Chapter 17 Section 17 The Legend of Ancient Go

Go is a game of fighting, an art of mathematics, a science of fun, gymnastics of wisdom, and a sport of competition. It has been loved by our people for thousands of years and plays an important role in international cultural exchanges.According to historical documents, Go in ancient my country was introduced into ancient India, Korea and other countries around the Eastern Han Dynasty.It was introduced to Japan before the Tang Dynasty, and gradually spread to European and American countries since the 16th century.Go is almost all over the world at present, has become a worldwide sports competition, and is an integral part of cultural exchanges between peoples of all countries in the world.

As early as the Han Dynasty, when Zhang Qian was sent to the Western Regions, the friendly exchanges between our country and countries in Central Asia and West Asia had already begun.When the cultures of ancient India and other countries were introduced to China, the ancient Chinese culture was also spread to those countries, including rumors of chess games such as Go. According to the records of "The Great Nirvana Sutra·Sixth Present Disease" translated by Dao Lang, a monk in the later Qin Dynasty, ancient Chinese chess games and other games were popular in India, such as Go, Tanqi, Liubo, Paiwu〔juju ], throwing stones, throwing pots, etc.The sutra also advises against playing or watching these games.It can be seen that Go and other ancient Chinese chess games were widely spread in ancient India at that time.

In the 1950s, it was discovered that Go with 15 and 17 chessboards was popular in countries such as Sikkim, Bhutan, and Nepal.Its moves are basically the same as that of our country's Go, except for individual moves that are slightly different, that is, you can't pick up the piece immediately after you eat it, you have to wait for the opponent to pass a move elsewhere, and you can pick up the piece after you don't respond. The move is about the same. The cultural exchanges between China and North Korea also started from the Han Dynasty.At that time, North Korea had not yet been unified, and it was divided into three parts: Goguryeo, (氵岁) [WeIwei], and Han.During the time of Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, the King of Goguryeo sent envoys to China, bringing back musical instruments, clothes, costumes, etc. (氵岁) people live together with Han people and are more influenced by Han culture.Han was later divided into three parts: Mahan, Chenhan, and Bianhan.During the time of Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty, Mahan began to accept Han culture. Later, Baekje was established on Mahan's homeland, and Silla was established on the homeland of Jinhan and Byeonhan.According to "Northern History Baekje" records: "The country of Baekje is very popular in riding and archery...you still play Go." Baekje is in the southwest of the Korean Peninsula and has the closest cultural exchanges with China, so Go was first introduced to Baiji. Jiguo.During the Southern and Northern Dynasties of our country, Go in Baekje was quite popular, which shows that Go in the Korean Peninsula had been spread for a considerable period of time before the era of Baekje.According to research, with the immigration of Han people to the Korean peninsula during the Qin and Han Dynasties, Han culture, including Go, has been introduced to North Korea.

After the Baekje Kingdom, Go was widely spread in the Korean Peninsula, and its chess system was exactly the same as that of the Tang Dynasty in China. "Old Book of Tang · Goryeo Biography" has a record that "Goryeo is good at playing Go".At that time, the Go board in North Korea also had 19 vertical and horizontal lines. In the 7th century AD, Silla unified the Korean peninsula. Since then, it has absorbed more Chinese culture and often sent some noble children to study in China. "New Book of Tang Dongyi Biography" says that in the 25th year of Kaiyuan (692 A.D.) of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty, King Xingguang of Silla died, and Emperor Xuanzong of Tang Dynasty sent envoys to hang sacrifices. Make.Because Go is popular in North Korea, Yang Jiying was sent to serve as the deputy envoy.After arriving in Silla, Yang Jiying took turns to fight with the national Go players there, and the result was a big victory, so Silla presented the visiting Chinese envoy with a generous gift of gold treasures.

Through the exchanges between chess players from China and Silla, many chess players with high chess skills have emerged in Silla.Pu Qiu, an excellent chess player in Silla, mentioned in the poem "Send Chess to Silla to Silla" by Zhang Qiao, a poet at the end of Tang Dynasty, is one of them.He had lived in China for many years and served as a chess master. Japan is currently the most popular country in the world.According to statistics, there are more than ten million Go fans in Japan, and almost every household has Go.In terms of chess skills, Japanese Go players are highly skilled. There are more than 500 well-known high-level professional players, and there are Go academy organizations that specialize in training players and studying chess skills.

The introduction of Chinese go to Japan is a major event in the history of go development.It is inseparable from the efforts of the Japanese people and the Go world that Go can be promoted in countries all over the world and achieve such a prosperous situation today. Cultural exchanges between Japan and China began in the Han Dynasty.In 57 AD, Japan sent envoys to China. "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" and "Three Kingdoms" recorded in detail the cultural and economic exchanges between China and Japan at that time.After the end of the 6th century AD, the exchanges between my country and Japan became closer. Especially during the Tang Dynasty of our country, Japan sent envoys and students to China many times.

There are two theories about the time when Go was introduced to Japan from China.One theory is that Go was introduced to Japan through the Korean Peninsula, about 1,500 years ago during the early Yamato period.This is what Japanese scholar Kikujiro Hirayama said in his book "A Concise History of Go in Japan".Another theory is that it was brought back to Japan by Japanese students studying in China during the early or prosperous Tang Dynasty. From a historical point of view, Chinese Weiqi was introduced to North Korea around the Eastern Han Dynasty, and during the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties (equivalent to the early days of the Yamato Dynasty in Japan), because North Korea and Japan were both close neighbors and had close contacts, it was very likely that Go would be introduced to Japan through North Korea. , so Hirayama Kikujiro's statement is not without basis.

In the Tang Dynasty, Japanese students studying abroad came to Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, to study in batches.At that time, the foreign students Kibi Mabi, Abe Nakamaro and other monks who accompanied the Tang Dynasty envoys to China, as well as monks such as Saicheng, Kukai and Enren, all actively spread Chinese culture after returning to Japan.Kibi Mabi and Abe Nakamaro are both Go enthusiasts, and they spread Go widely after returning to China.Because of Kibi Mabe's great reputation, there is still a saying in Japan that Go was passed down from China by him.In fact, before that, other Japanese students had brought Go back to Japan, and Kibi Mabi was just an outstanding representative among Japanese students.

After Go was introduced to Japan, the old method of placing four potential pieces at the four corners of the chessboard before the start of the game was cancelled.This new change has promoted the development of Go and created a new era of Go layout. The exchanges between Chinese and Japanese Go players have promoted the development of Go.In the 16th century AD, the Japanese chess player Monk Chuxu came to China and co-authored the chess book "Suitability Record" with the Chinese chess player Lin Yinglong, which is an example. In 1928, Wu Qingyuan, a 14-year-old Chinese chess player, went to Japan to learn chess. In 1933, he and the Japanese chess player Kitani jointly studied the new layout, which opened a new chapter in the layout of Go.

Go is known as the "national game" in Japan.At present, Japan, South Korea, and China are the most developed countries of Go in the world. Among overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia, chess and Go are very popular.Chinese Go was introduced to Southeast Asian countries along with the overseas Chinese before the Ming Dynasty.According to Ma Guan, who accompanied Zheng He on his voyage to Nanyang, recorded in "Yingya Shenglan": "The customs of the three Buddhas are good...playing chess", and the three Buddhas are now part of Indonesia.It can be seen that Chinese go has been introduced to Southeast Asian countries before Ming Chengzu Yongle.

Portuguese navigator Mendes Pinto said in his travel diary "The Voyages of Fernan Mendes Pinto" that in the 16th century, Portuguese navigators learned Go in Japan and brought it back to their home country. .That is to say, as early as the 16th century, there was Go in Europe.However, it is generally believed that Go did not really become popular in Europe until the 19th century. The earliest English Go book, called "Go Handbook", was published in London, England in 1911.The book introduces the development of Go in China and Japan, and also includes a painting of ancient Chinese women's Go.