“Circular dots,” Brink said, “that marked the nine sections of the turtle’s shell. Those dots formed a three-by-three grid that created a magic square.” “The Lo Shu Square was widely adopted and served as an important reference for planning cities and temples—informing rituals of geomancy and feng shui. Some people say that the Lo Shu Square is an invention that changed civilization, on par with fire or law or storytelling.”

