---
title: "Is Converting Between Chinese and WXF Notation Lossless? · Xiangqi Master"
description: "Yes, the conversion is exact for the moves themselves, since both systems describe the identical underlying piece, file and direction for every move; nothing about the actual game changes."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/is-converting-between-chinese-and-wxf-notation-lossless
updated: 2026-09-23
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# Does converting a xiangqi game record between Chinese notation and WXF notation ever lose information, or is it always exact?

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, entirely lossless for the moves themselves.** Chinese notation and WXF notation are two different written representations of exactly the same underlying facts for every move, which piece, which file, which direction, and how far. Converting one into the other is a mechanical substitution, not an interpretation, so a game converted from one system to the other and back again reproduces the identical move sequence every time.

## What makes this reliably mechanical

Both systems are built from the same small set of building blocks, piece identifiers, file numbers counted the same way, and a small set of direction markers for advancing, retreating, and moving sideways. Because the two systems map onto the same underlying facts one-to-one, software or a careful person can convert between them without needing to actually understand the position at all.

## What conversion does not preserve

Anything outside the bare moves themselves, prose commentary, diagrams, or a pattern's name mentioned in surrounding text, does not travel automatically with a pure notation conversion and has to be translated or carried over separately. The moves are exact; the surrounding material is a different job entirely.

## Related questions

Is the same true converting to ICCS or coordinate-style notation?

Yes, any of these systems can be converted losslessly between each other for the moves, since they all describe the same small set of underlying facts.

Could a conversion tool introduce an error?

Only through a bug in the tool itself, not because of any inherent ambiguity between the notation systems.

## Related xiangqi resources

Reading notation

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

Xiangqi rules

The complete reference, rule by rule

Analyse your games

Take any position apart with engine support

## Try it on a real board

Reading an answer is one thing; playing it is another. Free, instant, and nothing to install.