Liubo is one of the most mysterious games. It is an ancient Chinese board-game whose rules are forgotten. However, several studies have been done, backed by several archaeological findings.

Puddingstone footed Liubo Board (41.5x41.5 cm) inlaid with bone with four ivory Liubo pieces. Han dynasty, 206 BC - AD 220.

The name Liubo comes from Chinese (liu = six, bo = sticks). This game was played in ancient China, at least since the Warring States era (4th c. BC) and maybe much earlier (7th c. BC) as it is evoked in Confucius' Analects (Book XVII, 22): "It is difficult for a man who always has a full stomach to put his mind to some use. Are there not players of liubo and weiqi? Even playing these games is better than being idle."

Liubo players. Eastern Han dynasty, 1st-2nd century AD The figures in this group are gambling. They are playing Liubo, a game thought to be popular among both mortals and immortals.The board is marked with divination symbols, and the game pieces show the animals of the four directions: the White Tiger (West), the Green Dragon (East), the Vermilion Bird (South) and the Tortoise, with a snake coiled around its body, known as the Dark Warrior (North).The models are made of earthenware, covered with a green lead glaze. Lead glazes were used only for burial goods, because they are poisonous. Height: 25.6 cm

Apparently very popular during the Han dynasties (207 BC - 220 AD) when the best players were well respected and formed a corporation, it later vanished. The very last reference dates from the Song time (before 1162) where it was quoted as an “old game”. Archaeological findings are not scarce and there are quite a few literary evocations, nevertheless, nobody knows what the rules of the game were.