View source for Liubo

{{Short description|Ancient Chinese board game for two players}}
{{Italic title}}
{{infobox Chinese
|image=Met, Earthenware figures playing liubo, Han Dynasty.JPG
|caption=A pair of [[Eastern Han dynasty]] (25–220 CE) ceramic tomb figurines of two gentlemen playing ''liubo''
|c={{linktext|六博}}
|l=six sticks
|p=liùbó
|w=liu<sup>4</sup>-po<sup>2</sup>
|mi={{IPAc-cmn|l|iu|4|b|o|2}}
|y=luhkbok
|j=luk6bok3
|ci={{IPAc-yue|l|uk|6|.|b|ok|3}}
|mc={{IPA|/lɨuk̚.pwɑk̚/}}|oc-bs=*kruk pˤak
|oc-zz={{IPA|*ruɡ.paːɡ}}}}
'''''Liubo''''' ({{zh|c=六博}}; [[Old Chinese]] *''kruk pˤak'' “six sticks”) was an [[History of China|ancient Chinese]] [[board game]] for two players.  The rules have largely been lost, but it is believed that each player had six game pieces that were moved around the points of a square game board that had a distinctive, symmetrical pattern. Moves were determined by the throw of six [[Binary lot#Staves|sticks]], which performed the same function as [[dice]] in other [[race games]].

The game was invented no later than the middle of the 1st millennium BCE, and was popular during the [[Han dynasty]] (202 BCE – 220 CE). However, after the Han dynasty it rapidly declined in popularity, possibly due to the rise in popularity of the [[Go (game)|game of ''weiqi'' (go)]], and it became totally forgotten.

Knowledge of the game has increased in recent years with archeological discoveries of Liubo game boards and game equipment in ancient tombs, as well as discoveries of Han dynasty picture stones and picture bricks depicting Liubo players.

==History==
[[File:Eastern Han Luoyang Mural of Liubo players.jpg|thumb|220px|Mural from an Eastern Han dynasty tomb at [[Luoyang]], [[Henan]] showing a pair of Liubo players in the foreground, the player on the right with his right hand raised up as if about to throw down the six throwing sticks]]

It is not known when the game of ''liubo'' originated, although according to legend it was invented by Wu Cao (烏曹, called Wu Zhou 烏胄 in the early 2nd century CE ''[[Shuowen Jiezi]]'' dictionary), a minister to [[Jie of Xia|King Jie]], the last king of the [[Xia dynasty]], who according to traditional chronology reigned 1728–1675 BCE.<ref>{{cite web | last=Xu | first=Shen | author-link=Xu Shen | script-title=zh:說文解字/06 | type=[[Shuowen Jiezi]] vol. 7 | publisher=維基文庫 (Chinese Wikisource) | language=zh | url=http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E8%AA%AA%E6%96%87%E8%A7%A3%E5%AD%97/06 | quote=簙：局戲也。六箸十二棊也。从竹博聲。古者烏胄作簙。 | access-date=2009-06-26}}</ref> While there is no archeological or reliable documentary evidence to support the view that ''liubo'' dates back to the [[Shang dynasty]] (1600–1046 BCE), early Chinese records do indicate that ''liubo'' was already a popular game by the [[Warring States period]] (476–221 BCE). For example, the ''[[Records of the Grand Historian]]'' records a speech made during the reign of King Xuan of [[Qi (state)|Qi]] (reigned 319–301 BCE) that claims that the capital city of [[Ancient Linzi|Linzi]] was so wealthy that its citizens were all able to indulge in activities such as playing musical instruments, cockfighting, dog racing, playing ''liubo'' and playing [[Cuju|kick ball]].<ref>{{cite web | last=Sima | first=Qian | author-link=Sima Qian | script-title=zh:史記/卷069 |trans-title=Records of the Grand Historian vol.69 | publisher=維基文庫 (Chinese Wikisource) | language=zh | quote=臨菑甚富而實，其民無不吹竽鼓瑟，彈琴擊築，鬥雞走狗，六博蹋鞠者。 | url=http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%8F%B2%E8%A8%98/%E5%8D%B7069 | access-date=2009-06-26}}</ref>

The game of ''liubo'' is also described in the mid 3rd century BCE poem "Summons of the Soul" ("Zhao Hun" 招魂) in the ''[[Chu Ci|Songs of Chu]]'':
<blockquote>
<poem>{{lang|zh|菎蔽象棋，有六簙些。| size = 110% }}
{{lang|zh|分曹並進，遒相迫些。| size = 110% }}
{{lang|zh|成梟而牟，呼五白些。| size = 110% }}</poem>

Then with bamboo dice and ivory pieces the game of Liu Bo is begun;<br />
Sides are taken; they advance together; keenly they threaten each other.<br />
Pieces are kinged and the scoring doubled. Shouts of ‘five white!’ arise.<ref>{{cite book | last=Hawkes | first=David | author-link=David Hawkes (scholar) | title=The Songs of the South: An Anthology of Ancient Chinese Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets | publisher=Penguin Books | year=1985 | location=Harmondsworth | page=[https://archive.org/details/songsofsouthanci0000unse/page/229 229] | isbn=0-14-044375-4 | url=https://archive.org/details/songsofsouthanci0000unse/page/229 }}</ref>
</blockquote>

Note that the line “Pieces are kinged” translates 成梟 ''chéng xiāo'' ”become an owl”. The earliest ''liubo'' boards to have been discovered are a pair of ornately decorated stonen boards from a 4th-century BCE tomb in the royal tomb complex of the [[Zhongshan (state)|State of Zhongshan]] at [[Pingshan, Pingshan County, Hebei|Pingshan]] in [[Hebei]].<ref>{{cite book | last=Rawson | first=Jessica | author-link=Jessica Rawson | title=Mysteries of Ancient China | publisher=British Museum Press | year=1996 | location=London | pages=159–161 | isbn=0-7141-1472-3}}</ref>

[[File:Pottery game players.JPG|thumb|220px|left|Eastern Han glazed pottery tomb figurines playing Liubo, with six sticks laid out to the side of the game board]]
The game reached its greatest popularity during the [[Han dynasty]], as is evidenced by the discovery of many examples of Liubo boards or sets of Liubo game pieces as [[grave goods]] in high status tombs dating to the Han dynasty. Pottery or wooden figurines of players with model Liubo boards have also been discovered in some Han tombs.<ref>{{cite journal | author=甘肃省博物馆 (Gansu Provincial Museum) | script-title=zh:武威磨咀子三座汉墓发掘简报 |trans-title=Brief report of the excavation of three Han tombs at Mozuizi in Wuwei | journal=文物 (Cultural Relics) | volume=1972 | issue=12 | pages=9–16 | language=zh}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal | author=河南省博物馆 (Henan Provincial Museum) | script-title=zh:灵宝张湾汉墓 |trans-title=The Han tomb at Zhangwan in Lingbao | journal=文物 (Cultural Relics) | volume=1975 | issue=11 | pages=80–81 | language=zh}}</ref> Engraved picture stones (畫像石) and moulded picture bricks (畫像磚) that were widely used to decorate tombs and temples during the [[Han dynasty#Eastern Han|Eastern Han]] period (25–220 CE) also frequently depict people playing Liubo, sometimes as a small part of a complex scene depicting many different activities, but sometimes as the focal point of the scene, with the players attended by servants and playing in the cool of a pavilion. Some picture stones and engravings on stone coffins, especially those from the area of modern [[Sichuan]] and [[Yunnan]] provinces, show two winged [[Xian (Taoism)|immortals]] playing Liubo on a mountain, usually as part of a larger scene depicting the [[Queen Mother of the West]] and various mythical animals.

After the end of the Han dynasty the game seems to have lost its popularity, and there are no known examples of ''liubo'' funerary ware or depictions of ''liubo'' playing later than the [[Jin dynasty (266–420)]]. Although the game is still occasionally referred to in some historical sources and in poetry as late as the [[Tang dynasty]] (618–907), it seems that ''liubo'' had been largely displaced by the [[Go (game)|game of Go]]. By the time of the [[Yuan dynasty]] (1271–1368) all knowledge of the game of ''liubo'' had been lost, and it is only with the archeological discoveries of recent years that the game has become better known.

There is some evidence that the game of ''liubo'' spread to beyond the confines of China. The ''[[Old Book of Tang]]'' mentions that Tibetans enjoyed playing both the game of Go and ''liubo'',<ref>{{cite web | last=Xu | first=Liu | script-title=zh:舊唐書/卷196上 |trans-title=Old Book of Tang vol.196A | publisher=維基文庫 (Chinese Wikisource) | language=zh | url=http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E8%88%8A%E5%94%90%E6%9B%B8/%E5%8D%B7196%E4%B8%8A | quote=圍棋陸博，吹蠡鳴鼓為戲，弓劍不離身。 | access-date=2009-06-26}}</ref> but although ancient Tibetan Go boards have been discovered, no examples of Tibetan ''liubo'' boards are known.<ref>{{cite conference | first=Guntram | last=Hazod | title=The Royal Residence Pho brang byams pa mi 'gyur gling and the Story of Srong btsan sgam po's Birth in Rgya ma | book-title=Tibet, past and Present: Tibetan Studies I | conference=Proceedings of the Ninth Seminar of the IATS, 2000 | pages=27–48 | publisher=Brill | year=2002 | location=Leiden | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UsC1sEKQNeYC | isbn=9004127755}}</ref> The Chinese version of the ''[[Mahayana Mahaparinirvana Sutra]]'' also mentions the playing of several games, including ''Liubo'', which some have taken as evidence that ''Liubo'' was transmitted to India. However, to date no examples of ''Liubo'' boards have been found outside of China.

==Equipment==

Liubo boards and game equipment are often found as grave goods in tombs from the Han dynasty. Various types and sizes of Liubo board have been unearthed, made from a variety of materials, including wood, lacquered wood, pottery, stone and bronze. Some of the boards are simple square slabs of stone or wood, but others are supported by knobs at the four corners, and some are built as tables with long legs. Regardless of their size or shape, the common feature of all Liubo boards is the distinctive pattern that is carved or painted on their surface:

[[File:LiuboBoardDiagram.png|center]]

All excavated boards have the angular V-shaped marks at the corners and L-shaped marks at the center of the edges, as well as the central square and T-shaped protrusions, and most boards also have four marks (usually circular but sometimes a decorative pattern) between the corner mark and the central square. However, on some boards each circular mark is replaced by a straight line joining the corner mark to the corner of the inner square, and in a few cases there is no mark between the corner and the square at all.

[[File:Lacquered Liubo Chess Set.jpg|thumb|200px|A [[lacquer]]ed Chinese liubo board game set excavated from Tomb No. 3 of [[Mawangdui|Mawangdui site]], [[Changsha]], Hunan province, China, dated to the 2nd century BCE during the [[Western Han dynasty]]]]

In many tombs only the Liubo board has survived (especially if made of stone or bronze), and it can be assumed that any associated game pieces have decayed, whereas in other cases the game pieces (which are often made of ivory) have survived but the Liubo board (which is often made of wood or lacquer) has rotted away. However, in 1973 a unique, complete set of Liubo equipment in a lacquer box was discovered in a 2nd-century BCE tomb at [[Mawangdui]] (believed to be that of the son of the Marquis of Dai). This Liubo set comprises the following items (the Chinese description of the items in the inventory of grave goods that was found in the tomb are given in brackets):<ref>{{cite journal | author=熊传新 (Xiong Chuanxin) | script-title=zh:谈马王堆3号西汉墓出土的陆博 |trans-title=Discussion of the Liubo set unearthed from the No. 3 Western Han tomb at Mawangdui | journal=文物 (Cultural Relics) | volume=1979 | issue=4 | pages=35–39 | language=zh}}</ref>
*1 lacquered wooden game box (45.0 × 45.0 × 17.0&nbsp;cm.) [博一具]
*1 lacquered wooden game board (45.0 × 45.0 × 1.2&nbsp;cm.) [博局一]
*12 cuboid ivory game pieces (4,2 × 2.2 × 2.3&nbsp;cm.), six black and six white [象其十二]
*20 ivory game pieces (2.9 × 1.7 × 1.0&nbsp;cm.) [象直食其廿]
*30 rod-shaped ivory counting chips (16.4&nbsp;cm. long) [象筭三十枚]
*12 ivory throwing rods (22.7&nbsp;cm. long) [象□□□□ (last four characters obliterated)]
*1 ivory knife (22.0&nbsp;cm. long) [象割刀一]
*1 ivory scraper (17.2&nbsp;cm. long) [象削一]
*1 eighteen-sided die with the numbers "1" through "16" and characters meaning "win" and "lose" [not listed in the inventory]

[[File:6 jadeite Liubo game pieces.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Six [[jadeite]] Liubo game pieces from the tomb of King [[Zhao Mo]] of [[Nanyue]] (reigned 137 BC&nbsp;– 122 BC)]]
The six black and six white game pieces are the main game pieces to be moved around the board, and similar sets of cubic or cuboid game pieces made from ivory, [[jadeite]] or [[rock crystal]] have been found in several other tombs. In at least one case the game pieces are not distinguished by colour, but by having an engraving of a tiger on the pieces of one set and an engraving of a dragon on the pieces of the other set.<ref>{{cite book | author=大葆台汉墓发掘组 (Dabaotai Han Tomb Excavation Group) | script-title=zh:北京大葆台汉墓 |trans-title=The Han tomb at Dabaotai in Beijing | publisher=Wenwu chubanshe | year=1989 | location=Beijing | page=53 | isbn=7-5010-0238-X | language=zh}}</ref> One game piece on each side is designated as a commander.<ref name="GuoEymanSun">{{Cite book |last=Guo |first=Li |title=Games & Play in Chinese & Sinophone Cultures |last2=Eyman |first2=Douglas |last3=Sun |first3=Hongmei |date=2024 |publisher=[[University of Washington Press]] |isbn=9780295752402 |editor-last=Guo |editor-first=Li |location=Seattle, WA |pages= |chapter=Introduction |editor-last2=Eyman |editor-first2=Douglas |editor-last3=Sun |editor-first3=Hongmei}}</ref>{{Rp|page=6}}

The twelve long rods are two sets of the six throwing sticks that the players use to determine their moves, and which the game is named after (Liubo="six sticks"). Most Han stone pictures of Liubo show the players throwing sticks onto a mat between themselves (with the Liubo board to the side of the mat), and ceramic model Liubo sets such as the one excavated in 1972 from [[Lingbao, Henan|Lingbao]] in Henan province show six sticks lined up neatly between the two players.<ref>{{cite web | title=The green-glazed liubo-playing pottery figurines | publisher=Cultural China | url=http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/History2041bye5118.html | access-date=2009-06-26}}</ref>

Sets of thirty rod-shaped counting chips have also been found in association with Liubo sets from other tombs.<ref>{{cite journal | author=莱西县文化馆 (Laixi County Culture Hall) | script-title=zh:山東萊西縣岱墅西漢木槨墓 |trans-title=The Western Han timber-chambered tomb at Daishu in Laixi county in Shandong | journal=文物 (Cultural Relics) | volume=1980 | issue=12 | page=15 | language=zh}}</ref>

However, the twenty ivory game pieces and the eighteen-sided die in the Mawangdui set are not typically associated with Liubo boards in other tombs, and it is possible that they were not used for playing Liubo, but were equipment for a different game. A similar eighteen-sided die with numbers "1" through "16", "win" and "take a drink" was found in association with two sets of twenty copper, coin-shaped tokens (one set inscribed "Number 1" through "Number 20", and the other set inscribed with three-character lines of poetry) in a Han tomb at [[Mancheng County]] in [[Hebei]]. No Liubo board or Liubo game pieces were found in the tomb, and because of the inscription "take a drink" (酒來) on one face of the die, the die and sets of tokens are supposed to have been used for a drinking game.<ref>{{cite book | author=中国社会科学院考古研究所 (Archeology Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences) | script-title=zh:满城汉墓发掘报告 |trans-title=Excavation report for the Han tomb at Mancheng | publisher=Wenwu chubanshe | year=1980 | location=Beijing | pages=271–274 | language=zh}}</ref>

==Rules==

[[Image:Earthenware figures playing liubo, Han Dynasty 4.JPG|thumb|200px|A close-up view of the board game with game pieces from the Eastern Han tomb model set]]

The exact rules of the game of Liubo are not known, and some of the surviving descriptions of the game are conflicting, which suggests that the game may have been played according to different rules at different times or in different places. The most complete description of the rules of Liubo occurs in a quotation from the lost ''Book of Ancient Bo'' (古博經) in a commentary by Zhang Zhan (張湛) to the ''[[Liezi|Book of Liezi]]'' that was written during the [[Jin dynasty (266–420)]]:

<blockquote>
Method of play: Two people sit facing each other over a board, and the board is divided into twelve paths, with two ends, and an area called the "water" in the middle. Twelve game pieces are used, which according to the ancient rules are six white and six black. There are also two "fish" pieces, which are placed in the water. The throwing of the dice is done with a jade. The two players take turns to throw the dice and move their pieces. When a piece has been moved to a certain place it is stood up on end, and called an "owl (梟or驍) ". Thereupon it can enter the water and eat a fish, which is also called "pulling a fish". Every time a player pulls a fish he gets two tokens, and if he pulls two fish in a row he gets three tokens [for the second fish]. If a player has already pulled two fish but does not win it is called double-pulling a pair of fish. When one player wins six tokens the game is won.
</blockquote>

Another, somewhat later source, ''The Family Instructions of Master Yan'' by [[Yan Zhitui]] (531–591) states that there were two variants of Liubo, "Greater Bo" (大博) which was played with six throwing sticks, and "Lesser Bo" (小博) which was played with two dice:<ref>{{cite web | last=Yan | first=Zhitui | author-link=Yan Zhitui | script-title=zh:顏氏家訓/卷第7 |trans-title=The Family Instructions of Master Yan vol. 7 | publisher=維基文庫 (Chinese Wikisource) | language=zh | url=http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E9%A1%8F%E6%B0%8F%E5%AE%B6%E8%A8%93/%E5%8D%B7%E7%AC%AC7 | quote=古为大博则六箸，小博则二茕，今无晓者。比世所行，一茕十二棋，数术浅短，不足可翫。 | access-date=2009-06-26}}</ref>

<blockquote>
The ancient Greater Bo used six sticks, whereas Lesser Bo used two dice. Nowadays there is no-one who knows how to play, but in those days when it was played it used one die and twelve game pieces. It had very little skill, and was not worth playing.
</blockquote>

Most game historians think that Liubo was a [[race game]], and that players moved their six games pieces around the marks on the board. However, others consider Liubo to have been a battle game played with dice or throwing sticks.

There have been several attempts to reconstruct the rules of the game, most notably by [[Yang Lien-sheng|Lien-sheng Yang]], who discusses the game as it was possibly played on [[TLV mirrors]].<ref>{{cite journal | doi=10.2307/2718275 | last=Yang | first=Lien-sheng | title=An Additional Note on the Ancient Game Liu-po | jstor=2718275 | journal=Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies | volume=15 | issue=1 | date=June 1952 | pages=124–139}}</ref> Yang theorizes that a player's piece would start on an L-shaped mark and try to move to a V-shaped corner mark depending on the throw of the sticks. Certain throws would allow a player's piece to move into the center and ‘kill’ the opponent's piece if it was already there. Once in the center, a piece could begin to block the enemy's pieces from taking a square. For each block one would gain two points. One could also attempt to recover one's pieces after they are blocked, and would gain three points for doing this. If one failed to win after having blocked two men, then the opponent would gain six points and win the game. The first player to six points would win the game. Jean-Louis Cazaux has reconstructed similar rules for playing Liubo.<ref>{{cite web | last=Cazaux | first=Jean-Louis | title=Reconstructed rules of Liubo | date=2008-01-20 | url=http://history.chess.free.fr/liubo-rules.htm | access-date=2009-06-26}}</ref>  An implementation of these reconstructed rules as a playable computer game has also been attempted.<ref>{{cite web | title=The Ancient Game of Liubo | date=2011-04-11 | url=https://liubo-game.appspot.com | access-date=2011-04-19}}</ref>

In 2019, more than 1,000 bamboo slips containing the rules for Liubo were discovered in [[Marquis of Haihun#Tomb|the tomb of the Marquis of Haihun]].<ref>{{cite web | title=Lost Game's Rules Found in Marquis of Haihun's Tomb | date=2019-03-13 | url=https://www.archaeology.org/news/7470-190313-china-game-rules | access-date=2019-03-14}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | title=China discovers bamboo slips recording rules of ancient board game | date=2019-03-13 | url=http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-03/13/c_137892029.htm | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190313234306/http://www.xinhuanet.com/english/2019-03/13/c_137892029.htm | url-status=dead | archive-date=March 13, 2019 | access-date=2019-03-15}}</ref>

==Chupu==
A variant of Liubo in which dice were used to make the moves was called [[Chupu]] ([[:zh:樗蒲|樗蒲]]) or Wumu (五木).<ref>[http://pjlog.com/viewthread.php?tid=2648 色子的五木、投瓊和彩戰等] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715090503/http://pjlog.com/viewthread.php?tid=2648 |date=2011-07-15 }}</ref>  In [[Korea]] the traditional game of ''[[jeopo]]'' ({{Korean|hangul=저포|hanja=樗蒲}}) is still played, on a board that is not similar to a Liubo board.<ref>{{Cite web | title= [전통놀이] 저포놀이 |trans-title=[Traditional Games] Play Jeopo | url=http://gomalee.tistory.com/155 | date=20 May 2011 | access-date=2011-09-30 }}</ref>

==Relationship to other games==
Some scholars associate Liubo to other board games, and in particular some Chinese scholars believe that [[Xiangqi]] (Chinese chess) was based on Liubo.<ref>{{cite web | title=Give up Persian Chess&nbsp;– play Chinese Chess instead! (interview between Dr. René Gralla and Prof. David H. Li) | publisher=ChessBase | date=2005-06-15 | url=http://www.chessbase.com/newsdetail.asp?newsid=2455 | quote=Professor Li, it seems to be that historians from China endorse your thesis&nbsp;– that the origins of chess can be found in China. In summary: XiangQi originates from the mysterious game Liubo; Liubo turned into GeWu, the latter has turned into Proto-XiangQi. Peter Banaschak analysed the sources that the representatives of the Chinese school cite, and he thinks that all those quotations from the past can be references to some game, but not necessarily to the game of chess or XiangQi. | access-date=2009-06-26}}</ref> Some historians believe that Xiangqi is not related to [[Persian chess]], but was based on Liubo{{fact|date=January 2025}}, whereas others have suggested that Liubo was transmitted from China to India during the [[Eastern Jin]] (317–420), where it developed into [[Chaturanga]], which was the ancestor to both Persian chess and Chinese chess.<ref>{{cite web | title=Liubo&nbsp;– the Ancestor of Board Games | publisher=Cultural China | url=http://kaleidoscope.cultural-china.com/en/140K2115K5502.html | quote=According to the research of modern board game historians, liubo is actually the ancestor of all battle board games of the world today, such as Chinese chess, chess etc. These games all evolve from liubo. | access-date=2009-06-26}}</ref> Jean-Louis Cazaux has argued that Chinese chess could have been the result of hybridization between Indian or Persian chess and Liubo, which could have been transformed from a race game to a battle game.<ref name=cazaux2001>{{cite web|last=Cazaux |first=Jean-Louis |title=Is Chess a Hybrid Game ? |year=2001 |pages=5–8 |url=http://www.mynetcologne.de/~nc-jostenge/cazaux.pdf |quote=My idea, very speculative I must confess, is that someone could have turned this race game into a confrontation game opposing in each side the 6 stones as Soldiers, with a notion of promotion during the course of the game, and 10 fishes as Officers. ... Also, to divide the two sides on a battlefield, the best was probably to convert the central water into a river in the middle. |access-date=2009-06-26 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071216215641/http://www.mynetcologne.de/~nc-jostenge/cazaux.pdf |archive-date=December 16, 2007}}</ref> However, most game historians believe that Xiangqi originates from Indian or Persian chess<ref>[http://www.mynetcologne.de/~nc-jostenge/cazaux.pdf Cazaux, Jean-Loius. 2001. Is Chess a Hybrid Game ?] "A westward birth followed by an eastward diffusion. An Indian origin of Chess is
the dominating opinion among historians so far."</ref><ref name=cazaux/>{{rp|334}} and reject the claim that Xiangqi or other [[chess variants]] derive from Liubo.<ref>{{cite web | last=Banaschak | first=Peter | title=A story well told is not necessarily true&nbsp;– being a critical assessment of David H. Li's "The Genealogy of Chess" | url=http://www.banaschak.net/schach/ligenealogyofchess.htm | access-date=2009-06-26}}</ref> In a more recent publication, Cazaux opines that both the hypotheses of an Indian, Persian or Chinese origin of chess have some plausibility.<ref name=cazaux>Cazaux, Jean-Louis; Knowlton, Rick (2017). A World of Chess. Its Development and Variations through Centuries and Civilizations. McFarland. P. 349-352. "So, did chess first arise in India, Persia or China? Each hypothesis has credible support, but each one also leaves quite considerable doubts.</ref>

==Liubo patterns on other objects==

===Mirrors===
{{main|TLV mirror}}

[[File:British Museum Han TLV Mirror.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Han dynasty bronze mirror with TLV pattern]]
The pattern found on the surface of Liubo boards is also found on the most common type of Han dynasty bronze mirror, known from their distinctive markings as [[TLV mirrors]]. There is some debate over whether the Liubo pattern on these mirrors was simply decorative, or whether it had a ritual significance, or whether perhaps the mirrors doubled as portable Liubo game boards. Zhou Zheng has pointed out that one TLV mirror dating to the reign of [[Wang Mang]] (9–23) has an inscription that includes the words "Carved with a Liubo board pattern to dispel misfortune" (刻具博局去[祛]不羊[祥]), which suggests that the main purpose of the Liubo pattern on mirrors was ritual, and that the pattern had a special significance beyond game-playing.<ref>{{cite journal | author=周铮 (Zhou Zheng) | script-title=zh:"规矩镜"应改称"博局镜" |trans-title="Geometric mirrors" should be called "Liubo pattern mirrors" | journal=考古 (Archeology) | volume=1987 | issue=12 | pages=1116–1118 | language=zh}}</ref>

===Coins===

The Liubo pattern is also sometimes found on the reverse of [[Ancient Chinese coinage#Western Han and the Wu Zhu coins|Wu Zhu]] coins. Such coins were not used as currency but were probably lucky charms.<ref>{{cite web | title=#54832: China, charm&nbsp;– Wu Zhu coin  | publisher=Zeno Oriental Coins Database | url=http://www.zeno.ru/showphoto.php?photo=54832 | access-date=2009-06-26}}</ref>

===Sundials===
[[File:Stone sundial with Liubo markings.jpg|thumb|left|220px|A Han stone sundial overcarved with a Liubo board pattern]]
In 1897 a Han dynasty stone [[sundial]] was discovered in [[Inner Mongolia]] which had been overcarved with a Liubo board pattern.<ref>{{cite journal | author=孙机 (Sun Ji) | script-title=zh:托克托日晷 |trans-title=The Togtoh sundial | journal=中国历史博物馆馆刊 (Journal of the Museum of Chinese History) | volume=1971 | issue=3 | pages=74–81 | language=zh}}</ref> The only other complete Han dynasty sundial, in the collection of the Royal Ontario Museum, also has a Liubo pattern carved on it. It may be that the sundials were repurposed as Liubo boards by carving the Liubo pattern over the original sundial markings, or it may be that the Liubo markings were added for some unknown ritual purpose.

===Divination boards===

In 1993, a wooden board with turtle divination diagrams and prognostications on one side and a Liubo diagram and forty-five prognostications on five topics on the other side was excavated from a late Western Han tomb at Yinwan in [[Donghai County]], [[Jiangsu]].<ref>{{cite journal | script-title=zh:尹湾汉墓简牍初探 |trans-title=Preliminary investigation about the wooden slips from the Han tomb at Yinwan | journal=文物 (Cultural Relics) | volume=1996 | issue=10 | pages=68–71 | language=zh}}</ref> The Liubo diagram is too small to have been used for playing Liubo, and is covered with the sixty terms of the [[sexagenary cycle]] which are written all along the lines of the Liubo diagram, in a similar way that the turtle diagram on the other side of the board is filled with the sixty terms. The prognostications under the Liubo diagram are headed with one of nine terms that correspond to the words of an enigmatic, mnemonic rhyme about Liubo written by Xu Bochang (許博昌) during the reign of [[Emperor Wu of Han]] (141–87 BCE); Lillian Tseng (Zeng Lanying) argues that these are the names for particular points on the board (the two lines of the "V" mark, the two lines of the "L" mark, the two lines of the "T" mark, the circle or line between the corner and the central square, the outside edge of the central square, and the inside of the central square).<ref>{{cite journal | author=曾蓝莹 (Lillian Tseng) | script-title=zh:尹湾汉墓"博局占"木牍试解 |trans-title=Attempt to explain the "Liubo divination" wooden slip from the Han tomb at Yinwan | journal=文物 (Cultural Relics) | volume=1994 | issue=8 | pages=62–65 | language=zh}}</ref>

[[File:LiuboDivinationDiagram.png|frame|center|Schematic diagram of the Yinwan Han dynasty Liubo divination diagram, showing the positions of the sixty terms of the [[sexagenary cycle]] (following the corrections of Zeng Lanying) and examples of the nine board positions: '''A'''=''fāng'' 方 "square"; '''B'''=''lián'' 廉 (''pàn'' 畔) "edge"; '''C'''=''jié'' 楬 (''jiē'' 揭) "lift"; '''D'''=''dào'' 道 "path"; '''E'''=''zhāng'' 張 "stretch"; '''F'''=''qū'' 曲 (''jiǔ'' 究) "bend"; '''G'''=''qū'' 詘 (''qū'' 屈) "curve"; '''H'''=''cháng'' 長 (''xuán'' 玄) "long"; '''I'''=''gāo'' 高 "tall" (terms used in Xu Bochang's rhyme given in brackets if different).]]

[[Li Xueqin]] has suggested that the board was used for divination by matching the day to be divined to the corresponding sexagenary term on the Liubo diagram, and then reading off the corresponding prognostication according to the position of the sexagenary term on the Liubo diagram.<ref>{{cite journal | author=Li Xueqin | author-link=Li Xueqin | script-title=zh:"博局占"与规矩纹 |trans-title="Liubo board divination" and geometric patterns | journal=文物 (Cultural Relics) | volume=1997 | issue=1 | pages=49–51 | language=zh}}</ref> However, Lillian Tseng points out that the divination could also be done the other way round, by looking for the desired prognostication (for example an auspicious marriage day), and then all the days on the Liubo board that were written on the position corresponding to the term heading the prognostication would match the desired prognostication.

It has been theorized that the placement of the sixty sexagenary terms on the points of the Liubo divination diagram indicate the possible positions for placing pieces when playing Liubo, and that the sequence of the terms across the divination diagram reflects the path to be followed around the board when playing the game (starting at the north-east corner and ending at the north side of the central square).<ref>{{cite web | last=Cazaux | first=Jean-Louis | title=Liubo | url=http://history.chess.free.fr/liubo.htm | access-date=2009-06-26}}</ref>

==Players==
[[File:Liubo players in pottery tower.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Liubo players inside an Eastern Han model pottery tower]]
People who have played Liubo include:
*[[King Mu of Zhou]] (reigned 977–922 BCE), who according to the apocryphal ''Travels of King Mu'' once played a game of Liubo with a hermit that lasted three days.<ref>{{cite web | script-title=zh:穆天子傳/卷五 |trans-title=Account of King Mu of Zhou vol.5  | publisher=維基文庫 (Chinese Wikisource) | language=zh | url=http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E7%A9%86%E5%A4%A9%E5%AD%90%E5%82%B3/%E5%8D%B7%E4%BA%94 | quote=是日也，天子北入于邴，与井公博，三日而决。 | access-date=2009-06-26}}</ref>
*Duke Min of [[Song (state)|Song]] (宋湣公), who in 682 BCE got into an argument with Nangong Wan 南宮萬 whilst playing Liubo with him, and was killed by Nangong Wan when he hit the duke with the Liubo board.<ref>{{cite web | last=Sima | first=Qian | author-link=Sima Qian | script-title=zh:史記/卷038 |trans-title=Records of the Grand Historian vol.38 | publisher=維基文庫 (Chinese Wikisource) | language=zh | url=http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%8F%B2%E8%A8%98/%E5%8D%B7038 | quote=十一年秋，湣公與南宮萬獵，因博爭行，湣公怒，辱之，曰：「始吾敬若；今若，魯虜也。」萬有力，病此言，遂以局殺湣公于蒙澤。 | access-date=2009-06-26}}</ref>
*King Anxi of [[Wei (state)|Wei]] 魏安釐王 (reigned 277–243 BCE) and his half-brother [[Four Lords of the Warring States#Lord Xinling of Wei|Lord Xinling of Wei]] 信陵君 (died 243 BCE). Once when the two of them were playing Liubo a message came that the beacons on the northern border had been lit; King Anxi wanted to stop the game and discuss the situation with his ministers, but his brother told him not to worry as it was only the king of Zhao on a hunting trip, and so they continued playing. The king was worried and could not concentrate on the game, but after the game was over news came that it was indeed the king of Zhao out hunting.<ref>{{cite web | last=Sima | first=Qian | author-link=Sima Qian | script-title=zh:史記/卷077 |trans-title=Records of the Grand Historian vol.77 | publisher=維基文庫 (Chinese Wikisource) | language=zh | url=http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%8F%B2%E8%A8%98/%E5%8D%B7077 | quote=公子與魏王博，而北境傳舉烽，言「趙寇至，且入界」。魏王釋博，欲召大臣謀。公子止王曰：「趙王田獵耳，非為寇也。」複博如故。王恐，心不在博。 | access-date=2009-06-26}}</ref>
*[[Jing Ke]] (died 227 BCE), the failed assassin of [[Qin Shi Huang]], once had an argument with Lu Goujian (魯句踐) over a game of Liubo, and had to flee for his life.<ref>{{cite web | last=Sima | first=Qian | author-link=Sima Qian | script-title=zh:史記/卷86 |trans-title=Records of the Grand Historian vol.86 | publisher=維基文庫 (Chinese Wikisource) | language=zh | url=http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%8F%B2%E8%A8%98/%E5%8D%B7086 | quote=荊軻遊於邯鄲，魯句踐與荊軻博，爭道，魯句踐怒而叱之，荊軻嘿而逃去，遂不復會。 | access-date=2009-06-26}}</ref>
*[[Emperor Jing of Han]] (reigned 156–141 BCE), who when he was crown prince became angry during a game of Liubo with the Prince of Wu, and threw the Liubo board at the prince, killing him (cf. [[Rebellion of the Seven States]]).<ref>{{cite web | last=Sima | first=Qian | author-link=Sima Qian | script-title=zh:史記/卷106 |trans-title=Records of the Grand Historian vol.106 | publisher=維基文庫 (Chinese Wikisource) | language=zh | url=http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%8F%B2%E8%A8%98/%E5%8D%B7106 | quote=孝文時，吳太子入見，得侍皇太子飲博。吳太子師傅皆楚人，輕悍，又素驕，博，爭道，不恭，皇太子引博局提吳太子，殺之。 | access-date=2009-06-26}}</ref>
*[[Liang Ji]] (died 159), who according to his biography was fond of playing Liubo.
*[[Li Guangyan]] (761–826), a [[Uyghur people|Uyghur]] general who was presented with a girl who was trained in the arts of "song, dance, music and Liubo".<ref>{{cite web | last=Xu | first=Liu | script-title=zh:列传第一百一十一 |trans-title=Biographies chapter 111 | work=旧唐书 ([[Old Book of Tang]]) | language=zh | publisher=梦远书城 (my285.com) | url=http://www.my285.com/shishu/jts/165.htm | access-date=2009-06-26}}</ref>
*[[Liu Chong|Liu Min]] (895–954), a [[Shato|Shatuo Turk]] and founder of the [[Northern Han]] kingdom, liked to play Liubo and gambling games when he was young.<ref>{{cite web | last=Xue | first=Juzheng | script-title=zh:舊五代史/卷135 |trans-title=Old History of the Five Dynasties vol. 135 | publisher=維基文庫 (Chinese Wikisource) | language=zh | url=http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E8%88%8A%E4%BA%94%E4%BB%A3%E5%8F%B2/%E5%8D%B7135 | access-date=2009-06-26}}</ref>

[[Confucius]] did not approve of Liubo. In the ''[[Analects]]'' he grudgingly allows that playing Liubo and [[Go (game)|Go]] is better than being idle,<ref>{{cite web | last=Kong | first=Qiu | author-link=Confucius | script-title=zh:論語/陽貨第十七 |trans-title=Analects ch. 17 | publisher=維基文庫 (Chinese Wikisource) | language=zh | quote=子曰：「飽食終日，無所用心，難矣哉！不有博弈者乎？為之，猶賢乎已！」 | url=http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E8%AB%96%E8%AA%9E/%E9%99%BD%E8%B2%A8%E7%AC%AC%E5%8D%81%E4%B8%83 | access-date=2009-06-26}}</ref> and according to the ''[[Kongzi Jiayu]]'' (''Family Sayings of Confucius'') he stated that he would not play the game as it promoted bad habits.<ref>{{cite web | script-title=zh:孔子家語/卷一 |trans-title=Family Sayings of Confucius vol. 1 | publisher=維基文庫 (Chinese Wikisource) | language=zh | quote=哀公問於孔子曰：“吾聞君子不博，有之乎？”孔子曰：“有之。”公曰：“何為？”對曰：“為其二乘。”公曰：“有二乘，則何為不博？”子曰：“為其兼行惡道也。” | url=http://zh.wikisource.org/wiki/%E5%AD%94%E5%AD%90%E5%AE%B6%E8%AA%9E/%E5%8D%B7%E4%B8%80 | access-date=2009-06-26}}</ref>

==See also==
* {{annotated link|TLV mirror}}
* [[Mandala]]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{commons category|Liubo}}
* [http://history.chess.free.fr/liubo.htm Liubo] Illustrated article by Jean-Louis Cazaux
* [http://www.cultural-china.com/chinaWH/html/en/11Kaleidoscope2115.html Pictures of Liubo artefacts on the Cultural China website]
* [[Andrew West (linguist)|Andrew West]], [http://babelstone.co.uk/Blog/2009/05/lost-game-of-liubo-part-1-funerary.html Pictures of funerary statuettes of Liubo Players]

[[Category:Chinese ancient games]]
[[Category:History of board games]]
[[Category:Culture of the Han dynasty]]
[[Category:Culture of the Qin dynasty]]
[[Category:Jin dynasty (266–420) culture]]