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YI JING OR ZICHOU
ONE INDIVIDUAL'S [ MIS ] [ - ] [ ? ] UNDERSTANDING
Historical Timeline:

Writing
Political History of China.
Philosophical Movements in China
Significant Developments in Daoism
Significant Developments on the Yi Jing

This timeline contains both mythical dates, and factual dates. In some instances, I have stated when the date/event is mythical, The discovery of the Guodian mansucripts, and to a lesser extent the Mawangdui manuscripts, have radically tilted parts of the manuscript dating arguements, towards those who favor the traditional history of the Yi Jing. Trigram and bigram interpretation is obviously a relic of the Han dynasty, and not King Wen, or FuXi. The numbers used when casting hexagrams is a relic of the Shang Dynasty, and may predate them.

The Cultural Revolution. The communist's turn at destroying the history of China.
Year Dynasty Event
600 000 BCE Stone Age
« 600 000 - 2 000 BCE »
600 000 BCE Palaeolithic Period
« 600 000 - 7 000 BCE »
10000 BCE Major Geological Upheaval in Central Asia.
7000 BCE Neolithic Period
« 7000 - 2000 »
2852 ? BCE Cultural Hero Fu Xi: Invented Writing
« mythical. also dated at 3000 »
« legendary »
2737 BCE Cultural Hero Shen Nung: Invented Agriculture
« legendary »
2697 BCE Cultural Hero The Yellow Emperor
« legendary »
2357 BCE Sage Kings Emperor Yao
« legendary »
2255 BCE Sages Kings Emperor Shun
« legendary »
2205 BCE Emperor Yu: « 2205 - 2197 »
Virtuous finder of dynasty
2197 BCE end of reign of Emperor Yu
2183 BCE Hsi Dynasty founded?
« 2183 - 1752 »
2183 BCE Reign of King Yi
« 2183 - 2175 »
2175 BCE end of reign of King Yi
1818 BCE Hsia Dynasty Chieh:
1766 BCE King T'ang
1751 BCE Start of Shang Dynasty
« 1751 - 1112 BCE : alt 1765 - 1123 BCE »
1751 BCE Reign of King T'ang
« 1751 - 1739 »
1739 BCE end of reign of Kint T'ang
1300 BCEShang Yin Begining of archeological evidence
C1300BCE Period of Shell and Bone Script
Earliest writing on bones, shells, bronze, pottery , stone and jade
Brush, lampblack, cinnabar & turquoise used in writing
vocabulary was 2 500 characters
Documents written on tablets
1154 BCE Chou Dynasty reign of King Wen
« 1171 - 1122 »
1122 BCE Chou Dynasty King Wu
1115 BCE Western Dynasty King Ch'eng
1111 BCE Start of Chou Dynasty.
« 1111 - 249: alt 1027 - 249 »
1094 BCE Duke of Chou: Yi Jing Commentator
« ? - 1094 »
C1000BCE Great seal writing
records were written on bronze
878 BCE King Li
781 BCE King Yu
771 BCE Eastern Dynasty
722 BCE Spring & Autumn Period « 722 - 481 »
C700 BCE Great Seal Writing
Inscriptions left on stone drums
674 BCE First Record of Yi Jing being consulted.
« Tso Commentary »
604 BCE Traditional Birth of Lao Tzu
602 BCE Yi Jing first Used as a philsophical Tool
C600 BCE Brush from Ch'ang-sha
silk and bamboo documents first made
inscriptions on jade tablets
inscriptions on coins
563 BCE Wen-yen Chuan incorporated into the Tso-chuan
551 BCE Period of the "hundred philosophers" « 551 - 233 »
550 BCE First law code of China
535 BCE Zuo Zhuan recounts a divination performed by Duke Xiang of Wei.
479 BCE Confucius: Statesman/Philosopher « 551 - 479 »
438 BCE Mo Tzu: Founder of Moism. « 479 - 438 »
« has been called the first communist »
403 BCE Period of the Warring States « 403 - 221 »
400 BCE Dao De Jing written?
400 BCE Birth of Lao Tzu according to somescholars.
352 BCE Copy of Dao De Jing, Yi Jing and other Daoist texts placed in tomb in Guodian, Hubei Province.
Fifth Month 317 BCE Divination using turtle shells and the Yi Jing. Zuoyin Tuo
Fourth Month 316 BCE Divination using milfoil and the Yi Jing. Zuoyin Tao --- both divinations were searching for a cure for his illness.
300 BCE Extensive wall building. « 300 - 200 »
296 BCE King Xiang of Wei died, His tomb contained a copy of the Yi Jing. His grave was found/robbed in 279 CE.
295 BCE Chung Tzu: Daoist Philosopher « 399 - 295 »
289 BCE Mencius: Confucianist Philosopher « 371 - 289? »
286 BCE Chung Tzu « 369 - 286 » popularizer of Daoism
286 BCE End of the Three Dynasties « 1818 - 249 »
255 BCE Start of Chin Dynasty « 255 - 206: alt 221 - 206 »
249 BCE Lu Pu-Wei: prime minster of Ch'in
240 BCE Tsou Yen: Yin Yang Philosopher. « 305 - 240 »
238 BCE Hsin Tzu: Philosopher « 298 - 238 »
233 BCE Han Fei Tzu: Legalist Philosopher « ? - 233 » First commentator on the Dao De Jing
221 BCE Ch'in Dynasty The First Emperor
221 BCE Ch'in Dynasty Li Su: prime minister
220 BCE Small Seal Writing. Stone monuments
214 BCE The Great Wall Completed « 221 - 207 »
207 BCE End of the Ch'in Dynasty
206 BCE Han DynastyStart of Han Dynasty « 206 BCE - 220 CE »
These are
  • Western Han
  • Hsin
  • Eastern Han
206 BCE Start of Western Han Dynasty « 206 BCE - 8 CE »
202 BCE Former Han Dynasty Reign of Kao-tsu
C200 BCE Clerical writing system developed. 5 340 characters
195 BCE Former Han Dynasty end of reign
188 BCE Reign of Empress Lu
180 BCE end of reign of Empress Lu
179 BCE Reign of Emperor Wen
168 BCE Ma-wang-dui manuscripts placed in burial tomb of the marquis of of Tai. Oldest extant texts of the Yi Jing and two copies of the Dao De Jing were found here.
159 BCE Ho-Shang Kung: Taoist Commentator « 179 - 159 »
157 BCE End of Reign of Emperor Wen
140 BCE Reign of Emperor Wu
136 BCE Doctors for the Five classics appointed
122 BCE Huai-Nan Tzu: Neo-Taoist Philosopher « ? - 122 »
124 BCE Use of written exams
115 BCE Campaigns into the western regions
110 BCE Ssu-ma T'an: Court Historian: « ? - 110 »
108 BCE Chinese administration in north korea
104? BCE Tung Chung-Shu: « 179 - 104 » Confucian Philosopher
101 BCE Conquest of the states of Tarim Basin
86 BCE Ssu-ma Ch'ien: « 145 - 89 » Historian First Biographer of Chuang Tzu
87 BCE End of Reign
1 CE Wang Man Regent
9 CE End of Former Han Dynasty
9 CE Hsien Dynasty Start of Hsin Dynasty « 9 - 23 »
9 CE established by Wang Mang
23 CE Hsien Dynasty end of Hsien Dynasty
25 CE Eastern Han Dynasty Start of Eastern Han Dynasty « 25 - 220 » 25
27 CE Eastern Han Dynasty Wang Ch'un: Naturlist Philosopher « 27 - ? »
65 CE First reference to Buddhism in China
79 CE Collation of the Five Classics
92 CE Pan Ku « 32 - 92 » Confucian Rationalist
C100 CE chang ts'ao running script : 9 353 characters
105 CE Invention of paper : Book knife and Ink slab set invented
110 CE Founding of Tao-Chia: Chang Tao-Ling
150 CE An Shih-kao: Buddhist Missionary
175 CE The Five Classics & Analects engraved in stone at Xiping
213 CEEmperor Ch'in Shih Huang TiThe Great Book Burning. All books except those on medicine, agriculture or divination. This was the third major book burning of China.
C200 CE 18 150 characters
220 CE Han emperor deposed
220 CE Period of the Three Kingdoms: « 220 - 280 »
These are:
  • Wei
  • Shu
  • Wu
220 CE Start of Wei Kingdom « 220 - 265 »
221 CE Start of Shu Kingdom « 221 - 263 »
222 CE Start of Wu Kingdom « 222 - 280 »
249 CE Wang Bi: « 226 - 249 » Neo-Taoist/Confuciast Scholar: Chou I lueh-li
The Commentator on Dao De Jing.
Edited Standard Version of Dao De Jing
265 CE Start of Chin Dynasty « 265 - 420 »
265 CE Start of Western Chin Dynasty « 265 - 317 »
279 CE Discovery of a manuscript of the Yi Jing that dates to 296 BCE, in the tomb of King Xiang of Wei. Recorded in Jinshu. It notes that the text and hexagram sequence is the same as was then current. This manuscript has apparantly been lost.
280 CE End of the Three Kingdoms
280 CE Chin Dynasty
300 CE Chin Dynasty start of Seven Schools of Buddhism: « 4th century »
300 CE start of Three Treatise School « 4th century to 7th century »
Model Rapid writing system
312 CE Kuo Hsian: Neo-Taoist Scholar: The Commentator of Chung Tzu « ? - 312 »
317 CE North China abandoned
317 CE Start of Eastern Chin Dynasty « 317 - 420 »
384 CE Seng-chao: Buddhist Philosopher « 384 - 414 »
386 CE Start of Northern Wei « 386 - 535 »
399 CE Pilgrimage of Fa-Hsien to Central Asia
400 CE Start of Zen School: « 5th century »
C400 CE Ink invented by Wei Tan
Stone ink invented
Quasi-paper Wooden Calendars
Inscriptions on pottery, bricks, tiles and sealing clay.
403 CE Hui-yuan: Buddhist monks do not bow to the court
405 CE Kumarajiva « 344 - 413 » appointed National Perceptor
414 CE Fa-Hsien returns
420 CE End of Chin Dynasty
420 CE start of South and North Dynasties « 420 - 589 »
420 CE South Dynasties are:
  • Liu Sung
  • Southern Ch'i
  • Liang
  • Ch'en
420 CE North Dynasties are:
  • North Wei
  • Eastern Wei
  • Western Wei
  • Northern Ch'i
  • Northern Chou
420 CE start of Liu Sang Dynasty « 420 -479 »
440 CE Start of State Patronage of Taoism
479 CE start of Southern Ch'i Dynasty « 479 - 502 »
500 CE Start of Consciousness Only School « 6th century to 9th century »
500 CE Start of T'ien-t'ai School « 6th century »
C500 CE 22 726 characters in Chinese Writing System
Inked squeezes on paper rolls
Buddhist canon inscribed on cliffs
502 CE Start of Liang Dynasty « 502 - 557 »
534 CE Start of Eastern Wei Dynasty « 534 - 550 »
535 CE Start of Western Wei Dynasty « 535 - 556 »
542 CE T'an-luan « 476 - 542 » Patriarch of the Pure land School
550 CE Start of Northern Ch'i « « 550 - 577 »
557 CE Start of Ch'en Dynasty « 557 - 589 »
557 CE Start of Northern Chou Dynasty « 557 - 581 »
575 CE T'ien-T'ai School of Buddhism founded
581 CE Start of Sui Dynasty « 581 - 618 »
589 CE Sui Start of Sui Dynasty
597 CE Chih-k'ai « 531-597 » Founder: T'ien-T'ai School
600 CE Start of Hua-yen School « « 7th century »
C600 CE Discovery of block printing
606 CE Chin-Shih degree established
618 CE Second Sui emperor murdered
618 CE Dynasty End of Sui Dynasty
618 CE T'ang Start of T'ang Dynasty « 618 - 907 »
623 CE Dynasty Chi-tsang « 549 - 623 » Madhyamkika School
627 CE Reign of Emperor T'ai-tsung
629 CE Hsuan-tsang pilgrimige to India
641 CE Chinese Buddhist Princes married to The First King of Tibet
645 CE Hsuan-tsang returns from pilgrimage
645 CE Tao-ch'o « ? - 645 » Patriarch of the Pure Land
649 CE end of reign
664 CE Hsuan-tsang « 596 - 664 »
666 CE Lao Tzu cannonized as Most High Emperor of Mystic Origin
684 CE Empress Wu
693 CE Empress adopts Buddhist Title Divine Empress Who Rules The Universe
699 CE Golden Lion sermon by Fa-Tsang
705 CE end of reign of Empress Wu
712 CE Fa-Tsang « 643 - 712 »
713 CE Hui-neng « 638 - 713 » Sixth Ch'an Patriarch
760 CE Shen-hui « ? - 760 » Ch'an master
798 CE Li Ao: Confucian Revival Philosopher « ? - 798 »
800 CE 30 000 characters is the Chinese Writing System
800 CE Daoist cannon chiselled on stone
824 CE Han Yu: Confucian Revival Philosopher « 764 - 824 »
845 CE Official repression of Buddhism
867 CE I-Hsuan « ? - 867 » Founder: Lin School of Ch'an Buddhism
868 CE Printing of the Diamond Sutra. On 11 May 2001, Garrison Keller claimed that it was first printed on the Eleventh of May in 863. This is the first book ever to be printed.
869 CE Liang Chieh « 807 - 869 « Founder: Ts'ao-tung School of Ch'an
906 CE End of the T'ang Dynasty
907 CE Period of the Five Dynasties » 907 - 960 »
These are:
  • Later Liang
  • Later T'ang
  • Later Chin
  • Later Han
  • Later Chou
907 CE Start of Liao Dynasty « 907 - 1125 »
907 CE Start of Later Liang Dynasty « 907 - 923 »
923 CE Start of Later T'ang Dynasty « 923 - 936 »
936 CE Start of Later Chin Dynasty « 936 - 947 »
947 CE Start of Later Han Dynasty « 947 - 950 »
947 CE Probable start of Liao « 947 - 1125 »
951 CE Start of Later Chou Dynasty « 951 - 960 »
960 CE Start of Sung Dynasty
960 CE Northern Sung and Southern Sung « 960 - 1279 »
960 CE Start of Northern Sung Dynasty « 960 - 1126 »
960 CE Sung
972 CE Dynasty Printing of Buddhist Canon Begun
990 CE Start of Hsi-hsia Dynasty « 990 - 1227 »
1019 CE Tao Tsang Compiled: Sung Edition: 4565 Volumes
1055 CE Conferring of title of Holy Duke upon descendents.
1079 CE Shao Yung « 1011 - 1079 » Founder of Plum Blossom Numerology
1115 CE Start of Chin Dynasty « 1115 - 1234 »
1133 CE Founding of the White Lotus Sect of Buddhism
1127 CE Start of Southern Sung Dynasty « 1127 - 1279 »
1200 CE Chu-Hsi « 1130 - 1200 » Neo-Confucian Scholar: Formed the Four Books that were used for Civil Service Examinations.
1206 CE Start of Mongolian Dynasty: « Mongol Dynasty is the Yuan Dynasty » « 1206 - 1368 »
1227 CE Death of Chingas Khan
1260 CE Start of Yun Dynasty
1271 CE Generally accepted start of Yuan Dynasty » 1271 - 1369 «
1279 CE End of Sung Dynasty
1289 CE Burning of the Daoist Sacred Texts « This is one of several great book burnings of China. »
1313 CE Yuan Mongol Government adopts Civil Service exams based on Confucian Classics
1368 CE End of Yuan Dynasty
1368 CE Ming start of Ming Dynasty » 1368 - 1644 «
1416 CE Chu Hsi's commentaries published under authority of the Yung-lo emperor.
1433 CE End of Naval expeditions to the South Sea
1436 CE Tao Tsang Printed: Ming Edition 1057 volumes: « 1436 - 1450 »
1520 CE Portuguese embassy to Beijing
1604 CE Tung-Lin Academy established
1607 CE Tao Tsang: Ming Edition 67 omitted volumes published
1612 CE Ku Hsien-ch'eng « 1550 - 1612 » Founder: Tung-Lin Academy
1631 CE Founding of the Hung Society
1644 CE End of Ming Dynasty
1644 CE Ch'ing Start of Ch'ing Dynasty
1644 CE Dynasty « aka The Manchurian Dynasty » « 1644 - 1912 »
1662 CE K'ang-Sei reign
1678 CE Chang Erh-ch'i: Chou I Shou Leh summary discussions on the Yi Jing « 1612 - 1678 »
1682 CE Ku Yen-Wu: Founder Han-hseh Shool of Ch'in « 1613 - 1682 »
1686 CE Huang Tsung-ye: Chou I Hsiang-Tz'u [ Image Terms in the Book of Changes ] « 1616 - 1686 »
1692 CE Wang Fu-Chih: Chou I Ne-chuan Fa-Li [ Prolegomena to an Esoteric Commentary ] Chou I Pai-Shu [ A Critical Explication of the ZiChou ] Chou I Ta-Hsiang Chieh [ Explication of the Great Image Commentary ] Chou I nei-chuan [ An Esoteric Commentary ] « 1619 - 1692 »
1695 CE Huang Tsung-hsi: I Hseh Hsiang-Shu Lun [ Essay on Yi Jing Numerology ] « 1610 - 1695 »
1700 CE The Vatican orders its priests to not study the Yi Jing
1715 CE Publication of the Imperial Edition of the Yi Jing.
1722 CE end of reign of K'ang-sei
1736 CE Ch'ien-lung reign
1757 CE Antoine Gaubil « 1689 - 1757 » The first person to translate the Yi Jing into a western language.
1758 CE Hui Tung I Ta-i [ Essence of the Book of Changes ] « 1694 - 1758 »
? CE Imperial Manuscript Library established
1795 CE End of reign
1802 CE Chang Hui-yen: Han-Hsueh Scholar Chou I Y-shih i [ Interpretation of the Studies of Y Fan ] « 1761 - 1802 »
1820 CE Chiao Hsn: Huang Ch'ing ching-chieh [ A Reading Commentary on The I Ching ] « 1763 - 1820 »
1822 CE Matsui Rashu: Japanese I Ching Scholar « 1751- 1822 »
1834 CE First translation of the Yi Jing into Latin by The Society of Jesus.
1839 CE Start of the Opium War
1842 CE End of the Opium War
1850 CE Taiping Rebellion Started
1864 CE End of the Taiping Rebellion
1876 CE A Translation of the Confucian Yi-King The Rev Cannon McClatchie. First Translation of the Yi Jing into English.
1882 CE The Yi King James Legge: « 1815 -1897 » First Scholarly translation of the Yi Jing into English.
1892 CE A Terrien de Lacouperie published his translation of the Yi Jing
1894 CE Sino-Japanese War
1900 CE The Boxer Rebellion
1906 CE Traditional civil service exams abolished
1911 CE The Chinese Republic Proclaimed
1912 CE Ch'ing Dynasty End of Ch'ing Dynasty
1912 CE Republic of China Start of the Republic of China
1917 CE Wang Hsien-Ch'ien: Leading Commentator of Chuang Tau « 1842 - 1917 »
1921 CE Founding of the Communist Party of China
1921 CE Lao Nai-hsuan: Yi Jing Translator « Assisted Richard Wilhelm » « 1843 - 1921 »
1924 CE Wilhelm translation of the Yi Jing. First published in German.
1924 CE Tao Tsang: Ming Edition Republished Commercial Press of Shanghai « 1200 Volumes: 1924 - 1926 »
1930 CE Richard Wilhelm: Translator/Missionary « ? - 1930 »
1934 CE Start of the Long March of the Communists
1938 CE Chungking made Wartime Capital
1945 CE End of the Pacific War
1949 CE Withdrawal of the Nationalist Government to Taiwan
1949 CE People's Republic of China Start of The People's Republic of China
1950 CE First Edition of the Wilhelm/Baynes of The Yi Jing published in English.
1962 CE Tsa Tang: Ming Edition I-wen Publishing: Tapei, Taiwan « 1200 volumes: 1962 »
1963 CE I Ching: Book of Change John Blofeld Translation First Published. Third popular translation of the Yi Jing into English
1964 CE
1965 CE Liu Pai-min Chou I shih-li t'ung-i [ A Comprehenseive Interpretation ]
1965 CE John Blofeld publishes his translation of the <>Yi Jing
1968 CE Dr R G H Siu publishes his translation of the Yi Jing. This translation consists of quotes from the west.
1973 CE Discovery of the Ma-wang-tui manuscripts. One copy of the Yi Jing and two copies of the Dao De Jing were found here.Tomb dated at 168 BCE.
1990 CE I Ching conference opened on PODS « 1st electronic conference devoted to the Yi Jing? »
1993 CE Taoist_Studies conference opened on PODS. » first electronic conference devoted to Daoism ? «
1993 CE Taoism-L@coombs.anu.edu.au. First Internet mailing list on Daoism. closed up in april 1994.
1993 CE Discovery of the Guodian manuscripts. These date from 350 BCE or earlier. Included are the earliest known version of the Yi Jing and Dao De Jing
1994 CE Taoism-Studies-L@coombs.anu.edu.au Internet Mailing List on Daoism
1995 CE The world wide web exploded and I quit documenting "firsts".
2001 CE The year of the snake.
2001 CE Between clubs.yahoo.com and groups.yahoo.com there are 30 groups about the Yi Jing or Daoism.

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