The origin and development of Chinese chess

As for the origin of Chinese chess, there are also several interesting legends in ancient Chinese literature:

1. Origin in the legendary era For example, Yuan Nianchang's "Buddha's Chronicles" says: "Shennong used the daily stars as symbols, and the prime minister of the Tang Dynasty used chariots, horses, soldiers, and soldiers to replace them as machines."

2. The Yellow Emperor originated from the legendary era. For example, the "Guangxiang Opera Ge·Preface" written by Huang Bu of the Northern Song Dynasty said: Elephants play with soldiers, and the Yellow Emperor drives wild beasts into formations in battles; elephants are also the heroes of beasts. , so the opera soldiers named it after the elephant opera.

3. It originated when King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty was conquering the Zhou Dynasty. Xie Zai of the Ming Dynasty said in "Wuzazu" in Hangzhou: "Xiang Opera is said to have been composed when King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty was conquering the Zhou Dynasty. If not, it was also composed by the military strategists of the Warring States Period. At that time, there was still heavy emphasis on chariot warfare."

4. It originated during the Warring States Period. "Qianju Leishu" said: "Yongmen Zhou called Mengchang Jun: if you take Yan Jun, you will fight chess, which is also a matter of the Warring States Period. For example, the warring states used troops, so people used war elephants as chess moves."

5. It originated during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. "Taiping Yulan" said: Emperor Wu of the Zhou Dynasty made an elephant play. 》said: "Emperor Wu of Zhou played chess"

1: Warring States Period

During the Warring States Period, there were already official records about chess, such as: "The Songs of Chu*Zhaohun". "When playing chess, there are six books; when the cao is divided into two groups, they advance side by side, and when the Qiu forces push each other forward; when they become an owl, they fight against each other; when they move forward, they call out the five whites. ". "Shuo Yuan" records: Zhou Yiqin, the son of Yongmen, met Lord Mengchang and said: "The ruler of a thousand chariots at his feet... Yan then played chess and danced with Zheng Nu. "It can be seen that chess has become popular among the aristocracy as far back as the Warring States Period.

According to the above situation and the shape of chess, it can be inferred that chess should have originated around the founding of the Zhou Dynasty (11th century BC) In the clan areas of southern China, the early chess system consisted of three instruments: chess, chopsticks, and chessboards. Each side had six pieces: Xiao, Lu, Pheasant, Du, and Sai (two pieces). The chess pieces are carved from ivory. Chops are thrown before chess is played. During the game, "six dices are thrown and six chess pieces are played" to compete with each other. To force the opponent to death. In the military system of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, there were five people, one captain and six soldiers. The football game used as a military training at that time also had six people per side. Chess was a game that symbolized fighting at that time. Based on this chess system, a chess game called "Sai" appeared later, which only played chess without throwing chopsticks, getting rid of the element of luck in early chess.

2: Qin and Han Dynasties

During the Qin and Han Dynasties, Sai Opera was quite popular, and it was also called "Gewu" at that time. The Sai Opera chessboard and chessboard unearthed from the Western Han Tomb in Yunmeng, Hubei. The painted wooden figurines of Sai Opera unearthed from the Mozuizi Han Tomb in Wuwei, Gansu Province can reflect the description of the form of Sai Opera in Bian Shao's "Sai Fu" of the Han Dynasty. During the Three Kingdoms period, the form of chess continued to change and had a relationship with India. .

3: Southern and Northern Dynasties period

In the Northern Zhou Dynasty from the Southern and Northern Dynasties period, Emperor Wu (reigned from 561 to 578 AD) compiled the "Xiang Jing" and Wang Bao wrote the "Preface to the Opera". , Geng Xin wrote "Xiangxi Jingfu", marking the completion of the second major reform of chess.

4: Sui and Tang Dynasties

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, chess activities developed steadily, and historical records were published. There are many records in the book, the most important of which are the account of Wu Zetian's dream of playing chess frequently in the "Nine Admonitions of Liang Gong" in "Shiliju Series" and the account of the first year of Baoying (762 AD) in Niu Sengru's "Xuanguai Lu" ) A story about Cen Shun dreaming of chess. Combined with the Suzhou brocade that can be seen in the early Northern Song Dynasty, which is decorated with four patterns of "Qin, chess, calligraphy and painting", and uses an eight-square by eight-square light and dark chessboard to represent chess, and the Suzhou brocade unearthed in Kaifeng, Henan. From the copper chess pieces with patterns painted on the back, we can draw the conclusion that the shape of chess in the Tang Dynasty was quite similar to that of early chess. The popularity of chess at that time can be seen from many records in poetry and legend. There is a glimpse of it. The three volumes of Xiangbo Xiangxige may be written in the Tang Dynasty

5: Song Dynasty

In the Song Dynasty, xiangqi was widely popular and its form was large. An era of change. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Sima Guang's "Seven Kingdoms Elephant Opera", Yin Zhu's "Elephant Opera Ges" and "Chess Positions", Chao Buzhi's "Guangxiang Opera Pictures" and other techniques came into being, and the folk still Popular "elephant play".

After nearly a hundred years of practice, chess was shaped into a modern model at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty: 32 chess pieces, a chessboard with river borders, nine palaces, etc. During the Southern Song Dynasty, chess became "a household name" and became an extremely popular chess activity. Literary writers such as Li Qingzhao and Liu Kezhuang, and politicians such as Hong Zun and Wen Tianxiang were all fond of playing chess. Among the "chess waiting for the imperial edict" set up by the palace, chess players accounted for more than half. Among the people, there are professionals called "chess masters" and craftsmen who specialize in chess pieces and chess boards. In the Southern Song Dynasty, there were also many chess writings such as Hong Mai's "Chess Classics", Ye Maoqing's "The Collection of Chess Magic Machines", and Chen Yuanliang's "Shi Lin Guang Ji".

6: Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties

During the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, chess continued to be popular among the people, the technical level continued to improve, and many summary theoretical monographs appeared, among which the most important Some of the works include "Dream into the Divine Machine", "Eighteen Changes of Jinpeng", "Secret in the Orange", "Suitable Elegance", "Plum Blossom Score", "Zhuxiangzhai Xiangqi Score", etc. Literati and scholars such as Yang Shen, Tang Yin, Lang Ying, Luo Qi, and Yuan Mei all loved playing chess. The emergence of a large number of famous chess players shows that chess is loved by people from all walks of life.

7: New China Era

After the founding of New China, chess entered a new stage of development. In 1956, chess was designated as a national sport. Since then, national competitions have been held almost every year. In 1962, the Chinese Chess Association, a subordinate organization of the All-China Sports Federation, was established, and subordinate associations were established in various places. Over the past 40 years, due to the promotion of mass chess activities and competitions, the level of chess has improved rapidly, and outstanding chess players have continued to emerge. Among them, Yang Guanluo, Hu Ronghua, Liu Dahua, Zhao Guorong, Li Laiqun, Lu Qin, Xu Yinchuan, etc. are the most famous.