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Qing Dynasty (1644-1911)
Sichuan Provincial Museum, Chengdu
The center of this mystic diagram is a magic square. The magic square is enclosed within a ring of the Eight Trigrams, which in turn is surrounded by twelve calendrical animals (one for each month, with odd, sea-horse-like, lower bodies). The diagram is displayed upon the underside of a tortoise, and surrounded by images of deities, stupas, and forest animals. A background of sky with small sun and moon appears above the tortoise; its tail is sticking into of a small patch of water. This eclectic combination of Daoist philosophy (nature scenes, trigrams, magic square), Buddhist religion (stupas and deities), and Chinese cosmology (turtle and zodiac) illustrates Manchu syncretism at its most inclusive.
For another example, see File:Carus-p48-Mystic-Table.jpg on Wikimedia Commons.
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