The Living Spring: A Comparison of Jacob's Well and the Well Hexagram
Water is a master metaphor in literature, appearing in many writings around the world. In some cases, water is stormy, vicious and destructive; in others, water is calm, steady and enriching; in yet other cases, water is reachable, manageable, and replenishable. In this essay, I will examine the dif...
| Published in: | Literature and theology |
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| Subtitles: | "Special Forum on The I Ching and World Literature" |
| Main Author: | |
| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Oxford University Press
2023
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| In: |
Literature and theology
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| IxTheo Classification: | AG Religious life; material religion BM Chinese universism; Confucianism; Taoism HC New Testament |
| Further subjects: | B
Living Spring
B A Well of Water B I Ching B Gospel of John B Hexagrams |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | Water is a master metaphor in literature, appearing in many writings around the world. In some cases, water is stormy, vicious and destructive; in others, water is calm, steady and enriching; in yet other cases, water is reachable, manageable, and replenishable. In this essay, I will examine the different meanings of "a well of water" by comparing Jacob's well in the Gospel of St John and the Jing ("The Well", #48) hexagram in the I Ching or Book of Changes. In this comparison, my goal is to show that while "a well of water" has a universal appeal as a symbol of finding "a living spring" in one's spirit, it has different connotations and implications in different cultural systems. In these two renditions of "a well of water", we find authors providing different answers to the fundamental questions of human existence and the meaning of life-long learning. |
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| ISSN: | 1477-4623 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Literature and theology
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1093/litthe/frad014 |