The Ten Wings are a suite of commentaries appended to the core 64-hexagram text, turning a divinatory manual into a philosophical classic. They break down roughly like this:

1. Tuan Zhuan (Commentary on the Judgments) – unpacks each hexagram’s overarching message.
2. Xiang Zhuan (Commentary on the Images) – explains the natural and symbolic imagery behind hexagrams.
3. Xiang Zhuan (Line Images) – focuses on the significance of images tied to individual lines.
4. Wenyan (Words of the Text) – teases out subtle meanings of key terms and phrases.
   5 & 6. Xici Zhuan (The Great Commentary, Parts I & II) – philosophical essays weaving yin-yang cosmology with moral self-cultivation.
5. Xugua Pian (Sequence of Hexagrams) – rationale for the order of the 64 formations.
6. Xugua Pian (Sequence of Trigrams) – how the eight trigrams interrelate.
7. Gua Shi Pian (Names of the Hexagrams) – origins and significance of each title.
8. Shuogua Pian (Explanation of the Trigrams) – a deep dive into those eight elemental symbols.

Why it matters: without these wings, the I Ching would feel like a puzzle-box oracle, cryptic and closed off. The commentaries peel back layer after layer—like an ancient onion—to reveal a roadmap for aligning personal ethics with cosmic flux. They’re what elevated the text from grassroots fortune-telling to a Confucian cornerstone, studied in Han dynasty academies and later revived by Song-Ming Neo-Confucians.

Fast-forward to today: anyone tapping into mindfulness apps, listening to podcasts on Eastern philosophy or exploring AI ethics under a yin-yang lens is walking straight into the terrain the Ten Wings charted. They turn “reading between the lines” into an invitation: navigate modern uncertainties—climate upheaval, the AI revolution, the daily grind—with ancient insight that still hits home.