The I Ching Film Theory

Abstract

This essay presents I Ching Film Theory, a framework grounded in the millennia-old I Ching – China’s foundational classic of imagery, numerology, philosophy, and divination. Developed in response to the 2018 Beijing Film Academy forum and building upon the author’s earlier Fu Bi Xing Film Theory (1980), this approach explores how the I Ching ’s core tenets – Yin-Yang dialectics, constant change, and the six-line hexagram structure – can inform film analysis, creation, and screenwriting. The theory reveals the I Ching ’s profound influence on Chinese and East Asian culture, while also tracing its resonance with global cinematic masters including Akira Kurosawa, Sergei Eisenstein, Andrei Tarkovsky, Kim Ki-duk, and Zhang Yimou. Proposing a six-line hexagram screenwriting method, emphasizing Yin-Yang balance in cinematic elements, and framing the I Ching as an open, organic system for creative innovation, this essay argues that the I Ching offers a uniquely Chinese film theory that bridges Eastern and Western cinematic aesthetics while remaining rooted in traditional Chinese thought.