Vocabulary in The Man in the High Castle

Here, the I Ching, used as a source of divine guidance; a method of divination that characters consult to make decisions, believing it channels cosmic wisdom.

One of the 64 figures in the I Ching, each made of six stacked broken or unbroken lines, whose combination is interpreted as a specific piece of guidance or prophecy.

Dried plant stems traditionally used to generate a random hexagram when consulting the I Ching; characters manipulate them in a ritual counting process to receive an answer.

The Nazi German state and its empire; used throughout the novel to refer to the ruling German government and its territory, culture, and officials.

Of or belonging to the Nazi German Reich; used as a modifier for officials, territory, or institutions controlled by the German imperial government.

A small jewelry and crafts business run by characters in the novel; referenced as a modest artisan enterprise producing handmade goods in the Pacific States.

The Pacific States of America, the western portion of the former United States now under Japanese administration in the novel's alternate-history setting.

An official Japanese governmental and commercial office operating in the Pacific States, through which business and diplomatic dealings between Japan and the occupied territory are conducted.

The quality of being genuinely connected to real historical events or persons; in the novel, the intangible value that makes an authentic antique worth far more than a perfect copy.

A Chinese philosophical concept meaning the inner essence or being of a thing; used in the novel to describe the ineffable authentic quality that gives an object its true value.

German military intelligence and counterintelligence organization; referenced in the novel in connection with espionage and covert operations by German agents.

The SS intelligence service of Nazi Germany, abbreviated SD; a feared secret security organization whose agents appear in the novel as antagonists.

A regional Nazi Party leader governing a district; in the novel, a high-ranking official of the German Reich exercising political authority over a territory.

The German word for 'Party,' meaning the Nazi Party (NSDAP); used in the novel to refer to the ruling political organization of the German Reich.

A German prefix meaning 'upper' or 'senior,' used in the novel as part of official Nazi titles to indicate higher rank within the party or state hierarchy.

A covert German communications or liaison office; referenced in the novel as a secret channel through which clandestine messages or operations are routed.

The title of a novel-within-the-novel, a banned book depicting an alternate history in which the Allies won World War II; it functions as a mirror to the world the characters inhabit.

A Taoist concept meaning non-action or effortless action; the idea of acting in harmony with the natural flow of events rather than forcing outcomes through deliberate effort.

The central concept of Taoism, meaning 'the Way'; the underlying natural order or force of the universe that characters in the novel reference when discussing fate and authenticity.

Abbreviation for Sicherheitsdienst, the Nazi SS intelligence service; used in the novel as a shorthand for the feared German secret security apparatus.

The annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany in 1938; referenced in the novel as part of the historical background of the Reich's expansion.

The Organisation Todt, a Nazi civil and military engineering group; referenced in the novel in connection with large-scale German construction and infrastructure projects.

A German word meaning 'parallel world' or 'adjacent reality'; used in the novel to suggest the idea of alternate histories or realities existing alongside the one the characters inhabit.

In Chinese philosophy, the passive, dark, and receptive principle of the universe, complementary to Yang; referenced in the novel in discussions of the I Ching and natural balance.

In Chinese philosophy, the active, light, and creative principle of the universe, complementary to Yin; referenced in the novel in the context of I Ching divination and cosmic duality.