Suggested histories of the I Ching
There are two main themes in accepted histories of the I Ching. Pronounced Yee Jing, this oracle is as ancient as thinking man and confounds historians with its exact date of birth.
The first history is of a more mythical nature and runs that the first emporer of China, Fu Hsi (try saying it), was semi-human. Along with his invention of cookery and writing, he is credited with the invention of the I-Ching.
Legend has it that one day Fu Hsi noticed order in the patterns on the back a tortoise emerging from the Yellow river. It inspired him to devote his life to a lifetime's study of the patterns in nature, through which he came to understand the structure of reality. He apparantly lived around 3000 BC, although exact dates differ.
Alternative sources believe the I-Ching is the written version of a much older oral tradition. It is thought in these circles that tthe modern day I Ching, the one we use now, is based on the I chou and dates from around 8000BC, so is almost ten thousand years old. The various documents of the I ching were finally brought together in book form in around 1000BC.
