The current situation and the cultural background of psychological type theory in China

As analytical psychology in China develops, especially with the China Society for Analytical Psychology approved for membership in the International Association for Analytical Psychology (IAAP), many Chinese, who are already familiar with MBTI®-based personality testing in corporations, are interested in learning more about Jungian theory and practice with regard to psychological types. The author, a Chinese psychologist, emphasizes current problems standing in the way of this development, such as the common opinion that MBTI is equal to psychological types. He reports his recent research that highlights the present understanding of psychological types within China. Noting that Jung combined two attitudes with four functions to form eight function-attitudes of consciousness, the author explores the possible connection between Jung's eightfold system and the eight trigrams that organize the wisdom that the I Ching brings to emergent situations requiring exceptionally conscious decision-making. He compares I Ching translator Richard Wilhelm's naming and description of these eight Gua with Jungian analyst John Beebe's descriptions of the eight function-attitudes and finds striking parallels. This amplification sheds light on the archetypal nature of psychological consciousness as well upon the typology of it that Jung advanced.