Can xiangqi notation ever need to disambiguate three pieces of the same type on one file, the way chess sometimes must after pawn promotions?
These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws for movement, checkmate and both repetition rulings: a side that forces a repetition by perpetual check or perpetual chase loses rather than drawing. The chase half has not been validated against the official casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it before publishing.
Direct answer
Yes, but only with soldiers. Xiangqi has no promotion, so no side ever has more than two of any other piece. It does start with five soldiers, though, and once they cross the river they can step sideways, so three can end up on one file. Chinese notation then names them 前 (front), 中 (middle) and 後 (rear); with more than three on a file, they are numbered from the front.
Why only soldiers
Chess needs three-way disambiguation mainly after a promotion creates extra queens. Xiangqi has no promotion, so chariots, horses and cannons never number more than two per side, and two advisors or two elephants on one file are told apart by their direction alone. Soldiers are the exception because each side starts with five of them.
How the markers work
The two-piece case is the common one, two horses or two chariots ending up on the same file, and the notation handles it with a front or rear marker in place of the file number. With three soldiers on a file, the middle one is 中; in WXF the front and rear take + and −, and the middle one a number before the piece letter.
Related questions
Could a handicap or unusual setup ever create three of one piece?
Not of any piece except the soldier, which every side already has five of. Handicap games remove pieces from the standard setup; they never add extras beyond the normal complement.
Does this mean xiangqi notation is simpler than chess's in this respect?
Mostly. Outside the soldier case, the notation never has to tell more than two identical pieces apart.
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