SIDE BY SIDE
Compare mantic systems
Read systems against shared questions to identify common language, procedural differences and distinct limits.
| Dimension | 求签、签诗与杯珓 ↗ | 灵棋经 ↗ |
|---|---|---|
| Family | Dreams, characters and popular divination | Yijing-derived and correlative systems |
| Inputs | Public ritual description, lot number, verse edition and interpretation | Tokens, casting convention, outcome sequence and text edition |
| Procedural structure | Within a ritual and deity-specific setting, a number or block result is produced. Lot books supply poems and stories; moon-block traditions may require repeated confirmations for assent, denial or an improperly framed question. | 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 | Developed with medieval and later temple and local religious practice | Uncertain date; probably circulating before the Six Dynasties, with medieval manuscript evidence |
| Evidence labels | Textually documented · Traditional attribution · Cross-cultural formation | Textually documented · Traditional attribution · Contested lineage or date |
| Texts | Temple lot books and local inscriptions / Religious and popular sources since Song-Yuan | Lingqi Jing / Dunhuang fragments of the Spirit-Token Manual / Daoist and Japanese editions |
| Limits | This religious divination practice has no single algorithm or fixed lot corpus. Even hundred-lot collections can differ completely, and some elements reflect cross-cultural circulation and localization. | Ancient-sounding attributions do not establish authorship, and its 125 figures should be distinguished from the Zhouyi's sixty-four hexagrams. |
| Research question | How do verse and ritual process contribute meaning separately? | How is a physical result encoded as a textual entry? |