Kaleidoscope

The Liubo-Related Mirror with TLV Patterns

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The round mirror has a round knob, which is surrounded by nine smaller knobs. Four characters - "chang yi zi sun (to benefit future generations forever)" - are inscribed respectively inside the four squares framed with double-line wave patterns at the four corners. The inscriptions on the outer edge include some squares, with main decorative patterns being regular ones, which surround the azure dragon, white tiger, vermilion bird, black tortoise, auspicious animals etc. The mirror is also decorated with patterns of the variations of "the four divine creatures" and has shiny rust scales like those on an ancient coin. The mirror is in good condition. The pattern is believed to be used to play the board game of liubo. The inscription including the characters "liubo" is quite rare.

Liubo

Apart from xiangqi (Chinese chess) and weiqi (the game of go), liubo was another board game popular in ancient China. It's a game between two players, each of whom has six chess pieces, hence the name "liubo" or "six sticks".

Details

A Story about a Disaster Brought by a Liubo Game

A Story about a Disaster Brought by a Liubo Game

According to Shuoyuan (Garden of Stories), a liubo game was underway to jazz up a banquet in honor of Emperor Qinshihuang's coming-of-age ceremony. During the game, someone called Lao Ai talked...
Liubo and Politics

Liubo and Politics

Liubo was also one of the factors leading to the "Rebellion of Seven Feudal States" during the reign of Emperor Jing of the Han Dynasty. Emperor Jing was fond of playing liubo game when he was the...
Liubo Featured in the Han-Dynasty Pictorial Brick - Immortals Playing the Game

Liubo Featured in the Han-Dynasty Pictorial Brick - Immortals Playing the Game

The picture is partially damaged. There are two winged immortals sitting in a half-kneeling position, playing liubo. Another winged immortal at the left bottom is holding the rein of a divine horse...
The Liubo Tools Unearthed from the Mawangdui Site

The Liubo Tools Unearthed from the Mawangdui Site

A set of liubo tools for entertainment was unearthed from Tomb No. 3 at the Mawangdui Site. The set is composed of a board, 12 big chess pieces (six black ones and six white ones), 20 small chess...
Liubo Featured in the Han-Dynasty Pictorial Brick - Immortals Playing the Game

Liubo Featured in the Han-Dynasty Pictorial Brick - Immortals Playing the Game

A set of liubo tools for entertainment was unearthed from Tomb No. 3 at the Mawangdui Site. The set is composed of a board, 12 big chess pieces (six black ones and six white ones), 20 small chess...
Liubo - the Ancestor of Board Games

Liubo - the Ancestor of Board Games

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...