Psychological and Cosmological “Castle”: Wilhelm/Baynes’s I Ching and The Secret of Golden Flower in Philip K. Dick’s The Man in the High Castle
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper investigates the cross-cultural reception of the Chinese philosophical/religious classic I Ching (Book of Changes) in postwar American literature. Through a critical analysis of Philip K. Dick’s Hugo Award-winning novel The Man in the High Castle (1962), this paper scrutinizes the profound and multifaceted influences of Wilhelm/Baynes’s translation of The I Ching and the Taoist alchemical text The Secret of the Golden Flower upon Dick’s literary creation. On top of the historical and political implications of the “High Castle,” the core metaphor of “Castle” might express additional layers of psychological and cosmological connotations in the Trigram Li (☲ The Clinging/Fire) and Hexagram Zhong Fu (䷼ Inner Truth), as well as the notions of “Yellow Castle” and “Mandala,” presumably inspired by Wilhelm/Baynes’s I Ching and The Secret of the Golden Flower , in conjunction with Carl Jung’s psychological commentary.
Source: Cowrie
Author: John T. P. Lai
Institution: Chinese University of Hong Kong
Language: English
Subfield: Literature and Literary Theory
Field: Arts and Humanities
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid:
OpenAlex ID: W7126191949