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Xiangqi for the Commoner, Weiqi for the Elite
by Ernie Diaz
Fogies knock video games for their lack of interactivity. “You just sit there, staring at the screen like a zombie!”. But millions of dorm-room and bachelor pad gatherings center around the video game, red-eyed observers taking turns going head to head with the Xbox or each other. Casually aggressive and almost exclusively male, the video game assembly is a fine replacement for the televised sports crowd.
The problem with both gatherings is that they’re not held outside, at least not spontaneously. Also, strategic thinking suffers at the expense of hand-eye coordination. A game of xiangqi, or Chinese chess, shines through on both accounts. Stride up to any sidewalk circle of Chinese men and peer over their shoulders. If they’re playing cards, move on: foreigners ruin a gambler’s luck.
But odds are you’ll see a 9 x 10 square board in the center. Just as at Central Park’s chess tables, but far more prevalent, xiangqi games are ad hoc community gatherings, where strategic smarts win the day and strangers of all stripe become friends.
Xiangqi has always appealed to the common man, in that the game allows him to assume the role of a warrior king. On his side of the “river” which divides the board stands his castle, a 3 x 3 section closest to him. There are pawns, of course, since the need for dispensable lives is a military universal, but no kings and queens. Rather, a general rules the black side’s maneuvers, and a governor the red’s. They must never face each other without intervening pieces, and stay inside their castle, as do their counselors, as opposed to bishops.
Xiangqi sends horses into the fray, but also elephants, chariots, and the cannon, a piece unparalleled in western chess, which leaps over a third piece to capture its opponent. Xiangqi is a contest of cunning but also a war of attrition, as is chess, battling it out to capture the general, or governor. For the man in the street, whether playing or observing, it’s a satisfying condensation of earthly power struggle.
Weiqi, on the other hand, is xiangqi’s cerebral, refined cousin. As with xiangqi, the board is square and the pieces round, but with much more significance. Those round pieces are white and black, representing yin and yang, while the board forms 361 intersections, about the number days in a year, cha bu duo. The nine points on the board correspond to the nine celestial palaces from which the heavens are ruled, with the central point a representation of the universe’s origin. There are four rather than two areas of play, matching the seasons, with ninety points for the number of days in each season.
Genteel and highly metaphoric, but nonetheless demanding long-range strategy, weiqi has traditionally been the province of emperors and scholars. Tang emperor Xuanzong and Song emperor Taizong were ardent weiqi fans who gathered the best players in the country and made courtiers of them. Legendary generals and poet warriors such as Caocao and Sima Guang were greatly accomplished players. The concept of victory through evasion, false retreats, shows of weakness followed by a subtle surround, appealed much more greatly to the true student of power than the head-to-head bluster of xiangqi.
So it is that weiqi, later appropriated and re-branded by the Japanese as Go, has traditionally remained a game for well-appointed parlors and high-end tea houses, while xiangqi retains the social characteristics of a pick-up basketball game. Yes, you may find a sidewalk game of weiqi in progress now and then, but both observers and players will be much more sedate, arms folded behind backs, nary an exclamation of Wo kao! to be heard. It’s the difference between a tea party and a kegger, and it’s heartening to realize the average Zhou almost always prefers the latter.
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In this new generation most of the people are busy with technology. Even the kids are very busy with it, playing games in the computer or playstation. They should spend more time on physical games like football or cricket.
This is something new for me. I did not really know that there is different name and technique to play Chineese Chess. I am very good in Chess (western style). i guess i should at least try this Xiangqi and Weiqi now. I hope it is not that difficult to play once get a hang of..
Thanks for finishing the article, Arian!
It looks like the weiqi elite chess game is more complicated than xiangqi.The kids are now a days very busy with playing games in the computer or playstation,but they should also play this sort of interesting chess games and brush up their cleverness and cunning quality.
Weiqi is the most ancient game in the world…In Japan they call it go.
I believe you are right, I love all the old family board games. Or just good old outside activities. I think I will give this a try
Nat
Distinctive features of Xiangqi include the unique movement of the pao (“cannon”) piece, a rule prohibiting the generals (similar to chess kings) from facing each other directly, and the river and palace board features, which restrict the movement of some pieces.
Besides China and areas with significant ethnic Chinese communities, Xiangqi is also a popular pastime in Vietnam.
In this new generation most of the people are busy with technology. Even the kids are very busy with it, playing games in the computer or playstation. They should spend more time on physical games like football or cricket.
Xiangqi is played on a board that is 9 lines wide by 10 lines long. In a manner similar to the game Go (Wéiqí), the pieces are played on the intersections, which are known as points. The vertical lines are known as files, while the horizontal lines are known as ranks.
I much prefer Xiangqi to Go. I think the two games use entirely different parts of the brain.
By chance I am free from official duties, and no guests are around ;
Discussing military affairs on the table, we compete with a few stones.
Chinese Chess, Shiang-chi (or Xiangqi), is an Oriental cousin of the more familiar European or International Chess. Phonetically, Xiangqi means Elephant Chess. Both Chinese Chess and International Chess are descended from an ancient common ancestor—India.
Nice one ..
I think in a manner similar to the game Go (Wéiqí), the pieces are played on the intersections, which are known as points. The vertical lines are known as files, while the horizontal lines are known as ranks.
For some reason it reminds me of the classic Mahjong game, it also requires luck and lots of strategy. I will try locating this game in the online games section.
Xiangqi is played on a board that is 9 lines wide by 10 lines long. Love this games
The chinese have great games, Xianggi is one of my favorites i also enjoy plying mahjong.
Weiqi is a very deep game. It has been the preferred game for Strategists way back in the Warring Periods.
Both games look like a lot of fun, I love games that are strategic like these. I would like to play weiqi with my friends, be a great learning experience.
Xiangqi along with mahgong are my favorites chinese games, i am happt to see that i am not the only man who played Xiangqi.
Xiangqi & mahgong are very interesting games.weiqi is also quite interesting, I like to play these again & again
I am free from official duties, and no guests are around ;
Discussing military affairs on the table, we compete with a few stones.
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Weiqi is a very deep game. It has been the preferred game for Strategists way back in the Warring Periods. I am free from official duties, and no guests are around ;
Discussing military affairs on the table, we compete with a few stones
Great games are the spice of life!