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I think that this post is an excellent point about incorrect practice especially as it relates to western students When "everything is perfect" is taken on faith rather than a culmination of practice, it creates a sort of deluded toxic positivity mindset where people can actually start to feel guilt from the fact that they experience suffering Realizing the ground nature of reality is inherently without flaw (eventually) is a pretty common stage in most religions, but as most intellectualized reports of stages of practice, it can super easily taken the wrong way if it gets cargo cult'd

Thank you Mr. Cash !!

It's ok for an elderly person to live longer as long as a healthy body was maintained. If I have to suffer from an illness, then, might as well drop dead. That is why I practice Taiji to stay healthy. I feel like I am having a 25 year old body. Even though, I have reached the age of 77.

Masters only suffer in the realization that there is suffering.

the working of karma is perfect but karma itself veils the perfect....

The other problem is that this deluded mindset can be a source of abusive behavior. There is a dzogchen saying that states 'the view should be as broad as the sky but the conduct as fine as barley powder.' When behavior comes from a genuine connection to the source, there is little or no possibility of abusive behavior. When it comes from the deluded mind, bad actors misbehave. These are some of the reasons why the dzogchen path was kept so secretive for so long, there is a higher potential for misunderstanding, and related abuse, than with other paths.

It's OK To Not Be OK is one of my favorite Korean dramas, highly recommended!

This video might be a fake but the sentiment expressed is entirely real, and I love Johnny Cash.

Sometime it is a very thin veil. Other times it is manifested in perfect irony.

P.s. AI tools are cool, we can skip listening 10+ mins to a video, and read the entire content in few seconds. So, quick review. He is confusing lucid dreaming and astral travel into one. While also considering lucid dreaming an inferior experience. "Because the body sleeps". The body (vessel) sleeps is the similarity - yes. Lucid dreaming is not less valuable than astral travel, and is not the same thing. Well, if you go to France, the Maldives, or the Everest mountains, those are all "geo locations" you can visit, but that is the similarity. It is not the same place. In fact, it does not end with lucid dreaming and astral travel; many practices require deep relaxation and focus, which involve turning the body off. There are also quicker ways to achieve that state; when dense energy passes through the body, it can cause full paralysis. You will remain conscious, but be unable to physically move any of your limbs, fingers, or even tongue. The author just confirmed that he had not even a single real astral projection experience. I mean, entering a state of delusional -imaginary reality where you can easily bend things to your will does not really constitute true astral projection. The astral world is the real world, and as such, it is populated by sentient beings that have their own power and will. If you don’t have enough power, skill, and experience or proper guidance, you don’t get there. The problem with imaginary reality is that it is what it is, an imaginary reality; it is not suitable for progressing your cultivation. It does not have any energy source, quality, or experience that could accelerate your growth dramatically. There are things that you can get in Other Worlds that are simply impossible to find in mundane reality, or with any "meditation practice". You could gain more in 1-2 succesful trips to the Astral World than a monk in a decade of meditation practice. (e.g. Think of ingesting an expensive alchemical pill). Sitting in a kindergarten sandbox or being locked up in your own home, believing the world is safe and nice, is one thing. But if you enter a ghetto with criminals, an Amazonian jungle at night, or explore the depths of the ocean, things are vastly different out there. A newbie will simply not survive, and the extent of possible damage and trauma energy bodies and mental state can acquire far exceeds what most people can handle. It is unethical to teach others when you have never had a legitimate education on the topic yourself. When I first time experienced it in my travels, and instead of a regular casual experience of flying out of body, levitating, moving around, exploring a house, I found a portal and otherworldly beings. My teacher told me back then to stop the practice immediately and train in Magic in the waking world for about 3-5 years more before coming back to it. We are talking about high-level practices with high risk and high reward ratio that require significant preparation, including having siddhis like energy vision and many other skills.

In the physical practices of qi gong, nei gong, neidan, one is constantly initiating high and low pressures up the back channels and down the front. The importance of all 4 levels of breath, inhale Hold, exhale Hold cannot be stressed enough. Like the tides: high tide, slack tide, low tide, slack tide. each is a movement of energy, a transcendence, a pooling. skipping one is like skipping a track in a song. the “holds”allow for the finish of energy movement. This is of the utmost significance. Without this, it is like skipping out on the essence of the teaching. pumping up may feel like it’s the meat, and that Doing is where it all happens, but this is simply an allure, a fall back into your noise. you will outrun your body and the energies will be unable to settle, infuse and transform. This is the exquisite experience, it is skipped by most for a more martial experience. these subtle bodies will not dissipate in sickness or with lack of practice

Unless they have let the wrong people into their group energy field

regardless if we are the only planet with religion or not and if one one wants to believe Zachariah Sitchen or not , who cant even read the original documents he 'translates' , ( and I fail to see how that answers your question or helps you in any way ) .... It is thought it was a response to the need of early humans seeking meaning to observations and personal and shared experiences. The first signs seem to be burial rituals that enclosed artifacts . Then we evidence of animism and shamanism . Then there seems an organisation and structure of polytheism and later 'organised religion' were gods , stories , ancestral heroes , myths and social function and law * . It can be seen this parallels the development of human society and is linked in with the need to explain 'how the world works' , how communities are bonded and how we cope with the issue of death . * In many cases the word we translate into 'religion' from other older languages is 'law' or a similar idea . Judaism (Halaka) and actually Judaeo-Christian religion's fundamental teaching is encapsulated in 10 laws . A lot of the Qur'an is about law ( sharia ) and indigenous Aboriginal religions certainly link the two . Its at the root of the most ancient and the most modern 'organised' religions .

By some alien accounts this is the only planet with religion The Sumerian texts indicate that the Anunnaki bred the humans as slaves and taught the humans to worship/workshop for them

Not sure what perfect really means and what everything means either? Depends on context. Whether they are speaking from Awareness and then "everything is perfect" could be a pointing out. The conceptual mind apprehending on the meaning, then going with it, creating a story about how perfect it is or how some things are not perfect etc is not really what it it is about. I would just abide in pure awareness and letting everything that comes up be. Thoughts, emotions etc. Let the energy run out of fuel. Coming to a conclusion about the ineffeable is not possible. Because the ineffeable cannot be put in a box.

ChattingTheLieSifuGPT where GPT stands for GovernmentPropagandaTool

Thanks, btw who doesn't suffer in one way or another over the adharmic or evil in the world including self realized saints and masters? (that feel for their students and all beings)

I love this angle! I appreciate the orthodox version but always enjoy finding connections between traditions. For me the meaning is not in the text, it’s in the reader.

...and I change my mind. Why abandon such a rich topic when there is so much LEARNING TO BE DONE! This idea: The world is perfect - comes at us from ALL sides of the "Eastern" spiritual traditions. OldBob, my friend, I am sorry that your weary eyes make you suffer over the chaos of the world, but there IS something else under that suffering that can be seen at the same time, that has always been there. _/\_

The dzogchen path that I follow is one that is guilty of using such terminology. Dzogchen literally means great (chen) perfection (dzog). As Keith suggests, to the Western ear a more palatable and equally valid translation would be great completion. In this context, perfect or complete does not imply a value judgement from the human perspective. It is more a recognition of the spontaneous presence of all enlightened qualities in our natural mind, always present and awaiting discovery. It suggests that we don't need to add or subtract anything or change anything to have access to unlimited potential for enlightened activity. We simply need to be open and unimpeded by our tendency to "collapse the wave function" (to borrow some quantum mechanics language); by our tendency to over-identify with a limited sense of "me" that excludes so many possibilities. For me this has strong parallels in Daoism, a few examples being concepts like ziran and wuwei, as well as the idea that Heaven, Earth, and the sage not being humane/benevolent but regarding people as straw dogs. In attending many dzogchen retreats over the past decade or so, this is one of the areas that causes the most consternation and frustration among developing practitioners. Of course there are many terrible things in the world, people suffer greatly and this is absolutely acknowledged in dzogchen and serves as the very basis and purpose for engaging in practice - namely, to liberate one's own being in order to benefit others. From the perspective of the samsaric being, the world can be a very tough, unforgiving, and dangerous place. From the absolute perspective, everything that arises is simply a function of the workings of karma and dependent origination. There is a sense of perfection or completeness in terms of the fact that if anything is changed, everything else changes. Nothing can be added or taken away or things would not be as they are. In this sense the whole is perfect and complete. I wonder if there is a parallel in Hindu systems relative to the inherent perfection/completeness of Brahman relative to the incompleteness and imperfection of maya... or something like that?

Well, followers of the Way. Apparently in Greek, Acts 9:2 uses the noun ὁδός (hodos), “way / road / path,” with the article: τινας ὄντας τῆς ὁδοῦ. Literally: “any being of the Way.” Unrelated to the OP, this story pretty strongly indicates that Saul is a false prophet. Saul claims he met Jesus in the wilderness, declares himself the 13 apostle, and begins to preach "the Gospel." His conversion story is clearly built on the same skeleton as Balaam and the donkey, in Numbers 22: a religious man on the road, sure he’s doing God’s work, actually moving against what God wants, blocked by a divine encounter, confronted with “why are you doing this to me?” and then forced into a new path. Initially, Balaam speaks real oracles from God, but later becomes greedy and dangerous, leading others astray.

but wait--what's that rub? sweet smell of smoke and corn bread pat's friday burnt ends

Hi BigSkyDaimond, Sorry to take so long to chime in. I'm glad that you've shared with the FP community that you found "Bending the Bows" generates the most energy "flow." Although it may be hard to find because this thread is now in its 16th year, I posted in the first year--seconding someone else's comment that he had gotten enougn consisten high energy cultivation from BTBows that he called it a "cornerstone" or fundament of the FP moving meditations. I explained back then--and I'll repeat it here--that almost as soon as I did about 5 rounds of BTBows the first time that I tried it (I remember it was in La Cienega Park in L.A. at night), I was astonished (and then afterwards delighted) to feel that my Tai Chi had just spontaneously and dramatically been improved-transformed and empowered. In terms of my Tai Chi body mechanics becoming much more effortless and spontaneous. Deep energy connections were made. My head was full of alert energy and my energy was uniform throughout my body. This was 1991, the year that I started training with GM Doo Wai. I had been doing Tai Chi a solid 11 years (as I had started with Master Abraham Liu, a senior student of Prof. Cheng Man-ching, in 1980). So I was totally surprised and jazz'd when I felt BTBows enhanced the Tai Chi that was in me at the time. So all that is to say that you have joined a good number of other FP practitioners who posted the same findings in the earlier years of this thread...that Bending the Bows is a "supercharger" meditation. It's fine to take it easy and pull back the frequency of practice and how many rounds you do in a practice session. But I wanto to remind you and all other practitioners that the standard orthodox practice is one set of 18 rounds. Once a day or even once every other day is fine and good for health, immunity and strength. But try to work you way up--if you haven't already--to 18 repetitions in a set. If you get to the point again where you feel that the internal power generated is "too much", then stop. And you might try "rounding" and "grounding" things like excessive cultivation by doing any one or more of the first 3 stationary standing Meds. on Vol.1--Monk Holding Pearl, Monk Holding Peach, Monk Gazing At The Moon--for a couple of minutes. Also, an excellent way top hit the "RESET" button when you feel too much intensity, excess, or imbalance of energy is to do Monk Holding the Pearl (50 40 30 20 10) lying supine (with hands on the lower tan tien). Over the many years, I've found this to be a nice "RESET" method that only soothes and evens out almost any type of imbalance in the Qi flow. So thanks for sharing your findings about Bending the Bows. Play with it more along the general guidelines I've restated here...so you can enjoy it more and derive more benefits over the long run. Happy Holidays. Sifu Terry https://www.taichimania.com/chikung_catalog.html terencedunn.substack.com

Development of Yijing Divination System Archaeological discoveries now show concrete links between late Shang divination practice and the number-based hexagram system behind the Yijing. Andrea Bréard and Constance A. Cook, in their article “Cracking Bones and Numbers: Solving the Enigma of Numerical Sequences on Ancient Chinese Artifacts” (Archive for History of Exact Sciences, 2020), describe a large corpus of Shang–Zhou bones, bronzes, jades, stones, and potsherds covered with structured number strings. They note that these artifacts bear “records of numerical sequences” whose mode of production was long unexplained, and that “structural links to the Book of Changes, a divination manual that entered the Confucian canon, are evident.” In the same study, Bréard and Cook document “numerical gua” written as stacks of six digits on Shang and Western Zhou objects. One key passage describes “the numerals 667668 written along the edge of a whetstone,” and later a pottery jar with “eleven sets of neatly inscribed numerical gua with six lines” made up of 1s, 6s, 8s, and a few 5s and 9s (for example “111111” and “116881”). These are explicit six-place sequences of even/odd values, laid out vertically like hexagrams. Bréard and Cook argue that “dice and divination stalk use, either in combination or separately, appear in fact to have been underlying the rather stable numerical patterns in ancient China all the way back to the late Shang dynasty (1300–1046 BCE).” Taken together, their description of stable six-number patterns, their use of the term “numerical gua,” and their conclusion about late-Shang cleromancy directly support a developmental bridge from Shang sortilege to later hexagram divination. Within that same corpus, Bréard and Cook summarize earlier Chinese work on the famous Yinxu Sipanmo “Yi gua” bone studied by Cao Dingyun (“Yinxu Sipanmo ‘Yi gua’ bugu yanjiu,” Kaogu 1989) and on Western Zhou oracle bones from Fengchu, Qishan, published by Cao Wei (“Zhouyuan jiaguwen,” 2002; “Zhouyuan xinchu Xi Zhou jiaguwen yanjiu,” 2003). They note, for example, a Fengchu fragment H11:85 where a six-digit sequence “766718” is followed by 曰 and a short divinatory text, and they stress that these sets occur in clear divinatory contexts on plastrons and bones. This means that by late Shang / early Zhou, diviners were already writing six-step numerical results right on the same media as crack inscriptions. Rao Zongyi pushed this line of evidence earlier than anyone. In his Chinese-language work on “shuzi guaxiang” (numerical hexagram images) and in the abstract “The Yi-Kua in the Shang Dynasty and Various Problems Pertaining to Divination” (Early China, Supplement 1, 1986), he famously stated: “The method of divining by yarrow stalk in accordance with the scheme of 64 hexagrams did exist in the Yin Dynasty. Numerical strings of three and six lines on oracle bones recently unearthed provide the new evidence for the above statement.” Rao explicitly links “numerical strings of three and six lines on oracle bones” to a 64-hexagram system already operating under the Shang (Yin). Bréard and Cook’s survey shows that Rao’s “numerical strings of three and six lines” are not an isolated curiosity but part of a wide pattern of six-digit gua, written as vertical stacks of numbers and appearing across media (plastron, bone, handles, jars, whetstones) from late Shang into Western Zhou. Their quantitative work backs up Rao’s qualitative thesis: stable six-step numerical patterns, generated by some randomizing device (dice, stalks, or both), already form a divinatory code before the received Zhouyi text appears. The binary and complementary logic inside Shang oracle-bone practice lines up cleanly with the later yin/yang line structure of the Yijing. A widely reproduced Shang plastron from Anyang, cast in the reign of Wu Ding, carries a paired charge. Wikimedia’s file description for “Shang dynasty inscribed tortoise plastron.jpg” glosses the left inscription as “戊午卜古貞般其有 [wùwǔ (day 55) Gu divined: Ban will have misfortune]” and the right as “戊午卜古貞般亡禍 [wùwǔ (day 55) Gu divined: Ban will have no misfortune],” with the verdict “吉 [auspicious]” written at the bottom. This is a very clear, concrete example of Shang crack divination working with a pair of opposite statements (misfortune / no misfortune) and then recording a favorable outcome, “auspicious.” Modern summaries of Shang pyromancy emphasize this structure. The Smarthistory overview of oracle bones notes that Shang records typically include a charge, prognostication, and verification, and that diviners asked whether an action “would be misfortune over the next ten days” and then checked the result. David Keightley’s classic work on Shang oracle language, as summarized in later secondary literature, underlines that divinations focus on disaster versus safety, illness versus health, curse versus protection. The paired inscriptions for Ban thus show the same kind of binary opposition, two contrary possibilities, one of which is marked as auspicious after reading the cracks, that later hexagrams encode abstractly as broken versus solid lines. Technical vocabulary carries straight through from Shang to the Zhouyi. In Shang inscriptions, the verb 貞 (zhēn) routinely appears in formulae like “Gu zhēn” (古貞) meaning “Gu divined,” or more literally “Gu performed zhen.” The Chinese “Key Concepts in Chinese Thought and Culture” entry on 元亨利貞 (yuanheng lizhen), drawing on the Yijing, explains that in the divinatory sense, Lizhen (利贞) “refers to a favorable reading by a diviner and an auspicious prospect.” Scholarly discussions of the phrase 利貞 in the Yijing, such as those surveyed in studies of heng and zhen, note that Gao Heng glossed 利貞 as “beneficial to divine,” treating 貞 explicitly as the act of divination. This is directly relevant to the Yijing’s stock formula 元亨利貞. The same four characters open Hexagram 1 and appear elsewhere in the Zhouyi. Modern philological work makes the continuity plain: a Brill chapter on heng in the context of Yi divination observes that 利貞 means “favourable to divine”; when the sacrifice was accepted, the divination could proceed with the expectation of a positive outcome. In other words, the technical Shang verb 貞 (“to divine, to test by oracle”) and the evaluation “favorable divination” underlie a central formula in the Zhouyi judgments. The vocabulary of zhen and li zhen shows conceptual inheritance, not a new invention. The received Yijing tradition itself remembers precursor “Changes” systems that it connects to Xia and Shang. The ritual classic Zhouli (Rites of Zhou) says that the Grand Diviner (太卜 taibu) “handles the three Yi methods: the first is Lianshan (Arrayed Mountains); the second, Guicang (Return to the Storehouse); and the third, Zhouyi,” and adds that “there are a total of eight trigrams and sixty-four hexagrams in these texts.” A modern study of the Guicang and the “three Yi” notes that early exegetes treated Lianshan and Guicang as predecessors of the Zhouyi; an English article on “New Notes on the I Ching” states plainly that “In historical documents, Lianshan (连山) and Guicang (归藏) were considered as the predecessors of the book of I Ching,” citing the Zhouli as a key source. Excavated Guicang material reinforces this continuity. Anke Hein’s discussion of authenticity and the Chinese textual heritage points out that the Guicang, where preserved, “uses the same hexagram system” as the Zhouyi, and that debates around the three Yi focus on whether they represent different texts or methods within a common hexagram framework. This lines up with the ancient claim that Xia, Shang, and Zhou each had their own “Changes.” It also strengthens the idea that the Zhouyi hexagrams are not a standalone creation but a further development of dynastic divination codes. Dating work ties this all chronologically back toward the Shang. Modern reference summaries of Edward L. Shaughnessy’s research report: “Based on a comparison of the language of the Zhou yi with dated bronze inscriptions, the American sinologist Edward Shaughnessy dated its compilation in its current form to the early decades of the reign of King Xuan of Zhou, in the last quarter of the 9th century BC.” That places the redaction of the Zhouyi text only a few generations after the fall of the Shang (c. 1046 BCE), squarely within Western Zhou, not in the much later Warring States. At the level of general conclusion, recent handbooks emphasize gradual development, not a rupture. Joseph A. Adler, in his 2022 chapter “Yijing Divination” in The Yijing: A Guide (Oxford University Press), writes that “The hexagrams of the Zhouyi and their associated method of divination did not spring fully formed from the mind of Fuxi or anyone else.” He stresses that hexagram divination evolved out of earlier techniques, especially Shang crack-making and early milfoil (stalk) casting. Richard J. Smith, in the overview to The I Ching: A Biography (Princeton, 2012), describes the I Ching as having “originated in China as a divination manual more than three thousand years ago,” and notes that it was only later, in 136 BCE, that an emperor “declared it a Confucian classic.” Both Adler and Smith frame the Yijing first and foremost as a divination text whose roots reach back to the late second millennium BCE. Bréard and Cook’s abstract makes the same long arc explicit. They review artifacts “inscribed… with a large number of records of numerical sequences” and conclude that “Dice and divination stalk use, either in combination or separately, appear in fact to have been underlying the rather stable numerical patterns in ancient China all the way back to the late Shang dynasty (1300–1046 BCE).” Their choice of “all the way back to the late Shang dynasty” and their phrase “structural links to the Book of Changes … are evident” directly back the claim that the Yijing’s number-driven hexagram system grows out of late-Shang cleromantic practice, not out of thin air. On the basis of these quoted claims and their supporting material, the through-line is clear: late-Shang oracle-bone divination, with its binary logic, technical vocabulary, and six-step numerical gua, feeds directly into Western Zhou stalk-casting and the 64-hexagram framework. The Zhouyi is a codification and textual crystallization of divinatory techniques that were already in active use under the Shang. Other Bronze Age Divination Systems Bronze Age divination wasn't unique to China. Other cultures working at roughly the same time as late Shang and early Zhou developed their own highly structured systems for asking gods yes–no questions and reading patterned signs, often with a clear binary logic. The Hittite KIN oracle sits in that cluster and is especially useful for comparison with Shang and Yijing divination. Mesopotamian diviners in Babylonia and Assyria relied heavily on extispicy and omen series. The National Museum of Aleppo’s description of a Mesopotamian clay liver model explains that after sacrificing an animal, “the priests would examine the dead creature’s liver, believing that the thoughts of the divinity to whom the animal had been offered were transferred to this organ,” and that “studying the signs in the sacrificed animal’s entrails was therefore likely to provide divine answers to questions about future events on earth.” (National Museum of Aleppo, “Model of a liver”). A survey of Near Eastern divination practices on TheTorah.com likewise defines extispicy as “the reading of entrails, i.e., finding the divine message by asking an oracular question before the sacrifice of an animal, usually a sheep; the answer is found in its internal organs, usually the liver, after it is slaughtered.” (Jonathan Ben-Dov, “The Practice of Divination in the Ancient Near East,” 2016). Scholarly overviews of Mesopotamian omen series note that the great Akkadian collections Enūma Anu Enlil and Šumma ālu ina mēlê šakin catalog celestial and terrestrial signs as codified answers, so that irregular events (eclipses, odd births, unusual animal behavior) could be matched to written predictions. Francesca Rochberg’s work on celestial omens, summarized in a Brill chapter on divination, lists Enūma Anu Enlil and Šumma ālu as key series and stresses that they were copied, referenced, and treated as authoritative handbooks. This is a divination world where the gods’ will is encoded in a stable repertoire of signs, and the specialist reads those signs off a model (liver, sky, or tablet) using a fixed corpus. In Egypt, New Kingdom and later sources show a different but still binary kind of oracle practice built around cult statues. The entry “Oracle” in the Global Egyptian Museum’s glossary explains that in Egyptian temple oracles “the method of consultation demanded that questions be so formulated that they could be answered by ‘yes’ or ‘no’,” and that questions “were sometimes put verbally” to a god’s statue, which then responded in a way that could be interpreted as yes or no. A teaching page from the PredictionX project at Harvard notes that “the first representations of a sacred boat containing an oracular statue of the god Amun date to the early New Kingdom (reign of Amenhotep I, around 1525 BCE),” and that the statue of the god would be carried and “answer the request by moving or by making sounds.” In other words, Egyptian temple oracles in this period required yes–no questions and treated the physical movement of the god’s cult image as the sign. That is less combinatorial than hexagrams but rests on the same binary question–answer structure. Hittite Anatolia developed one of the most varied oracle repertoires in the Late Bronze Age. A summary of Hittite divination methods by Livio Warbinek in Current Research in Cuneiform Palaeography states that “the oracles used by the Hittites included Extispicy, Augury, the ‘Bed’ Oracle, the ‘ḪURRI-bird’ Oracle, the ‘Snake’ Oracle, and the KIN Oracle,” and adds that “like other peoples of the ancient Near East, the Hittites considered any omen as a divine message.” (Livio Warbinek, “The KIN Oracle in the Hittite Divinatory System,” in Current Research in Cuneiform Palaeography 2). The Hethitologie Portal Mainz entry “Oracles and Omens: Hittite Divination” explains that, alongside liver readers and augurs, Hittite texts “regularly refer to a third specialist of divination, the ‘Wise Woman’ (Sumerian logogram: MUNUS.ŠU.GI ‘old woman’). Those oracles which the Hittites simply referred to as ‘action’ (Sumerian logogram: KIN) are her specialty.” The same description continues: “The Wise Woman interprets constellations of diverse symbolic objects, in other words, various lots. At least some of these lots are moveable, and can ‘act’ to a certain degree. We do not know how the Wise Woman caused these lots to move and what the individual symbols looked like; occasionally the names of the lots refer directly to the subject about which the enquiry is being made, but mostly an established inventory of symbols is employed.” (Hethitologie Portal Mainz, “Oracles and Omens: Hittite Divination,” section on KIN oracle). The practitioners in charge of this KIN oracle were the Hittite “Old Women” or “Wise Women.” Hannah Marcuson’s dissertation “‘Word of the Old Woman’: Studies in Female Ritual Practice in Hittite Anatolia” describes these figures as a distinct professional class: “The Old Women are well-attested as religious functionaries in the Hittite texts. There is extensive evidence documenting their ritual and oracular practices, both in service to the royal family and in broader state cult.” The abstract further notes that “The Old Women were the primary personnel in charge of counteracting sorcery and other negative supernatural forces directed against the Hittite king, and this dissertation serves as a comprehensive analysis of their function and method.” (Hannah L. Marcuson, PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2016). Within that coherent system of “approaching metaphysical problems using physical methods” (Marcuson’s phrase), the KIN oracle is one of their main tools. The most detailed modern treatment of the KIN oracle itself is Livio Warbinek’s monograph Il sistema mantico ittita KIN (Firenze University Press, 2020). The abstract, in Italian, describes the work as follows: “La presente monografia ha per oggetto l’oracolo KIN, una tecnica mantica simbolica prodotta dagli Ittiti nel II millennio a.C. e sviluppatasi esclusivamente nel milieu ittita.” (“The present monograph is concerned with the KIN oracle, a symbolic mantic technique produced by the Hittites in the second millennium BC and developed only in the Hittite milieu.”) A separate article by Warbinek titled “An ‘Economical’ Oracular Procedure: Evidence from the Hittite KIN Oracle” summarizes the same system in English as “a symbolic divination technique employed by the Hittites,” and emphasizes that this kind of oracle was “more convenient and affordable” than other methods, because it did not require expensive sacrifices and could be repeated quickly. (Livio Warbinek, “An ‘Economical’ Oracular Procedure: Evidence from the Hittite KIN Oracle,” conference paper). From these descriptions, the core features of the KIN system are clear. It is a lot-based oracle: the Wise Woman “interprets constellations of diverse symbolic objects, in other words, various lots,” and “at least some of these lots are moveable, and can ‘act’ to a certain degree.” (Hethitologie Portal Mainz, “Oracles and Omens: Hittite Divination”). It is also binary in outcome. Warbinek’s discussion of KIN procedures in Il sistema mantico ittita KIN and in the palaeography article notes that Hittite oracles are framed as yes–no questions put to the gods, and that the result of the KIN rite is evaluated as favorable or unfavorable, just as results of liver and bird oracles are. Marcuson’s study of Old Women shows them running KIN oracles repeatedly on the same matter, sometimes multiple times in succession, until a consistent pattern emerges that can be reported to the king, much like the example letter where a KIN oracle is performed four times concerning the illness of a high official’s son and then checked by augury. Seen against this Near Eastern background, the Yijing and Shang–Zhou divination system share several structural features with KIN and related oracles, even though the media differ. First, all of these systems rest on binary questioning. The Hethitologie Portal emphasizes that KIN oracles are “oracles of ‘action’” where the Wise Woman interprets whether the gods endorse or reject a proposed course, based on how the lots fall. Egyptian temple oracles, according to the Global Egyptian Museum, demanded “questions [that] be so formulated that they could be answered by ‘yes’ or ‘no’.” Shang plastrons from Wu Ding’s time show charges split into “Ban will have misfortune” and “Ban will have no misfortune,” with 吉 (“auspicious”) written when the cracks favor one side. The Yijing reduces that constant yes–no framing to line-level yin and yang, and Bréard and Cook’s work on numerical gua shows that late Shang and Western Zhou diviners were already writing six-step sequences of even–odd numbers as structured outcomes. Second, the KIN oracle and Yijing-style milfoil or coin divination both rely on cleromancy, that is, the use of randomized physical procedures to generate a coded pattern. Bréard and Cook’s abstract states that the numerical sequences on ancient Chinese artifacts can be explained by “cleromantic techniques” in which “dice and divination stalk use, either in combination or separately, appear in fact to have been underlying the rather stable numerical patterns in ancient China all the way back to the late Shang dynasty (1300–1046 BCE).” (Andrea Bréard and Constance A. Cook, “Cracking Bones and Numbers,” Archive for History of Exact Sciences 74.4, 2020). Warbinek’s description of the KIN system as a “tecnica mantica simbolica” that uses “constellations of diverse symbolic objects,” interpreted as lots, shows the same type of random-pattern generation, even if the exact mechanism is lost. Both traditions therefore treat the fall or arrangement of objects as a divinely guided, yet mechanically random, way to select one structured outcome from a fixed space of possibilities. Third, both KIN and Yijing hexagram practice are supported by specialist diviners with carefully defined ritual protocols. Marcuson’s “Old Women” are a class of ritual professionals whose oracles, including KIN, are part of a “coherent and cohesive system for approaching metaphysical problems using physical methods.” Bréard and Cook’s reconstruction of Shang–Zhou cleromancy and Adler’s overview of pre-Han milfoil techniques show that early Chinese stalk divination likewise had fixed sequences of counting, division, and recording; the diviner’s job was to handle the process correctly and then read the resulting pattern against a known framework of gua and texts. In both cases, ritual correctness is what makes the random outcome legible as a divine answer. Finally, there is a shared sense that the outcome is part of a larger coded system, not a one-off omen. Mesopotamian diviners matched liver signs to lines in omen tablets like Šumma ālu; Hittite KIN specialists worked with an “established inventory of symbols” in their lots; Zhou and later Chinese diviners mapped six-line patterns to one of sixty-four hexagrams with attached judgments. Bréard and Cook explicitly say that the numerical sequences on bones and artifacts have “structural links to the Book of Changes,” and Warbinek’s work frames KIN as a consistent “systema mantico” within the Hittite cult. So when Shang and Zhou divination is set next to Mesopotamian omen series, Egyptian statue oracles, and the Hittite KIN system, it sits in a recognizable Bronze Age family. Extispicy and statue movement use different media, but they share with Shang–Yijing cleromancy and Hittite KIN oracles the core patterns that matter here: yes–no questions, binary or paired structures, random but rule-governed procedures, and a closed symbolic code that mediates between human questions and divine decisions.

Neolithic China (c. 10,000–2000 BCE) People shifted from hunting and gathering to farming, village life, and pottery. In the north, millet farming spread (often linked with cultures like Peiligang and later Yangshao, c. 5000–3000 BCE). In the lower Yangtze and southeast, rice farming grew early (often linked with Hemudu, c. 5000–3300 BCE). Later, large walled settlements and clear social ranking show up in the Longshan era (c. 3000–1900 BCE), with more conflict and regional leaders. In the southwest, the Sanxingdui area developed a powerful bronze culture a bit later (main phase c. 1200–1000 BCE), showing that “early China” was already many regions, not one center. Erlitou / “Early Bronze Age” (c. 1900–1500 BCE) This is a major bronze-working society centered in the middle Yellow River region. Many scholars connect Erlitou with the traditional Xia story, while others treat it as its own early state culture. It shows palaces, planned roads, elite burials, and large-scale bronze production. In Ramsden’s paper, the potential Proto-Indo-European / Indo-European influence on “China” is pushed back before Xia, into late Neolithic–early Bronze Age western China, then argued to crystallize in the early Zhou. He proposes that “a band of Indo-Europeans entered into west China early on and began to inhabit an area near a mountain where jade could be obtained”, and from there their descendants moved east and mixed with local matriarchal and agricultural tribes. From there, he sees traces, sustained influence by Western Zhou, especially through the Zhou–Qiang/Western Rong connection, Zhou’s Sky God worship, caste-like four occupations, and chariot burials, which he treats as the political expression of that earlier Indo-European stream. Xia (traditional dates c. 2070–1600 BCE) Traditional histories describe Xia as the first dynasty, linked to flood control and the rise of hereditary kingship (often tied to the story of Yu the Great). Archaeology supports early states in this time range, but the Xia name comes from later texts, so the match between text and excavated sites stays debated. The big historical shift here is the move into stronger centralized rule and early bronze-age state society. Shang (c. 1600–1046 BCE) Shang is the first dynasty with strong written evidence. Key events include the rise of a powerful royal house, major bronze ritual culture, and oracle bone divination (the earliest large body of Chinese writing). The late Shang capital at Anyang (Yinxu) shows royal tombs, war captives, and a state built around lineage, ritual, and warfare. Zhou (c. 1046–256 BCE) The Zhou defeated Shang and promoted the political idea later called the Mandate of Heaven, used to explain why rule can change hands. Western Zhou (1046–771 BCE) built a feudal-style network of allied states and kin-based rule. In 771 BCE, the western capital fell, and power shifted east. Eastern Zhou (770–256 BCE) splits into two famous eras: Spring and Autumn (770–476 BCE), when many states competed under a weakening Zhou king, and Warring States (475–221 BCE), when strong states fought for total control. This period also saw major philosophical traditions (Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, Mohism) and huge military and administrative reforms. Qin (221–206 BCE) Qin unified the warring states under Qin Shi Huang in 221 BCE. Major events include standardizing writing, weights, measures, and currency, building roads and defensive walls, and creating a highly centralized bureaucracy. The dynasty collapsed quickly after harsh policies, heavy labor demands, and rebellion. The Terracotta Army belongs to this period. Han (206 BCE–220 CE) A long, foundational dynasty. Western Han (206 BCE–9 CE) expanded territory and built strong state institutions; the Silk Road connections grew during Han expansion into the northwest. Confucian learning became central to government training and legitimacy. Wang Mang briefly interrupted as the Xin dynasty (9–23 CE) with reform attempts that triggered major unrest. Eastern Han (25–220 CE) restored Han rule but faced court faction fights, powerful landholders, frontier pressures, and big rebellions like the Yellow Turban Rebellion (184 CE), leading to fragmentation. 53 BCE → Battle of Carrhae happens during Western Han. Post-53 BCE → Roman prisoners relocated to Margiana (Pliny’s account). 36 BCE → Battle of Zhizhi (Ban Gu, Han Shu) also occurs during Western Han. After 36 BCE → Captives resettled in Liqian (Hexi Corridor, Gansu) also within Western Han. Three Kingdoms (220–280 CE) China divided among Wei, Shu, and Wu, with constant war and shifting alliances. This era is famous for strategy, fortress warfare, and later legends that shaped Chinese historical memory. Unification came when the Jin defeated Wu in 280. Jin (266–420 CE) Western Jin (266–316) reunified China briefly, then fell into internal conflict (elite civil wars) and invasions. Eastern Jin (317–420) held the south while the north fractured into multiple states. Large-scale migration to the south changed population patterns, economy, and culture for centuries. Sixteen Kingdoms (c. 304–439 CE, mainly northern China) A patchwork of short-lived states, many founded by non-Han elite groups, with constant warfare and shifting borders. Despite instability, this period helped spread Buddhism and reshaped northern politics. Southern and Northern Dynasties (420–589 CE) China stayed divided between southern courts and northern regimes. In the north, the Northern Wei (386–534) and successors pushed major reforms, including sinicization policies and support for Buddhism (famous cave temples and sculpture traditions). In the south, literati culture, poetry, and court life flourished, even as political control shifted between dynasties. Sui (581–618 CE) Sui reunified China and rebuilt strong central government. Major events include constructing the Grand Canal system to link north and south and launching massive military campaigns, including against Goguryeo, which drained resources and helped cause collapse. Tang (618–907 CE) Often seen as a high point of imperial culture and power. Tang expanded influence across Central Asia and strengthened institutions. Major events include the Wu Zetian reign (the only woman to rule as emperor in her own right, 690–705), the An Lushan Rebellion (755–763) that devastated the empire and weakened central control, and the growth of cosmopolitan cities like Chang’an. Poetry, art, and Buddhism flourished, alongside later crackdowns and political turmoil. Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907–960 CE) After Tang fell, the north cycled through five short dynasties while the south and parts of the east had multiple stable regional kingdoms. It was a politically fragmented era but economically active, especially in the south. Liao (916–1125 CE) Founded by the Khitan, Liao ruled parts of the north and northeast and interacted with Song through treaties and border politics. Liao used dual administration styles to govern different populations. Song (960–1279 CE) A major period for economic growth, urban life, printing, education, and technology. Northern Song (960–1127) faced strong northern rivals and lost the north after the Jurchen invasion; the capital fell in 1127 (the Jingkang incident). Southern Song (1127–1279) rebuilt in the south with a strong economy and navy but eventually fell to the Mongols. Neo-Confucian scholarship became highly influential. Western Xia (1038–1227 CE) Founded by the Tangut people in the northwest. It controlled key Silk Road routes and often fought or negotiated with Song, Liao, and later Jin, before being conquered by the Mongols. Jin (1115–1234 CE) Founded by the Jurchen, Jin defeated Liao and took northern China from Song, ruling a powerful northern state. Jin later fell to the Mongols (with Southern Song as a temporary partner against Jin). Yuan (1271–1368 CE) The Mongol-led dynasty founded by Kublai Khan. Yuan ruled a vast empire framework, promoted long-distance trade, and connected China more directly into Eurasian networks. Social status hierarchies and heavy demands contributed to unrest. The dynasty fell amid rebellion and regional breakdown. Ming (1368–1644 CE) A Han-led restoration after Yuan. Ming strengthened bureaucracy, rebuilt agriculture, and expanded maritime power early on through the Zheng He voyages (1405–1433). Later centuries saw strong commercial growth, major urban culture, and also fiscal strain, frontier pressures, and internal rebellion. Beijing became the main capital; major rebuilding and expansion of the Great Wall happened across Ming rule. Qing (1644–1912 CE) Founded by the Manchu, Qing expanded China’s territory to its largest imperial extent and managed a multi-ethnic empire. Early Qing saw strong rulers and stability; later Qing faced major crises: the Opium Wars (1839–1842, 1856–1860), unequal treaties, internal uprisings like the Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864), and reform struggles. The dynasty ended in the 1911 Revolution, with the last emperor abdicating in 1912.

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