The Way and Sense of Xiangqi's 7 Pieces

The Way and Sense of Xiangqi's 7 Pieces

(1) The Way of King

The Jiu Gong（九宫）Palaces are the beginning of the Xiangqi game, it is the residence of the King (General), and the King should have been in the Central Palace. But the King in Xiangqi stays in the Top (or Bottom) Palace, and why is that? According to ancient divination, there is fire from the top and also from the bottom, meaning discordance, since the King has intention of annexing the vast lands in all direction. Therefore, the initial array of Xiangqi contains the trend of discord. As soon as the game begins, there is no reason to remain idle and seek peace too early.

There is an old saying to the effect that there are no two Suns in the Heaven and no two Kings in the land. In Xiangqi the two opposing Generals（帅/将）cannot both be in the same open vertical line, unless there be at least a piece in between them. Thus the above meaning is clearly stated.

In ancient times, the relationship between the King and the General was very delicate, and the appointment of the General by the King was very solemn. The King and the General each hold half of the Tiger Talisman（虎符）, and the General goes out with the army on behalf of the King. If the King interferes too much with the General, then most of the results will be about defeat.

Though the General is inside the Palaces, he can easily command thousands of troops far away. Many attacks and checkmates in Xiangqi have the direct participation of the General. There are numerous examples of royal conquests in history. "The King must not make a move lightly, but if he moves, he will win" was an important understanding of the ancient imperial way.

A game of Xiangqi, when played to the endgame, pieces are less and less, the field is wider and wider, although countless spaces are under control, yet a lot of life-strength is sacrificed. This is full of ancient warnings, that "wars are murderous weapons, only when there is no other choice should one do it", and "to win wars without the actual fighting" are the best policy.

(2) The Way of Guards

Guard is a special class on the chessboard, and the only sub-force that will never leave the General's side. The slash of the lines without going out of the Palaces is rich in meaning.

Shi（士）is the personal guard of the King, and can both defend the King and trap the King, which is quite similar to the role of ancient eunuchs. The chaos of the ten constant servants in the late Han Dynasty was a manifestation of the King of Guard Trap. Of course, the strength of the double warriors is always stronger than the single one, for example, the single warrior is no match for the single Knight, but the double Guards can hold the situation.

Why do the Guards take the diagonal line?

Imagine ancient Generals sat in the tent of the army, guards outside the tent armed with spears or halberds to defend, whenever the enemy envoy came to see the General, the standard way for the guards to show their might was to cross the spears or halberds to form a weapon door.

Therefore, the slash on the chessboard may have evolved from this.

The sum of the three horizontal and three vertical lines intersections of the Nine Palaces is equal to 15, and the commander can visit all of the Palaces, but the route is via vertical and horizontal. The Guards made for diagonal line. The design of the move is most thoughtful.

Another very interesting phenomenon is that in the simple endgame stage, the two Guards who move along the diagonal line can stop the Knight who also moves along the diagonal (partly) line, but there is nothing they can do about the Rook that moves in a straight line.

(3) The Way of Elephants

The Elephant（相/象）of Xiangqi is arguably the most unique character on the board, and it is the only piece that can traverse the four sides and center according to the rules in the initial state of the board. From this characteristic, it can be seen that because the King does not go out of the Palaces, the Elephant is actually an important assistant to the management of the territory on behalf of the King. It can be seen that the Elephant in Xiangqi functionally simulates the role of the Prime Minister（首相）.

In ancient history, the status of the Prime Minister is quite high and many were famous, such as Jiang Ziya, Zhuge Liang, Wei Zheng, Zhao Pu and so on. Jiang Ziya proposed in his military treaty "Six Tao" that "the world is not the world of one person, but the world of the people. Those who benefit the world gain the world, and those who gained benefit from the world lose the world." In Xiangqi, there is a maxim called "those who lack Elephants are in danger of their play", which shows the importance of Elephants.

The way of the Elephant is an extension and expansion of the way of the King, however the old school players did not understand sufficiently the way of the Elephant, and thus regarded the Elephant Opening as unfeasible. Since Grandmaster Hu Ronghua popularised the Elephant Opening, the Flying Elephant game（飞象局）in modern chess has become a common layout for masters. This is indeed a milestone leap forward for Xiangqi.

(4) The Way of Rooks

Ju (车）- The most powerful member of the chessboard, the gains and losses of the Rook often directly affect the victory or defeat of the chess game. For example, in the Battle of Tiger Prison Pass in the Three Kingdoms period, Dong Zhuo was defeated after Lü Bu met his defeat.

Because of the high power of the Rook, it often got ambushed. The form of movement of the Rook is indeed like the ancient combatant. In ancient times, such General were often entrusted with heavy responsibilities and even guarding frontiers. However, the fate of the General also seems to be very similar to that of a Rook on a chessboard. When the game reaches a critical moment, sacrificing the Rook in order to protect the King is commonly used as technical and tactical means.

Since ancient times, the external ministers will be at odds with the internal ministers, which is manifested in the chessboard, that is, the Rook wants to enter the Palaces, which will inevitably cause the Elephant to give way or the Elephant route is not accessible. This movement of chess pieces on the chessboard actually implies a kind of open and secret struggle of the imperial court.

Generals who have left a name for themselves through the ages are like Rooks on a chessboard, when the country is peaceful, they will work hard to guard the frontiers, and they will surely work tirelessly to help the empire. This is also the embodiment of faithfulness and loyalty.

(5) The way of Pawn

The Pawn（兵/卒）is the weakest piece on the chessboard, but it is also the most adaptable.

Many people will mention the rules of promotion and adaptability for Pawn in Xiangqi, thinking that it can be introduced to enrich the variation. In fact, Xiangqi has long been rich in the characteristics of developing and changing, and in the performance process more to test the level of the players.

The fate of the Pawns is tragic and magnificent.

There has always been a saying that those who are sacrificed after being used are called "Pawns who cross the river", but in fact, the Pawns who cross the river on the chessboard are embodying an ancient spirit of "the spirit of fearlessness that is indomitable".

After the Pawns crossed the river, there is no way to retreat, either they stay put, or they die in battle. The faith and righteousness will always exist in the hearts of the Pawns.

(6) The Way of Knight and Cannon

In Xiangqi, Knight（马）and Cannon（炮）is the most testing skill of a player. Xiangqi is also often called Knight and Cannon competition, but from the stereotype of the game, there are Knights first and then Cannons, but from the perspective of the development of chess skills, it is the player who will first use the Cannon and then the Knight; Judging from the arrangement of troops formation, the Cannon at the beginning of the game is in front of the Knight, but in the game, the Cannon is mostly behind the Knight. It's interesting indeed. Therefore, the Knight-Cannon relationship is well combined.

The Rook in the chessboard as if mounted on the Horse, holding the sword, the chess proverb says "one Rook and ten pieces tremble", but the combined force of the Knight-Cannon can stand against the Rook, more often it is the situation where the Rook cannot win, whilst Knight-Cannon can, such as the Knight Cannon can win against the complete set of defenders, but the Rook is helpless. This innate combination of sub-forces fully reflects the idea of cooperation that has long been contained in Xiangqi. In fact, as long as you can play chess, the truth of this cooperation will naturally be understood, and the chess proverb "three pieces to the side and a game is won" is a high generalization. It seems that to improve people's thinking of cooperation, chess is the best way to grasp.

Knight-Cannon cooperation contains the idea of Yin and Yang, and the Cannon moves straight for Yang and the Knight moves diagonally for Yin. The Cannon has strong long-range attack capabilities, while the Knight's close control is strong, and the combination of two strongs is endless.

Next, let's talk about the Cannon. The Cannon was a great invention on the chessboard, hence the chess proverb "Cannon is the guts of the force". The biggest role of artillery at the beginning of the game is to help build the battle formation, and although the famous screen Knights, anti-palace Knight, and single Knight formation name is Knight, it is nothing without the coordination of the Cannon. In the middle game, the Cannon is more often used to create opportunities for diversion and other sub-forces to create the main attack. It seems that the Cannon is the best supporting role on the chessboard.

In the game, players with lower strength often fail to grasp the coordination of the Cannon, and their Cannon position is chaotic early on, and the result is a bad formation and quick defeat.

Next, let's talk about the Knight. The Knight is the weakest major piece at the beginning of the game, and the opposing Rook-Cannon can easily create obstacles for it. The Knight's activity depends on the help of other Pawns, the Cannon or Elephant to help take safe position, and the Rook to help open the route quickly. So beginners even think that Knights are difficult and a burden.

Knight - in fact, the most hard-working character on the chessboard.

Because of initial formation, Knights do not perform well when there are many obstacles. However, when the game becomes complicated and the formations of the two sides are intertwined, the Knight's ability to control multiple points begins to be revealed. When the central plains of the chessboard becomes wide open, it is suddenly found that Knight become the hero of the battle field. It is precisely because of its ability to "stand on a little and radiate more" that the Knight has become the best pioneer in cracking the Divinity Array under the Elephant's cloak.

Knight-Cannon cooperation is a supporting role that endures selfless hard work and bears weight, in fact, it is the supporting role that is the mainstream in the real world.

The ancient game has long hinted to people that the hardest skill in life is to play a supporting role. Just like a game of Xiangqi, down to the Knight-Cannon endgame: the board space is infinite and varied, adaptable in all circumstances.

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Source : 蝴蝶飞博客
(Dated 2016-September-2nd)