The concept of time in the I Ching and Octavio Paz

Abstract

This article offers a comparative examination of the concept of time in the I Ching (Book of Changes) and in the poetry of Octavio Paz, showing how both traditions share a cyclical structure in which movement and stillness coexist as complementary forces. Methodologically, it is a hermeneutical-comparative study based on textual analysis of the I Ching (especially Wilhelm’s commentaries) and of Paz’s poems, together with references to Western philosophical traditions (Plato, Aristotle, Hegel) and Eastern cosmology. The main objective is to identify conceptual parallels between the Chinese cyclical view of time—characterized by natural rhythms, mutability and the harmony between Heaven, Earth and Humanity—and Paz’s poetic vision, where time-space appears as a perpetual flow in which past, present and future coexist within the experience of the instant. The analysis emphasizes the duality of movement (change) and stillness (immobility) as shared foundations. The scope of the article is to demonstrate that Paz’s poetic cosmology resonates strongly with the temporal understanding of the I Ching, especially in Piedra de sol, whose circular structure mirrors the cyclical nature of the hexagrams. The article also notes connections to Eliot, Machado and pre-Hispanic cosmology, all of which highlight a similar notion of eternal recurrence and temporal renewal. Ultimately, it concludes that both the I Ching and Paz present a vision of time in which birth and death, beginning and ending, form part of the same continuous cosmic process.