---
title: "Can a Game Be Recorded in Two Notation Systems at Once? · Xiangqi Master"
description: "Yes, and bilingual or teaching publications often do exactly this, printing the Chinese characters and the WXF-style notation for each move side by side or one after the other."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/can-a-game-be-recorded-in-two-notation-systems-at-once
updated: 2026-09-23
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# Can a single game be recorded using two different notation systems at once in the same document?

These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws and is regression-tested against the official 110-diagram repetition casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it against the engine before publishing.

> Direct answer
>
> **Yes, and it is a common practical choice for bilingual or teaching material.** A publication aimed at readers who may know only one of the two systems will often print both for every move, the Chinese characters and the WXF-style rendering together, either side by side or with one in parentheses after the other. Nothing about the game or the rules changes; it is purely a presentation choice aimed at reaching a wider readership.

## Why this works cleanly

Since the two systems describe exactly the same underlying moves, printing both side by side introduces no risk of contradiction between them; a reader checking one against the other will always find them describing the identical move. It is purely additional information for accessibility, not a second, competing record.

## Where this is most common in practice

Teaching material aimed at players learning xiangqi coming from a chess background, and modern digital databases serving an international audience, both frequently display dual notation for exactly this reason, letting a reader use whichever system they are more comfortable with without losing anything.

## Related questions

Does this double the length of a game score?

It roughly doubles the notation for each move, though many publications keep it compact by placing the second system in brackets rather than as a full parallel line.

Is one of the two systems usually treated as the authoritative one when both appear?

Often the Chinese characters are treated as primary in Chinese-language publications, with WXF as a secondary aid, and the reverse in international ones, but neither is more technically correct than the other.

## Related xiangqi resources

Reading notation

炮二平五 and C2=5 — the same move, two ways

Xiangqi questions answered

Every question on this site, in one index

Xiangqi rules

The complete reference, rule by rule

## Try it on a real board

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