Chapter 12 Section 12 Ancient Emperors and Go

Among the ancient emperors, there were many who were fond of Go.Due to the participation of the emperor himself, Go was very popular in the court.This has undoubtedly played a very positive role in promoting the spread of Go among the upper class and society in different periods of history. Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, was an outstanding statesman and military strategist in history.He is particularly fond of Go.According to "Miscellaneous Records of Xijing", Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty and his concubine Mrs. Qi played Go out of the carved house Beitozhu on the fourth day of August of a certain year, and it became a custom in the Han Palace every year to play Go on this day.Jin Ganbao's "Sou Shen Ji" mystified this custom, saying that in the Han Palace on this day, Go is played, the winner will be blessed all the year round, and the loser will be sick all the year round.This statement is of course superstitious, but it can also be seen that Go was popular in the Western Han Palace.The Go part of "Spring Dawn of the Han Palace" by Qiu Ying, a famous painter in the Ming Dynasty, vividly depicts the grand occasion of Go playing in the Han Palace.

According to "Historical Records: The Family of Liuhou", at the end of the Qin Dynasty and the beginning of the Han Dynasty, there were four old people, including Dong Yuangong, who were highly respected and admired by people at that time.Liu Bang, Emperor Gaozu of the Han Dynasty, loved talents and wanted to summon them several times and give them appointments.But they lived in seclusion in Shangshan and avoided seeing them.Later, the four elders made friends with Prince Liu Ying (later Emperor Hui of the Han Dynasty), and they traveled together in the same car, entering and leaving the Han Palace.According to legend, these four Shangshan old men are all Go lovers, and they are called "Shangshan Sihao".They often played chess in Shangshan, which was passed down as a good story by the literati at that time.Wang Wei, a famous poet, painter, and Go enthusiast during the prosperous Tang Dynasty, drew a picture of "Si Hao Playing Chess" according to folklore.Later, Wu Zhong, a painter of the Five Dynasties, Li Gonglin and Qi Xu, painters of the Song Dynasty, and Xie Shichen, a painter of the Ming Dynasty, all made paintings with the theme of "Sihao".Ming Xie Shichen's "Sihao Go Picture" is now in the Palace Museum in Beijing.

During the Three Kingdoms period, Cao Cao, Emperor Wu of Wei and his sons Cao Pi, Emperor Wen of Wei, and Cao Zhi, King of Chen Si, were both famous writers and poets in our country.Cao Cao and Cao Pi are of course well-known politicians and military strategists.They all occupy important places in our country's history.At the same time, their father and son are also Go enthusiasts. During the Three Kingdoms period, the warlords separated the regimes, and the soldiers were in trouble.Many military generals love Go and apply the principles of Go to the military.Cao Cao not only has a strong interest in Go, but also has high attainments.According to "Three Kingdoms Taizu Ji Zhu", Feng Yi, Shan Zidao, Wang Jiuzhen, Guo Kai and others were the four major Go players at that time, and Cao Cao's level of chess skills was actually comparable to them.He has a military official named Kong Gui, who is not only good at playing football, but also good at Go. He is a master in the army.Whenever Cao Cao had free time, he played Go with him.Due to Cao Cao's advocacy and personal participation, most of his civil and military officials are proficient in Go.For example, Ying Yu (word Delian), one of the seven sons of Jian'an, has a lot of research on Go. Cao Cao recruited him to be the prime minister's vassal. influential.

Cao Pi's younger brother Cao Zhi is a famous poet and has an important position in the history of Chinese literature, so he is widely known.Especially when Cao Pi asked him to write a poem within seven steps, otherwise he would be harmed, he was able to recite "cooking beans to burn Osmunda, beans weeping in the cauldron." Born from the same root, why is it too urgent to fight each other", which greatly improved his status in people's minds.But Cao Pi also has a younger brother, Cao Zhang, who is little known.Cao Zhang is a general. "Three Kingdoms" said that he was "seldom good at archery, strong in physical strength, fierce in his hands, and did not avoid danger. He was always conquest and generous in his will."Therefore, he is a capable general under Cao Cao and one of the more competitive heirs to the throne of Cao Cao.For such a competitor, Cao Pi naturally hated him to the bone, and wanted to put him to death soon.According to Liu Yiqing's records, Cao Pi was jealous of Cao Zhang's bravery, and invited Cao Zhang to play Go in the Queen Mother's room, and then plotted to poison Cao Zhang with dates that had been poisoned in advance.Cao Zhang was poisoned without realizing it. The queen mother wanted to detoxify with water, but Cao Pi had someone break the pot for carrying water, so that the queen mother could not draw water from the well, so Cao Zhang was killed.This story reflects the prevalence of Go in Cao Wei Palace from another aspect.

Among the Three Kingdoms, Go is most popular in Wu State.The founder of Wu State, Sun Ce, is the best at Go, and his chess skills are very high.In the era of Sun Quan, Go was even more popular in the palace, and many ministers even "abandoned work and business, forgot to sleep and eat, and the sun was exhausted, and then used fat candles..." to indulge in Go. Ancient Chinese Go, after the development of the Han and Wei dynasties, reached the Jin Dynasty (265-420 A.D.), and became more popular among the feudal ruling class and the upper class.Sima Yan, the first emperor of the Western Jin Dynasty, was the advocate of Go at that time.

According to the "Book of Jin·Du Yu Biography", one day, the secretary Cheng Zhang Hua and Emperor Wu of Jin were playing Go, and the old general Du Yuzou sent a letter asking the emperor to confirm the date of the crusade.The emperor was in the mood to play Go, so he casually replied, "Next year." Zhang Hua stood up suddenly, pushed the scales and held his hands together, and said, "Your Majesty is holy and powerful, the government and the people are clean, the country is rich and the army is strong, and the order is one. The Lord Wu is licentious and arrogant." Hearing Zhang Hua's words, Emperor Wu made up his mind to attack Wu, and chose Huang Daoji as his commander.Zhang Hua (232-300 A.D.), courtesy name Maoxian, was born in Fangcheng, Fanyang.He is a famous writer who has researched both Go and Go history. His book "Natural History" contains legends about the origin of Go.In 280 A.D., Jin sent 200,000 troops, and within three months, they captured the Lord of Wu, Sun Hao, and destroyed the state of Wu.In the short 10 years of Taikang, the society of Jin Dynasty did show prosperity.Emperor Wu became more fond of Go, and often played against Wang Wuzi, and ordered Guiming Hou Sun Hao to watch the game. There are 83 moves in "Emperor Wu of Jin Dynasty Zhaowang Wuzi Playing Chess Game", and there are still chess records handed down to future generations.