Chapter 10 Section 10 Ancient Poetry and Painting of Go

Qin, chess, calligraphy and painting are the four great arts in ancient China, with a long history.They are like brothers and sisters and have an inseparable close relationship.Since ancient times, among poets and painters, there are quite a few who are fond of chess, especially Go.The poems and paintings they created with the theme of Go, praised and promoted Go, and became an important part of the development history of Go in ancient China. Take the Tang Dynasty as an example.The Tang Dynasty was an era when Chinese poetry flourished. In Tang poetry, verses praising Go and chess players can be found.For example, Liu Yuxi, a poet, said in his poem "Watching Chess Songs and Returning Masters to the West" that chess players return to their masters: "Walking through Sanxiang will not meet the enemy, and spare people all day long." Before we know it, everyone will be shocked by the tiger's den." It vividly depicts the chess player's chess style of making good use of surprise soldiers and winning by surprise.

Du Fu, a great poet of the Tang Dynasty, mentioned Go more in his poems.For example, "Wu Gorge on the Chu River is half cloudy and rainy, and the curtain is clear to watch Go" (see "Two Poems on July 1st, Mingfu Xiaolou"), which describes the scene of the poet watching chess. "Accompany Xie Fu with chess, and find Xu Jun with the sword" (see "The Tomb of the Captain in Biefang"), which is about the poet playing Go. "I heard that Chang'an is like playing chess, and the world is full of sorrow for a hundred years" (see the fourth of "Eight Poems of Qiuxing").Here the poet uses the unpredictability of Go as a metaphor for the complexity and changeability of world affairs. "Let's spend the day playing chess, and use wine to make the year" (see "Send to Yuezhou Jia Sima Liuzhang Yanba Shijun Liangge Lao"), here it is said that playing chess and drinking has become the joy of the poet in his later years.From these poems, it can be seen that Du Fu is not only interested in Go, but also has considerable attainments.

Yuan Zhen, a famous poet in the Tang Dynasty, also loved to play Go.It can be seen from his poem "the guest has a chess game" that he often plays chess with the guest.Yuan Zhen also wrote a poem "Reward Duan Cheng and other chess players for a meeting and see a gift of twenty-four rhymes", which describes a grand gathering of Go celebrities held at his home in the first year of Changqing (821 AD). Li Dong, a poet at the end of Tang Dynasty, wrote the poems "Youren Fight Wisdom Chess" and "Store Chess on Stone", describing the scene of him playing wits with his friends when he lived in seclusion.

Wang Bo, a poet of the Tang Dynasty, also loved Go.He likes to play chess while reciting poems.According to "Chess Heaven Cave View", when Wang Bo plays Go, he can compose a poem by throwing four players. Writing chess in poems has also caused trouble for some literati and refined scholars.During the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty, Hangzhou lacked a governor, and it was originally planned to appoint Li Yuan to take up this official position.However, Li Yuan wrote a poem in which there is a sentence "A green mountain never tires of a thousand cups of wine, and only a game of chess is eliminated in the daytime". After Tang Xuanzong knew about it, he said how such a person who was greedy for drinking and chess could govern the civil affairs, so he sent someone else to work.It has become an anecdote that Li Yuan lost an official position with a single poem.

In the Song Dynasty, because Song Taizong was fond of Go, ordinary literati and scholars competed to imitate him, hoping to win the emperor's favor, so the whole literary world of the Northern Song Dynasty was very popular.At that time, Yang Yi, Ouyang Xiu, Wang Anshi, Huang Shanshan, etc., the leaders of the literary world, were all good at Go.Su Dongpo, a writer and calligrapher and painter, also likes to watch Go. Wang Anshi was a prime minister during the reign of Emperor Shenzong of the Song Dynasty. He is a famous statesman, thinker and writer in the history of our country.He loves to play Go in his spare time.He wrote a poem: "Don't disturb the truth with the drama, and you can tell me to win according to the fate. After the battle, the two dowries will be black and white, and there will be no loss in the balance." Therefore, he often plays games with others without paying attention. Si, love to play rapid chess.Ye Zhiyuan, the son-in-law of Wang Anshi's younger brother, is also obsessed with Go and often plays against Wang Anshi.Wang Anshi was very competitive, and when he won the game, he was very happy, and even said that the head can be broken, but the game cannot be lost; but after losing to Ye Zhiyuan, he said that this picture is suitable for the situation and forgets the worries, and instead thinks hard.Later, when Ye Zhiyuan went on a long trip, Wang Anshi reluctantly wrote a Go poem and presented it to him.In the poem, there are sentences such as "the chess scriptures are in hand, the chess formulas are full of suitcases, sit and look for chess games to play, and write chess pictures on the side".

Su Dongpo was a minister of the Ministry of Rites and was a talented writer in the Northern Song Dynasty. He was proficient in poetry, calligraphy, painting and prose.Although I can only say that I have a rough knowledge of Go, I like to watch other people play Go.One day, he traveled alone to the White Crane Temple in Lushan Mountain, and heard the sound of chess pieces intertwined with the sound of pines and flowing water, so he started to play chess. After that, he often watched his son play chess with others, and wrote "Preface to Watching Chess" and "Watching Chess Preface". A four-character poem to describe the story.In the poem, there are wonderful lines such as "don't hear people's voices, but sometimes hear the falling, and sit on the platters, who cares about this smell", which describes the scene of the players concentrating and holding their breath.There is also a famous sentence in the poem, "It is a pleasure to win, but it is also gratifying to lose. You can enjoy yourself and talk about your ears", which describes the player's correct attitude towards winning or losing.In the future, it will often be recited by chess players to encourage themselves.

In the history of our country, there are many paintings created by famous painters with the theme of Go.The oldest surviving Go painting is the Go painting in the Confucian Temple in Qufu, Shandong.This picture is on the portrait tiles of the Han Dynasty. In the picture, there are two games of Go and Liubo, and two people are concentrating on playing games.Portrait bricks are decorative paintings in tombs or ancestral halls that were popular in the Han Dynasty.The painters of the Han Dynasty carefully drew it according to Confucius' comment on Go: "There are no players who play games, but they are still worthy!"It vividly depicts the prevalence of Go and Liubo in the Han Dynasty, leaving important cultural relics for the study of chess history.

Emperor Taizong Li Shimin of the Tang Dynasty set up a literary museum to recruit famous scholars from all over the world at that time. He recruited talented people and won eighteen bachelors.When Li Shimin was in charge of politics, whenever he had free time, he called these scholars to recite poems and play chess together.Li Shimin is very fond of Go, and after playing Go, he recites Go poems, and the bachelors are also easy-going, and the atmosphere is very warm.Li Shimin's poems include: "Talk with hands to mark the beauty of the past, sit in seclusion and live in front of the good. The difference between the two potentials, Xuansu quotes two lines...".After the chanting by Emperor Taizong of the Tang Dynasty, all the scholars were ordered to pay homage. Xu Jingzong, a scholar of the Hongwen Museum present here, wrote a poem: "Short-listed to fight for the eyes, and slightly open the side of the house. The branches are gradually clouded, and the dots are chaotic... ".Tang Taizong attached great importance to intellectuals, and those who were selected were called "Dengyingzhou". "Yingzhou" is one of the three legendary mountains located in the sea. It is inhabited by immortals and envied by literati.Later, many painters painted for this purpose, such as "Eighteen Scholars Playing Chess" and "Eighteen Scholars Climbing Yingzhou" and other works handed down from generation to generation.

In addition to liking cockfighting and playing ball, Tang Minghuang was especially good at Go, and often played against princes. He used Go as the subject of the palace test for the young man's intelligence, and recruited many Go players, entered the Imperial Academy, and awarded him the official title of Go.Famous Go players at that time, such as Wang Jixin and Zheng Guanyin, often sat next to the Emperor Ming, sitting opposite each other on a catalpa (qiuqiu) and competing in chess skills. Tang Minghuang often held chess meetings in the palace.Participants include Go players, princes and ministers, monks, Taoist priests and so on.For this purpose, famous painters in Tang Dynasty drew "Minghuang Playing Chess Picture", which vividly reflects the historical fact that Tang Minghuang held Go games in the court.In the Five Dynasties, Zhou Wenju, a famous painter in the Southern Tang Dynasty, also painted a picture of "Ming Emperor's Playing Chess".There are eight figures in this painting, and the Emperor Ming sits in front of a chess game.In the gap of the picture, there are two poems inscribed by Emperor Qianlong of the Qing Dynasty: