The History of Chess. H. J. R. Murray

      The Japanese name.

      Although at first sight the meaning Figure Game looks the least likely of the four possibilities, the game now being played without figures or pieces but with inscribed draughtsmen only, it is yet probably the correct rendering. Some of the older references to the Chinese game, which will be quoted later, show that the game of siang k‘i must formerly have been played with figures, just as was the case in India and Persia, since the whole point of the references depends on the use of actual figures for the chessmen. In the substitution of conventional forms for carved images of the men or objects named, Chinese chess has only followed the ordinary line of development, it only differs in carrying the use of conventional forms a step farther by using the simplest of types. The name of Figure Game would reflect one of the most striking peculiarities of chess; our own name chess means nothing more.

      But Siang-k‘i can also mean the Astronomical Game, and in early times it was the name of an astronomical game. This makes it necessary to examine early references to the game Siang-k‘i with great care, in order to discriminate between this game and chess.

      The Astronomical Game is attributed to the Tatar Emperor Wu-Ti (of N. Chou dynasty, A.D. 560–578). Thus the San-t‘sai-t‘u-hwei,¹⁰ an encyclopaedia dating from the commencement of the Manchu dynasty (1616–1912), quoting from the T‘ai-ping-yü-lan, a work that was revised in A.D. 984, says:

      The sian-hi was discovered by Chou-Wu-Ti; the pieces, whose moves are given in the manual composed by his office-bearer Wang-Pao, were called after the sun, the moon, the planets, and the star-houses (sin-t‘shên). This does not agree with the present time.

      The Chou Shu, the official history of the Chou dynasty, states that the Emperor Wu-Ti wrote a book on this game which he expounded to a meeting of 100 literati in 569, and that the famous scribe Wang-Pao added annotations to the imperial work. The Sui Shu, the history (compiled in the first half of the 7th c.) of the Sui dynasty (581–619), enumerates several editions of this book.¹¹ Finally we have an indication that there were other games with the name siang-k‘i, from the title San-kü-siang-king (Manual of the three siang-k‘is) given to Wu-Ti’s book in the 32nd book of the history of the T‘ang dynasty ¹² (618–907).

      Wu-Ti adopted the name of Chou from the older dynasty of that name (1135–256 B.C.). It happens that the first emperor of the older house was named Wu-Wang (1135–1115 B.C.), and this has led to confusion. First Wu-Ti’s siang-k‘i is identified as chess, next Wu-Ti is interchanged with Wu-Wang, and in this way the origin of the usual statements claiming a high antiquity for Chinese chess is obtained.¹³ The more reliable Chinese historians notice this and warn their readers of the confusion. Thus the Ko chĭ king Yüan, ‘the Mirror of Investigations into the Origin of Things,’ quoting from the Shi-Wu-chi-yüan the passage, ‘Yung Mong Chou said to Mêng Ch‘angchün (D. B.C. 279): Sir, when you have leisure, play siang-k‘i,’ adds the pertinent question, ‘But was siang-k‘i known at the time of the Warring Kingdoms (B.C. 484–221)?’ and the encyclopaedia T‘ai Ping Yü Lan discusses the point at great length:

      The Wu-tsa-tsu says the tradition that sian-hi was invented by Wu Wang at the time of the war of the Chou is contrary to fact. The chariot was still esteemed in warfare at the time of the Warring Kingdoms. The ability of the soldiers to cross the boundary, and to advance, but not to retreat, signifies that the boat must be sunk, and the axe broken. Although opportunities and chances are somewhat restricted in Wei-k‘i, there are countless opportunities for the practice of strategy in attack, in defence, and in alliance.

      This passage is very obscure, but it appears to argue that chess represents a type of warfare that was inconsistent with its existence as early as the third c. B.C.

      The earliest certain reference to Chinese chess occurs in the Hüan Kwai Lu, ‘Book of Marvels’,¹⁴ a work dating from the close of the 8th c. The passage, which is also quoted in the Ko chĭ king Yüan, runs as follows:

      In the first year of the period of Pao Ying (A.D. 762), Tsêng-Shun of Ju-Nan heard one night the sound of a military drum in the Lady Lū’s house. A man in full armour announced the news from the General of the golden elephant (kin siang tsiang kun) about the battle with the thieves of Tien-No. Shun kindled a light in order to see better, and after midnight a mouse-hole in the east wall changed into a city gate. Two armies stood opposite one another. When he had arranged the army, the general (shwai) entered and said: ‘The celestial horse (t‘ien ma) springs aslant over three, the commanders (shang-tsiang) go sidewards and attack on all four sides, the baggage-waggons (tzĕ chö) go straight forwards and never backwards, the six men (liu kia) in armour go in file but not backwards.’ Then the drum sounded and from either army a horse moved out three steps aslant. Again the drum sounded and on either side a foot-soldier moved sidewards one step. Once again the drum was sounded, the waggons moved forwards, and in an instant the shot from the cannon (p‘ao) fell in confusion. He made a hole through the east wall, and found a set of siang k‘i in an old tomb, with waggons (kü) and horses in rank and file.

      The Ko chĭ king Yüan quotes from the Chao Wu Kin Sü, a work of the Sung writer, Chao Wu King (flourished between 970 and 1127). After explaining chess as a representation of warfare, Chao goes on to say that he had seen people playing siang k‘i in his boyhood, and that at a later time he had made a new game by dividing the board lengthways and across, so that he made 19 lines¹⁵ out of the original 11, and by increasing the number of the men from 32 to 98. This game, however, did not come into general use.

      The Hu Ying Lin Pi T‘sung gives a valuable commentary on these two passages. This again is also quoted in the Ko chĭ king Yüan:

      The story of Tsêng-Shun in the Hüan Kwai Lu serves as evidence for the kind of chess in use among the contemporaries of the T‘ang dynasty (618–907). The Horse went aslant three lines, and the Soldier (tsu)¹⁶ went one line sidewards, just as they do now, but the Chariot went straight forwards and could not retire, which is like the present soldier, and I conclude that the remaining moves do not entirely agree. Chao‘s Sū says that the chess of the Sung dynasty (960–1279) had 11 lines lengthways and sideways. Now there are 10 lines lengthways and 9 sideways, which again is very different from that time. The Shĭ Wu Ki Yüan of the Sung period quotes the story of Tsêng-Shun to show that the chess there mentioned was identical with the game of the Sung dynasty, which proves that chess was played in the same way under the T‘angs and the Sungs, whereas our chess probably agrees with neither.