SIDE BY SIDE
Compare mantic systems
Read systems against shared questions to identify common language, procedural differences and distinct limits.
| Dimension | 五兆卜法与敦煌事项占 ↗ | 灵棋经 ↗ |
|---|---|---|
| Family | Dreams, characters and popular divination | Yijing-derived and correlative systems |
| Inputs | Shelfmark, image, damaged areas, transcription and dating proposal | Tokens, casting convention, outcome sequence and text edition |
| Procedural structure | Different scrolls derive combinations through numbers, signs, directions or ritual and consult topic-based statements. Fragmentation, scribal errors and overlap require reconstruction across manuscripts. | Four tokens in each of three groups yield a number through their faces; the three numbers index a figure, image and judgment. Casting details and token markings vary by edition. |
| Formation | Popular in late Tang and Five Dynasties; largely lost after Song | Uncertain date; probably circulating before the Six Dynasties, with medieval manuscript evidence |
| Evidence labels | Excavated evidence · Textually documented · Contested lineage or date | Textually documented · Traditional attribution · Contested lineage or date |
| Texts | Wuzhao Jingfa Yaojue / Wuzhao Yaojue Lue / Related Dunhuang fragments | Lingqi Jing / Dunhuang fragments of the Spirit-Token Manual / Daoist and Japanese editions |
| Limits | The evidence does not support claims of a complete unbroken modern lineage. Reconstructions must mark missing leaves, variants and inferred steps. | Ancient-sounding attributions do not establish authorship, and its 125 figures should be distinguished from the Zhouyi's sixty-four hexagrams. |
| Research question | What supports a fragment's assigned title and category? | How is a physical result encoded as a textual entry? |