, the earth and human beings.
 
 
四、“易與天地准．故能彌綸天地之道。仰以觀於天文，俯以察於地理，是故知幽明之故。原始反終，故知死生之說。精氣為物，遊魂為變，是故知鬼神之情狀。與天地相似，救不違。知周乎萬物，而道濟天下，故不過。旁行而不流，樂天知命，故不優。”
 
譯文：《周易》和天地的法則相一致，所以能夠完全展現天地的變化規律，涵蓋天地之大道。《周易》的智慧，抬頭可以觀察天的各種現象，低頭可以觀察地的各種情況，因此就能夠知道幽隱難見的和顯而易見的事情。研究事物的開始狀態，再回頭尋求事物的最終結果，所以能夠知道死亡與生長的規律。精氣凝聚而成為具體的物體形態，魂魄的遊離聚散而形成變化，因此能夠知道鬼神的情況和狀態。《周易》的道理和天地的規律相一致，所以不能違背它。《周易》的智慧包容萬物的規律，而且能夠按照它所反映出來的規律來解決天下的問題，所以不可逾越。普遍地運用它的法則去做事卻不像水流一樣到處泛濫，樂觀地對待自然規律，知道命運的規律，所以能沒有憂愁煩惱。雖經濟貧困，卻是很開心快樂的人；雖富有，卻很講禮儀，禮賢下士的人。人要“三窮三富過到老”，  “三十年河西，三十年河東”，  “太陽不會總在一家紅”，這些民諺即充滿着《周易》的變易思維，又孕育着樂天知命的底蘊。真正做到了樂天知命，人生就會釋然，快樂就會永遠與你相伴!
 
Since there is a consistency between Zhouyi and the laws of heavens and earth, it can fully show the variation rules of them.By using the wisdom from Zhouyi, we can easily observe and understand various phenomenons from the heaven and the earth, including those easy to be seen and those uneasy ones. Researching the original state of things, and then study their final results and we can understand the law of death and the law of growth. Essence can be condensed into concrete objective forms which can be easily seen and the deformation of soul will do the opposite. Such accumulation and dispersion can also show us the existence of ghosts and gods. Since Zhouyi and the law of heaven and earth are consistent, you can't break it and since the rules shown by Zhouyi are all-encompassing, and can be used to solve the world’s problems, what we can do is to follow them. The widely use of laws presented by Zhouyi does not mean to apply them at will. We should accept the rules happily; have a better understanding of the law of fate without worry: to be happy though poverty; to be polite though being well off; our lives are full of ups and downs and not always successful. Only by recognizing this can we be content with what we are, feel relieved at all time.

五、“一陰一陽之謂道，繼之者善也，成之者性也。仁者見之謂之仁，知者見之謂之知，百姓日用而不知，故君子之道鮮矣!
 
譯文： 陰柔和陽剛合在一起交互作用叫做“道”，也是《周易》的道理。繼承這種自然的、道的法則就是大善，使“道”具象化，就成為一種品性。人的認識往往以偏概全，講求仁德的人看到天道就說它仁德，智慧的人看到天道就說它體現了智慧，而百姓每天在運用天道卻不知道這就是道，所以真正懂得君子之道的人真是太少了! 在現實中有很多的智者，走的路、出的招很奇特，一般人當時看不懂，只有事過境遷方才領悟，可謂“君子之道鮮矣”。所以，既然如此，在出招時就不一定要求得別人看懂。
 
The interaction of Yin and Yang is called Dao (the way is made up of Yin and Yang) and Zhouyi is theoretically based on it. It is good to inherit this Dao naturally and in the process of representation/embodiment of Dao one’s character is formed.Human knowledge is often biased: humane people consider the way of heaven as kindheartedness; intelligent people considered the way of heaven as the embodiment of wisdom; common people practice the way of heaven everyday without noticing what they are and this is why less people can understand the gentleman’s doctrines.

In reality there were a lot of wise men among us, and what they had done could not be understood by ordinary people at the time, only after a certain period people started to realize them. In this case, it is not necessary for one to make him understood before the action being taken.
 
 
六、“富有之謂大業。日新之謂盛德。生生之謂易，成象之謂乾．效法之謂坤。極數知來之謂占．通變之謂事．陰陽不測之謂神。”
 
譯文：天擁有宇宙萬物，富有無比，可以稱得上宏偉的事業；天道時刻變化，日新月異，可以稱得上盛大的美德。使萬物生生不息就是《周易》功用的內涵，把這個生生之功呈現出各種形象就叫乾，也就是天的功能，效法天道的就是地的功能，其使萬物呈現具體形態，叫做坤，把《周易》數的功用推演到極致，可以預知未來，叫做占；通曉變化的規律，就叫做事。陰陽變化通過世俗之理不可測，叫做神。

富有和生生不息、日新月異是這一段的本質內涵。人類都在追求富有和幸福生活，世界都在發展經濟。我們國家的以經濟建設、改革開放為中心的國策是符合天道，近些年又提出構建和諧、公平、正義與創新型的社會，也符合天道。
 
The universe is enormous and full of countless cosmic inventories and can be considered as a magnificent career;

The way of heaven changes quickly and constantly and this can be considered as the grand virtue. The connotation of the function of Zhouyi is to make everything multiply endlessly.The presentation of this function is called Qian, which is also called the function of the Heaven. The function of Earth is to follow the way of heaven and make everything to be presented by its concrete form. It is called Kun. The perfect deduction of Zhouyi, can be used to predict the future and this is called divination; Have a good knowledge of the laws of change is known as doing work or taking action. Since ordinary people can not understand the change of Yin and Yang and we consider those who understand it as gods.

    Wealthiness and constant change is the essential connotation of this paragraph. Humans have been pursuing wealthy and happiness life and the world’s economy has been growing.The economic construction, reform and opening-door policy adopted by China as its national key policy is consistent with the Dao of heaven. The practice of putting forward to form a new type of a harmonious and innovative, fair, just society in recent years also conforms to the Dao of heaven.
 

七、“聖人有以見天下之賾(ze)．而擬諸其形容，象其物宜，是故謂之象；繫辭焉，以斷其吉凶，是故謂之爻。
 
譯文：聖人因為看到天下萬物紛亂多樣，而用卦爻的方式模擬出它們的形態，來象徵萬事萬物應有的形象，因此稱之為象；在卦爻後面又加上文辭的說明，用來判斷人事的吉祥與兇險，因此稱之為爻。
 
Finding the chaos and various changes of the universe, the wise men simulated the way of their changes in the form of lines and hexagrams to represent all forms of things in the universe and this is called hexagrams; and after each lines and hexagrams there is an interpretation for you to estimate its auspiciousness or danger when facing it and it is called Yao (trigram).
 
 
八、“子日：‘君子之道，或出或處，或默或語。二人同心，其利斷金；同心之言，其臭如蘭。”
 
譯文：孔子說：“君子的法則，可以體現在出外做事，也可以體現在在家閑居；可以體現為沉默寡言，也可以體現為高談闊論。兩個人若心志相同，就會像鋒利的刀劍可以斬斷金屬；心志相同的話語，就像蘭花一樣芬芳。”

我們都知道，“二人同心，其利斷金；同心之言，其臭如蘭”早已成為了千古名句。前台在和你共事，後台卻算自己的小賬；上面在和你握手，下面卻在用腳踢你；人前把你捧上了天，人後卻能把你貶得一文不值……這種共事的態度，非君子所為，這種合作狀態，不可能“斷金”。
 
Confucius said: "the law of the gentleman, can be reflected in doing things outside, also can be embodied in home stays; can be embodied in silence, can also be embodied in rhetoric. If the two people are of the same ambition, their strength will like a sharp sword that can cut through metal; and the same words they share will smell as fragrant as orchid." And this saying has already become historic quote. Working with someone on the stage while figuring their interests on backstage; shaking hands with someone in front of the public and kicking you secretly; praising someone above the moon and soon degrading them to the ground…. This is not the right attitude what a gentleman should take and the cooperation as such means nothing.

九、“天地定位，山澤通氣，雷風相薄，水火不相射，八卦相錯。數往者順。知來者逆。是故易逆數也。”
 
譯文： 乾卦的天在上，坤卦的地在下，陰陽相對，位置要先確定，艮卦的山與兌卦的澤又氣息相通，山水下流，澤中水氣上行，交互感應；震卦的雷與巽卦的風相互激蕩；坎卦的水和離卦的火互相為用，互不厭惡。八卦之間兩兩相錯，形成四對，相互感應。追憶往事，是往後順推；了解預知未來，是往前逆推。過去的人人皆可知曉，未來的卻難以預料，只有通過《周易》的預測功能方可達到效果。所以，《周易》是逆推的預測學。

站在現在看過去，是總結，比較簡單，絕大多數人都會。總結既要總結成功，也要總結失敗，在總結中要有所“悟”，這樣，總結才能有利於現在所為和未來的發展。站在現在看現在，是分析，難度增大了一點，但手中的素材越多，經驗越豐富，分析判斷得也越準確。站在現在看未來，是展望或預測，要依據目前的基礎，發展的趨勢，周圍的環境，他人的經驗，事情的規律等做出，這是常規預測。還有一種方法可以達到預測的效果，即《周易》預測的方法。站在未來看現在，純屬哲學概念，是建立在從過去到現在發展過程之後得出的一種思維方式。就需要一種思維的支撐，站在未來看現在的思維方式。因為，不管局面有多麼嚴重，都要過去的，過去了之後，就變成了回憶，那時，也一定是痛而不痛，喜而不喜了。這就是站在未來看現在。讀者朋友，當您再遇到或喜或悲的時候，不妨使用一下“站在未來看現在”這一思維方式，看看是否管用，我想一定會泰然處之了。
 
The Qian hexagram is high up on the sky and Kun hexagram is the earth under it. Yin and Yang are opposite and determine by their locations; Gen hexagram and Dui hexagram, the symbol of mountain and marsh and their breath are interlinked: water flows down from the mountains and water vapors evaporate upward to make a circle. Zhen hexagram and Xun hexagram, symbolize thunder and wind, which agitate each other. Kan hexagram and Li hexagram stand for water and fire which interact each other but never show aversion. The eight hexagrams are divided into four opposite pairs and each pair interacts to each other. Reminiscing about the past, we can make a retrospect. While learning to predict the future, we do the opposite, make a prospect. It is easy for one to know what has happened in the past. But it is not easy to foretell the future—it is almost unpredictable. Nevertheless, Zhouyi can help us to predict our future and this is why we call Zhouyi a study of reversed-prediction. It is easier for most of us to make a summary of the past. Such a summary should include the successful experiences and the failure as well. Only by going through such a process can we have a better understanding of what we have been doing and what we are going to do as well. It is more difficult to analyze what has been happening by the now-experiences. Nevertheless, one can make an accurate analysis of the situation if one possesses certain amount of material and enough experiences. A prospect or foretell，according to the now-experiences, is based on the present situation, the trend of social development, the environment, the experience of others, the laws of things. We call such a prediction a routine one. Here we introduce another way to predict the future, which is the prediction by using the doctrines from Zhouyi—viewing the world from the standing point of future, which is a pure philosophical concept based on the development process from the past to now. Generally speaking, such a way of thinking needs such a philosophical support. No matter how serious the situation is, it will become past memories at last. At that time, painful experiences will become the painless and happy experiences, the less delighted. This is the interpretation of the doctrine from Zhouyi—viewing the now world from the standing point of future.

My dear readers, when you meet again any happiness or sadness, you might use the doctrines introduced here and wait and see what will happen next. It is my hope that you face the situation calmly.