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In the last years, from time to time I had to think of the order of the hexagrams in the King Wen sequence. I was ascertained, that there must be a better explanation for that than those in my previous works. Also, I kept in mind Deng Ming-dao’s opinion about this subject (The Living I Ching, p. 397):

„In order for an explanation to be credible, the following criteria would have to be satisfied:

• The method for generating the sequence should be consistent with what we know of thinking in the time between the late Shang and the early Zhou. We cannot resort to later methods…
• The method must be a closed system, and it must be self-generating. Whatever the possible explanation, it must begin from the first two hexagrams and generate the exact sequence …
• The method must be compatible with all else we know about the Changes. … we must be sure that there is no contradiction between a proposed method and other facts about the Changes.”

I believe the King Wen Groups substantially fulfill these requirements, and the small differences correspond to the actual process.