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I Ching: An Annotated Bibliography

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Actually, the I Ching is not the world's oldest book - some from Egypt, Babylonia, and even the Chinese Classic of Poetry are older. But it is something more important: the world's oldest book which has been in continuous use, an honor it shares with the earliest books of the Hebrew Old Testament. Most of the JudeoChristian Bible however is almost 1,000 years more recent than the I Ching whose earliest parts were recorded about 800 BCE, according to current scholarly opinion. The I Ching is also the all time best selling book published by Princeton University Press and consistently ranks quite high on Amazon's rankings.It is one of the books that everyone should read.How has the I Ching has been able to stimulate the imaginations of the ancient Chinese and modern Westerners equally? There is a mystery about this;one's first contact is likely to be a bit startling since much of the work is terse and obscure.One is inspired to meditate on what the Changes meant to readers three milennia ago and what its allure is today.

There is no better way to discover the extremely wide range of ideas stimulated by the Changes than this Annotated Bibliography.There are entries for all the established authorities such as Edward L. Shaughnessy and Richard Rutt but equal place is given to those who are distinctly unorthodox, even bizarre, in their views. Nearly all entries are annotated and in an objective manner.Doctoral disserations, journal articles and reviews are included.The effort that has gone into this is staggering and all interested in the Changes must be extremely grateful to the authors.

If you have any interest in the I Ching whether as a scholar of ancient China or for divination, or as significant element in the transmission of Eastern culture to the West, this work should be at the top of your list for related reading. A bibliography may sound as if it would be dry but the annotations are fascinating and give a idea of the range of thought regarding the I Ching which can be obtained in no other way.
Highly recommended.