Chapter 6 Section 6: Young Famous Players of Ancient Go

Since ancient times, heroes have been born as teenagers.In Go, an intellectual sports project that integrates science, artistry, competition, culture and entertainment, this universal law and phenomenon of talent development is no exception.There have been many Go "child prodigies" in history, and there have been many Go masters who became famous in their youth. The period of the Jin Dynasty and the Southern and Northern Dynasties was the first period of great development of Go in my country. From the emperors and generals to the common people, most of them liked Go.Under the influence of this atmosphere, there have been many children's chess players with quick thinking and extraordinary intelligence.Chu Yin in the early Southern and Northern Dynasties was the youngest Go master ever recorded in Chinese history.

According to "Northern History" and other books, during the Yilong period of Emperor Wen of the Song Dynasty (424-453 A.D.), there was a child named Chu Yin in Wujun (now Suzhou, Jiangsu and other places). In other words, there is a high-level level.At that time, it was known as the "Tianshi in Yizhong".Emperor Wen of the Song Dynasty was a Go fan himself and admired Chu Yin very much.When commenting on the most outstanding figures, the most famous landscapes and buildings at that time, he said: "There are five wonders in the world, and all of them come from Qiantang, and Chu Yin's Go is one of them." He called Chu Yin's Go "one of the five wonders in the world." ", the evaluation can be described as extremely high.

Although Chu Yin defeated many famous players at the age of six or seven, entered the high rank, and became invincible when he was a little older, his fate later was very tragic.His father, Chu Rongqi, was sentenced to behead his whole family for violating the criminal law at that time.Although some people pleaded with Emperor Wen of Song Dynasty at that time without hesitation of being questioned, Chu Yin, who was in his teens, was not spared death.In the end, he became a victim of feudal criminal law.Regarding Chu Yin's death, "Southern History" records: "People at that time regretted it." Indeed, this is a loss of Go talents.Imagine that if a Go genius like Chu Yin can develop his skills normally, his level of chess skills will be difficult to estimate when he becomes an adult.

Later than Chu Yin, Zhu Yi from Qiantang, Wu County, was also good at chess since he was a child.According to "Southern History" records, he was good at playing Go when he was 10 years old.If he is a little longer, he "reads the "Five Classics", especially Ming "Li" and "Yi", dabbles in literature and history, masters a variety of arts, and plays games and calculations, all of which are his strengths." It can be seen that he is versatile.At that time, Shen Yue, a writer of Liang Shangshuling, did not believe in his talent at first, but later invited him for an interview, and Fang believed him.Later, Zhu Yi was recommended to Xiao Yan, Emperor Wu of Liang.Emperor Wu of Liang also admired it very much, and praised: "Zhu is different, but it is different."

The Tang Dynasty was the second great development period of Weiqi in my country.During this period, there were also many young masters of Go.Among them, the story of Zhang Xiaozi, who was only 14 years old, defeating the chess player at that time is quite touching. According to "Northern Meng Suoyan", during the period of Emperor Xizong Li Xuan (Xuanxuan) of Tang Dynasty (874-888 AD), there was a chess player named Hua Neng who had very high quality and few opponents. He usually accompanied the emperor, The minister played Go.Skate can have superb chess skills and fast movement.But when playing against Zhang Xiaozi, the specialty of sliding and moving quickly is gone.Even though he pondered for a long time, Fang made a move, even though he tried his best and displayed his housekeeping skills, he still couldn't win.On the contrary, Zhang Xiaozi played the game very easily, and he didn't mind at all.Every time he made a move, he would go to the courtyard to play, and when he could make a move, he would immediately respond.Zhang Xiaozi's Go level can be seen.

According to the records of "A Remaining Words from Jia and Yi", Fang Zizhen in Song Dynasty loved Go very much since he was a child.When he was about 10 years old, one day, he met an old man.The old man asked him if he liked to play chess, and if so, he was asked to come to Tangchangguan early tomorrow morning, and the old man was willing to teach him how to play chess.Fang Zizhen was overjoyed when he heard the words, and went to Tang Changguan very early the next day, but when he got there, the old man had already arrived.The old man was very unhappy and said, "How can you come so late for an appointment with the elder? You can come back tomorrow." After saying this, he walked away.Fang Zizhen had no choice but to leave disgruntled.On the third day, Fang Zizhen came to Tangchang Temple before dawn and before the gate of the temple opened.At this time, the old man also "came lightly with his stick".Only then did the old man express his satisfaction and said: "You can learn chess from me." So, he taught Fang Zizhen how to play chess, and Fang Zizhen was invincible later on.

It is not difficult to see that this story is adapted by imitating the story of Zhang Liang encountering an old man on the mountain to teach the art of war.It is of course not credible to say that Fang Zizhen's Go world invincibility is the result of the teachings of the old man Tang Changguan.In fact, according to Fang Zizhen's self-report, he has been fond of playing chess since he was eight years old.At that time, he was studying in a private school, practicing chess in his spare time, and told his teacher that he had the ability to read well and play chess well.The teacher banned him from playing chess at first, but seeing how obsessed he was with Go, he stopped banning him.So he put a chessboard under his desk every day, and studied chess in his free time.This is the mystery why he became a national player at the age of 13 and was invincible in the world. The author of "A and B Remaining Words" commented that Fang Zizhen's chess skills are astonishing because of his special skill.

In the Song Dynasty, there were many young chess players who became famous because of their talent and hard work.For example, in the Southern Song Dynasty, Zheng Rixin of Yuezhou was fond of playing Go since he was a child, he did not follow the ancient methods, did not imitate the predecessors, and worked hard to innovate. Therefore, he dominated the chess world of Yuezhou when he was a teenager, and he was called "Yuetong". At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there was a Mr. Ye Taishan from Fujian who was the Minister of the Ministry of Officials in Beijing and a scholar of Dongge University. His name was Xianggao. .The magistrate recommended Guo Bailing, who was only 11 years old at the time, to compete with him.Ye Xianggao is a master of Xuetai, but Guo Bailing is not afraid, and he readily accepts orders and goes to the challenge.When Ye Gong saw that the person who was called was a boy, he was very surprised. He thought that Wuxi, which is so big, doesn't even have a scribe who can play Go.It wasn't until the two fought against each other that Ye Gong felt that he was not Guo Bailing's opponent, so he repeatedly admitted defeat.Because Ye Gong is a high-ranking official, the elders in the village secretly said to Guo Bailing during the break, "Ye Gong is an important official, you should lose a few rounds to him, why do you win so often? Guo Bailing said disapprovingly: "It's a small skill in playing chess, but it's a shameful thing to intentionally please the opponent. I can't do it." He also said that if Master Ye is a good official, he will not be blamed.After a break, Guo Bailing fought against Ye Gong with his real kung fu.Ye Gong no longer underestimated the enemy like he did at the beginning, but even though he showed his housekeeping skills and tried his best, he still couldn't resist Bai Ling's attack, and soon lost three rounds in a row.So Ye Xianggao praised him very much, saying that he has a bright future.

Guo Bailing was born in a Go family in Wuxi. He started to learn Go at the age of five or six. Because of his talent and intelligence, he was taught by famous players from his parents, relatives and friends. His chess skills improved rapidly. At the age of eight, he defeated many celebrities who love Go in Wuxi. Bachelor, famous in the chess world. The news of defeating Ye Xianggao at the age of 11 spread like wildfire, and soon spread throughout the country.At the end of the Ming Dynasty, chess was very popular in the south of the Yangtze River, and there were many famous players in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, and Anhui, and there were generations of them.There is an endless stream of famous go players in the south of the Yangtze River and those who come to Wuxi to challenge Bailing.Under such circumstances, Guo Bailing studied chess harder and improved faster. He played against many famous players at that time, but none of them could beat him.

Guo Bailing returned to his hometown in his later years and gave a Go manuscript "San Zi Pu" to his chess friends for engraving.Guo Bailing's works also include "Four Sons" and "Er Sons".It occupies an important position in the history of Chinese chess and was once spread to Japan. The Qing Dynasty was the third period of great development of Go in my country, so there were more Go players who became famous in their youth.For example, Zhou Lanyu in the early Qing Dynasty was known as a chess prodigy.He was smart since he was a child, and when he was five or six years old, he was able to understand his grandfather's game and explain the method of attack and defense from the sidelines.His chess skills have improved rapidly, reaching a miraculous level within a few years.When he was 10 years old, he defeated all his opponents in Jiaxing, Zhejiang. When he was 20 years old, he took the lead in defeating Guo Bailing, the number one master in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, thus overturning the myth that Bai Ling was invincible in the world.Although Zhou Lanyu has high chess skills, he is very humble. When he first played against Guo Bailing, in order to show his respect for the older generation of chess players, he insisted on refusing to play a pair of chess several times.When he was the most famous chess player, someone asked him, "Has your master's chess skills reached its peak?" Zhou Lanyu replied, "Although the masters from all over the world can't beat me now, every time I finish playing chess, I feel that there is still a lot left." A lot of inappropriateness, so far from the top."

During the Kangxi period, Fan Xiping and Shi Xiangxia were both from Haining, Zhejiang, and both loved Go since childhood.At the age of seven or eight, he was able to fight against the masters in the village.Under the teaching of their teacher Yu Changhou, both Fan and Shi reached the level of national players at the age of twelve or thirteen.People at that time called it "Haichang Ermiao".Their game score "Danghu Ten Games" was handed down to later generations and became an immortal work in the history of Go.At the end of the Qing Dynasty, at least three or four of the 18 nationalities became famous before the age of sixteen or seventeen. It can be seen from the above that young chess players have an important position and role in the development of our country's Go career, and they are the hope of our country's Go career.