From the 'Eight-Cord Pattern Pottery Plate' of the Liu Linxi Site: Examining the Origin of the Eight Trigrams, Ancient Astronomy, and the Empirical Connection to the Ba Suo Texts

Abstract

This paper presents a systematic study of the “Eight-Cord Pattern Pottery Plate” unearthed at the Liu Linxi site in Hubei Province, arguing that it is the material prototype of the lost archaic canon Ba Suo (The Eight Cords). The plate features a rigorous “eight-cord pattern” that constructs a standard eight-direction spatial framework, serving as the archetype of the “Eight Trigrams” (Bagua). Its symbolic system accurately encodes the eight key solar terms (including the equinoxes, solstices, and the commencements of the four seasons), constituting a precise “solar calendar.” Furthermore, through unique symbolic combinations such as “five-field,” it translates astronomical nodes into imperative agricultural directives, forming an “agricultural commandment.” The research achieves a comprehensive mutual verification between the artifact and the textual descriptions of Ba Suo (defined as “the theory of the Eight Trigrams, seeking its meaning”) from three dimensions: “name,” “function,” and “meaning.” This study reveals that the “Eight-Cord Pattern Pottery Plate” is not a divination tool but a “pre-literary comprehensive code” integrating cosmology, scientific observation, and administrative decrees. It signifies a key leap in Huaxia civilization from mystical symbols to rational governance around 7000 years ago, substantially pushing forward the evidential timeline for systematic knowledge and advanced governance models in Chinese civilization.“Five-Field Symbol” associated with the sun-at-noon cosmological concept.

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