STUDY / OBJECTIVE
Translate a written rule into executable steps, exposing boundaries, missing inputs and ambiguity.
01 / STUDY
Input, state and output
Identify required inputs and the intermediate state after each step. Missing inputs are unmet conditions; unstated defaults are questions for the text. An output may be a sequence position or diagram. Its interpretation is a further layer and should be stored separately from the computation.
02 / STUDY
Make branch conditions explicit
A conditional rule must specify when the condition is tested, which fields it uses and what happens when conditions overlap. Turn the prose into a decision table with at least one input per branch. If precedence is unspecified, retain alternative implementations and their differences.
03 / STUDY
Reconstruction agreement and validity
Agreement between two executions establishes repeatability for that case. It does not alone show that a rule was used in the claimed period or that it predicts real events. Historical evidence addresses the former; independent evaluation addresses the latter. Distinguish these achievements in the report.
WORKED EXAMPLE
A complete nine-position cycle procedure
Invented teaching rule: positions 1–9, starting at 8 and advancing four steps, wrapping after 9. The start is not a step. This is not a Qimen charting method.
Trace: origin 8 → step one 9 → step two 1 → step three 2 → step four 3.
Independent check: convert the origin to index 7, add 4 to get 11, take remainder 2 modulo 9, then add 1 to obtain 3.
Give another reader the same inputs and conventions, then compare independent traces step by step.
Both computations reach position three while making wraparound and counting explicit.
PRACTICE / REFLECTION
Exercises and answers
01Under the same rule, what is position 9 advanced zero steps?
Read the explanation
It remains nine. Zero steps detect an accidental inclusion of the origin as a move and provide a useful boundary test.
02How should a rule such as “treat remainder zero as nine” be documented?
Read the explanation
State exactly where it applies and test divisible inputs. Do not mix it casually with zero-index-plus-one arithmetic; first establish matching inputs and numbering conventions.
A distinction to retain
Do not present defaults introduced by the reconstruction as rules explicitly stated in the source.
Unit output
An input inventory, decision table, five traces including boundaries and an independent review.
REFERENCES
Reading references
Collection description
Used to distinguish the surviving object, missing components and a general structural description.Tsinghua republication · originally China Culture Daily, 14 January 2014
An edited talk by the manuscript editor; detailed readings require the published edition.References reviewed: 2026-10-24. Examples, record templates and explanations are editorial teaching material. Fictional inputs are not historical events or efficacy evidence. Citations imply no affiliation.
Personal study record; not a grade, assessment or credential.
Connected study paths
Calendars: cycles, terms and boundariesCosmic boards: objects and proceduresSources: bones, manuscripts and DunhuangEditorial study material · 2026-10-24