At a glance
- Reading focus
- The 125 count combinations include the all-covered condition.
Definition and details
The method uses twelve pieces, four each marked upper, middle and lower, and selects a pattern from visible marked faces after casting. The groups can carry heaven–human–earth symbolism according to the witness. These are divinatory implements, not a two-player strategy game; record markings, counts and lookup rules separately.
Structure and history
The old account lists and questions attributions to Zhang Liang, Dongfang Shuo and Liu An, preferring bibliographic and early textual traces. It also records commentary layers. Dunhuang scholarship compares the pieces with other implements, situating Lingqi within material and textual circulation rather than one perfectly unchanged invention attributed to a famous person.
A concrete example
Each group can show zero through four marked faces, yielding five cubed, or 125 count combinations. The account discusses 124 named patterns plus the all-covered condition. Compare that condition with a visible-mark result to see different lookup treatment, without forcing either into a six-line Zhouyi hexagram.
Context and limits
The count structure is checkable mathematics, while verses supply traditional meanings. Piece asymmetry, material and casting can affect probabilities, so 125 combinations are not automatically equally likely. Historical medical, financial or action judgments are not modern advice. Preserve the pattern system, witness and ritual conditions, separating observable operations from participants’ devotional interpretation.
References & further reading
Historical sources document ideas and rules of their time, not empirical proof of predictive accuracy. Source notes identify the nature and scope of each reference.
- 靈棋經（四庫全書本）· 全覽Primary / tradition source
Public-domain twelve-piece procedure and texts with an account questioning prestigious attributions.
- Dice and Gods on the Silk Road · The Divination of MaheśvaraScholarly research
Scholarly chapter comparing Chinese, Tibetan and other divination materials from Dunhuang.