Chinese Chess

A summertime stroll through any Chinese city reveals a familiar sight: individuals, predominantly men clad in T-shirts, seated on low stools in the shade, engaged in a game played with large wooden disks. If weiqi represents the ancient pastime of Chinese scholars, then xiangqi, or Chinese chess, is decidedly the game of the common people. While its appearance differs markedly from Western chess, the two games share fundamental similarities in piece movement and strategic objectives.

The primary goal in both games is to checkmate the opponent’s primary piece, the “general” in xiangqi, analogous to the king. A significant distinction, however, lies in the board geometry; like weiqi, xiangqi pieces are positioned on the intersections of lines, not within squares. Another major difference is the prominent “Chu River and the Han Boundary,” a river-like division spanning the board’s center. This zone, which certain pieces like the elephant cannot cross, alludes to the historical stalemate between the armies of Liu Bang and Xiang Yu. The term has since become a metaphor for any entrenched front line, evoking vivid imagery of impending battle for Chinese players.

Gameplay also features unique elements, most notably the cannon. Each player commands two cannons, which capture by jumping over a single intervening piece, making them exceptionally powerful. Xiangqi’s cultural permeation is evident in common idioms derived from its strategies. For instance, “horse-cannon checkmate” describes a decisive, inescapable attack, now metaphorically meaning an action taken too late. Another, “sacrifice the pawn to save the chariot,” advocates sacrificing lesser assets to preserve greater ones.

With origins tracing to the Warring States period, xiangqi’s precise genesis and connection to Western chess remain debated. However, its status as a popular fixture was firmly established by the Tang Dynasty. Its prominence expanded during the Qing Dynasty, and in the modern era, influential figures like Sun Yat-sen and Zhou Enlai were noted enthusiasts of the game.