A manuscript on silk, 200 BC
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According to legend, there are three ancient divination manuals.
The oldest is the Lian Shan, "continuous mountains", and it is said to start
with the hexagram double-mountain, in the Yi hex. 52. The second one is the Gui
Cang (or occasionally called Gui Zang), "return to tomb" or "return and
contained", starting with Kun, in the Yi hex. 2. The last one is the Zhou Yi,
which we know now as the Yi Jing, or I Ching. Click the titles for more
information.
Very good overview on Harmen's website.
The Mawangdui
YiJing
In 1973, at Mawangdui, an YiJing-text was unearthed, written on a piece of silk,
48 cm. wide and 85 cm. long. It dates probably from 190 BC.
I don't think it is actually older than the received text. The 'version' might
be, but the recieved text relies on a tradition, this one was probably made by
one person. An YiJing "of its time" back then.
A manuscript on silk, 200 BC
In 1993, at Wangjiatai, a Qin-period tomb was excavated, with over 800 bamboo slips in it. A large number of them with records of divination that match quoted fragments of Guicang in various medieval texts almost verbatim (from 'The Wangjiatai Guizang' by Shaugnessy).
Book of bamboo slips, 200 AD
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