The Magic Square Luo Shu Reveals its Secrets
Everyone probably knows Jiu Gong Tu, the magic square of the third order, also known as Luo Shu. According to legend, it appeared in China around four thousand years ago and has been studied and revered for its "magical" properties ever since.
Frank Swetz, Professor of Mathematics at Pennsylvania State University, writes in his book "The Luoshu Legacy: The Mystical, Mathematical Meaning of the Third Order Magic Square": "It is described as a cosmic force. As a supernatural symbol, Luo Shu dominated Chinese cosmological thought until the 19th century, when its status was reduced to a mathematical curiosity".
Many geniuses from different countries have tried to create magic squares, but no one has managed to form even a two-digit magic square with the singularities given by the Lou Shu table.
Requirements and rules for creating systematic and magic squares
- The table may only contain numbers without zeros, with different digits and with the same number of digits in each number.
- The table must not contain any numbers with the same set of digits (e.g. if the table contains the number 25, it must not contain 52).
- A complete section consists of three subsections. Each subsection contains nine numbers.
- A complete table includes all non-repeating sets of digits: 36 sets of two-digit & eight-digit numbers, and 81 sets of 3–6 digit numbers.
- The three main keys (1-4-7, 2-5-8, 3-6-9) must not appear in the cells of the table.
Since ancient times, there have been proverbs about the three keys of the Universe: "the dragon eats its own tail", "three elephants" and "three whales". However, until now no one knew what was meant by this. These three main keys are hidden behind these sayings.
Magic Square Luo Shu: the Main Keys
The Magic Square of Luo Shu contains eight keys arranged horizontally, vertically and diagonally. The digital value of each of these keys is 6.
15 → 1 + 5 = 6
Diagonal values
15 + 15 = 30 → 3
Horizontal and vertical values
15 × 6 = 90 → 9
This means that the table contains the most important main key 639. Other keys can also be found in the table.
The ancient main keys 147-258-369 were used to build calendars, cycles and numerical systems. They are directly linked to the Divine Nine and stand above all other number structures.
In the next article you will learn how to create second-level magic squares with two-digit numbers