In recent years, three ancient manuscripts relating to the
Yi jin
g (
I Ching
), or
Classic of Changes
, have been discovered. The earliest—the Shanghai Museum Zhou Yi—dates to about 300 B.C.E. and shows evidence of the text's original circulation. The
Guicang
, or
Returning to Be Stored
, reflects another ancient Chinese divination tradition based on hexagrams similar to those of the
Yi jing
. In 1993, two manuscripts were found in a third-century B.C.E. tomb at Wangjiatai that contain almost exact parallels to the
's early quotations, supplying new information on the performance of early Chinese divination. Finally, the Fuyang
Zhou Y
i was excavated from the tomb of Xia Hou Zao, lord of Ruyin, who died in 165 B.C.E. Each line of this classic is followed by one or more generic prognostications similar to phrases found in the
, indicating exciting new ways the text was produced and used in the interpretation of divinations.
Unearthing the Changes
details the discovery and significance of the Shanghai Museum
Zhou Yi
, the Wangjiatai
, and the Fuyang
, including full translations of the texts and additional evidence constructing a new narrative of the
's writing and transmission in the first millennium B.C.E. An introduction situates the role of archaeology in the modern attempt to understand the Classic of Changes. By showing how the text emerged out of a popular tradition of divination, these newly unearthed manuscripts reveal an important religious dimension to its evolution.