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Chess appears always to have borne the name of Siang k‘i⁹ in China. The meaning of this name has been much discussed. K‘i is the usual term for a board-game, as in wei k‘i, the game of enclosing (the national game of China), sam k‘i, the ‘three’ game, merels. Holt (JRAS., xvii. 352 seq.) points out that the ideogram k‘i in siang k‘i differs from that in wei k‘i. In the former it is built up from the radicle muh, wood; in the latter from the radicle shih, stone.

The meaning of siang is more difficult to determine. This word has several meanings in Chinese. Originally meaning elephant, it has also the derived senses of (1) ivory, (2) celestial figure, (3) figure, or image. The Hang Fei tze (3rd c. B.C.) justifies the last meaning on the ground that it is possible to represent a living elephant by the ivory of a dead one. Siang k‘i may accordingly mean (a) the Elephant Game (as Himly advocated), (b) the Ivory Game (c) the Astronomical Game, or (d) the Figure Game (as v. d. Linde and Holt advocate). Japanese chess affords no help in deciding between these, for the Japanese have replaced siang by tseung (general), both words being pronounced sho in Japanese, though written with different ideograms.

The Chinese name.

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.

Himly’s Reconstruction of Early Chinese Chess.

R = Kü. Kt = ma. B = kin siang. G = p’ao. Q = tsiang kin or swai. K = shang tsiang. P = kia.

And finally the T‘ai Ping Yü Lan, which has been quoted already, says:

In the work Siang-hi-t‘u-fa (= method of playing chess with examples) of Ssŭ-ma Wêng Kung of the Sung period occur the figures (siang) of generals (tsiang), councillors (shĭ = litterati, bodyguard), foot-soldiers (pu-tsu), chariots (kü), horses (ma), and cannon (nu p‘ao), which are in use at the present time.

The Elephant (siang) is here omitted, probably (as Himly suggests) from an error of a copyist who supposed the repetition of the word siang to be an error.

From these passages we can draw a certain amount of information as to the practice of Chinese chess prior to the close of the 13th c. The game was a figure game in fact as well as in name. The whole point of Tsêng-Shun’s dream consists in this, and the use of the word siang by Ssŭ-ma Wêng Kung implies the same thing. It was played on a board of 100 squares or 121 points. There is no clear statement as to whether the game was played on the squares or on the points, but the fact that there were only 6 Pawns points to the latter as alone affording a symmetrical arrangement. The total number of men on the two sides was 32, and the names of the men were identical with the existing men in the present game. Assuming that the arrangement of the men was symmetrical at the outset, the 16 men on each side would be composed of 6 Pawns, 2 Chariots, 2 Horses, 2 Elephants, and 2 Cannon, General, and Counsellor. Himly’s ¹⁷ reconstruction of the array is shown in the diagram on. The information as to the moves of the men is incomplete, but points to moves intermediate between the existing Chinese and Japanese games. The General and Horse appear to possess the Chinese moves, the Pawn and Chariot the Japanese moves. We have no information as to the other pieces.

If Himly’s reconstruction is correct, the game shows a remarkable approximation to the Arabic and Persian decimal chess.¹⁸

For the modern Chinese game which is played in China proper, in Annam, in Siam, and possibly also in parts of the Malay Archipelago, we are fortunate in possessing an abundance of reliable evidence. The first knowledge of the game was brought—together with actual game-sets—to Europe by the early Jesuit missionaries in the latter part of the 16th c. Since then there have been a number of records,¹⁹ the most valuable being the Manual of Chinese Chess (Shanghai, 1893), which Mr. W. H. Wilkinson, a most careful observer and student of Oriental games, based upon The Secrets of the Orange Grove, a Chinese work dating from 1632, and still a standard book on the game.

Chinese Chess (Culin).

The Chinese chessboard consists of two halves of 8 × 4 squares which are separated by a space, the width of one square, and generally left blank, which is variously called kyai-ho (= boundary river), hwang-ho (= yellow river), and t‘ien-ho (= celestial river, the Milky Way), and commonly by English writers the ‘river’. As for all practical purposes the river is merely an additional row of squares, the board is practically one of 8 × 9 squares. Four squares in the centre of the two opposite ends of the board, viz. two on the outer row and the two on the second row immediately before them, are considered as forming special areas, and the diagonals of these areas are drawn for the purpose of defining them, and the resulting square of nine points is called kyu-kung or the ‘nine castle’. Western writers have wavered between the terms ‘palace’ (Culin), ‘camp’ (Wilkinson), and ‘fort’ (Cox). The squares are not coloured, and the board is generally made of paper and destroyed at the end of the game. The pieces are placed upon the intersections of the lines instead of on the squares as in most varieties of chess, so that the board becomes one of 9 × 10, or 90 stations. The chessmen consist of circular disks of wood, ivory, or other convenient material, all alike in pattern, size, and colour. The names of the several pieces are inscribed upon the upper face of the disk, in two colours generally described as red and black, but in ivory sets the black is really blue, while in wooden sets yellow replaces red, and brown black. The favourite colour is red, the choice of which abandons the right to play first: ‘he who takes the red does not take the first move.’

The names and power of move of the Chinese pieces²⁰ are exhibited in the following table:

I. PIECES CONFINED TO THE NINE-CASTLE.

II. PIECES CONFINED TO THEIR OWN HALF OF THE BOARD.

III. PIECES FREE TO MOVE OVER THE WHOLE BOARD.

Every piece takes as it moves with the exception of the Cannon. It may perhaps make the power of this piece clearer if its power at the commencement of the game be examined. The Cannon on b3 can move without taking as far as b7 forwards, b2 backwards, as far as g3 and a3 laterally, just as if it were a Rook or Chariot. It can also capture the Kt on b10 which is ‘screened’ by the Cannon on b8. The capture is effected by removing the Kt on b10, and placing the Cannon on that square. Any piece, red or black, can act as ‘screen’.

A General is in check (siang), (1) when it is under attack by any piece, and could—but for its immunity from capture—have been taken on the following move if nothing were done to remove the attack; (2) when the two Generals face one another upon the same file with no intervening men. When check is given (1) the attacking piece must be taken, or (2) the General must move out of check, or (3) the check must be covered. If none of these can be done, the General is defeated, szĕ (= dead) or tsao liao (= in Pekin, destroyed) being the technical term. A check can always be covered, in the case of the Kt by interposing a piece at the ‘angle’ of its move; in the case of the Cannon either by interposing a second piece or by removing’ the ‘screen’ behind which the Cannon is attacking. The greater possibilities permitted by the variety of checks that can be covered or discovered lead to such complicated checks as triple and quadruple check.

Either player can give triple check. Red by Kt c9 or g9, Black by Rf2.

Red gives quadruple check by Re9.

Multiple Checks in Chinese Chess.

The game is won either by checkmate or by stalemate. A player must not give perpetual check; in such a case he must vary his move.

At the present time the knowledge of chess is very widely spread through China, but the game is hardly held in the same esteem as in Europe. The more educated classes prefer Wei-k‘i, which is considered to be a far more difficult game, and skill at Wei-k‘i is highly appreciated and adds greatly to the reputation of its possessor. But chess is the game of the masses, and is used more as a means of passing away the time than as a serious mental exercise. A small stake is generally played for, the Chinese being a born gambler.²⁴ At several points of the walls of Pekin inscribed chessboards may be found on the top of the ramparts, which have been carved by the soldiers who guarded the walls.²⁵ Idlers and even beggars may be seen playing chess in the streets of any Chinese town, and the average standard of play remains low. The practical game is less popular than the study of problems, and while works on the latter abound, only a few treatises appear to be in existence which deal with the openings, or the game as a whole. A knowledge of chess problems is a valuable source of income to a gambler. The majority of these are constructed so that the one player is apparently on the point of being mated, but can, with the move, by a long series of checks obtain the victory.²⁶ ‘There are few towns in China’, writes Mr. Wilkinson, ‘where the professional player is not prepared to set up an end game on the board, give you choice of men, and beat you for a wager.’²⁷ On the preceding page I give two problems as specimens of the Chinese art.

Chinese Chess Problems.

Nevertheless the Chinese have in the past paid some attention to the theory of the Openings, though it is perhaps significant of the want of popularity of the game among the more educated classes that Mr. Wilkinson found that a book published nearly 300 years ago was still the standard Chinese work on the Openings. Before the appearance of the Manual of Chinese Chess only the barest indications as to the best or most usual methods of play had reached Europe.²⁸ We now possess a collection of 33 games and 291 variations, arranged under the headings of (1) games won by the first player, (2) games won by the second player. Of these games and variations, which are nearly all played to a decisive issue, the first player wins 211, the second 102, while 11 are left doubtful. It would appear from this that the first player has a very decided advantage, but an examination of the games weakens this conclusion largely, for—like Greco—the author often allows a weak move on the part of the second player for the sake of a brilliant or interesting mate. One of the most striking points of the games in the Manual is their brevity; no game runs to 40 and very few to 30 moves; the majority terminate between the 13th and the 20th move. This is largely due to the openness of the position, arising from the absence of Pawns on four files, and the limitations attached to the nine-castle. The player always knows where his opponent’s King is to be found, and frames his attack on the centre from the first move. With a knowledge of the simpler mating positions stored in his memory, it is his endeavour to reproduce one of these in the game, and this idea dominates his play throughout. As most of these mating nets require a Cannon on the centre file, the opening move C h3–e3 has become the normal line of play. The science of Pawn-play does not exist, the battle is mainly one of the three superior pieces (R, C, and Kt). Compared with the European game, the Rook is far more powerful, the Knight less so.

I add a brief summary of the chief Openings from the Manual. The various names employed are due to Mr. Wilkinson. The distinctive moves in the different openings are printed in italics.

A. Regular Opening: Left Cannon Defence.

B. Regular Opening: Right Cannon Defence.

C. The Knight’s Defence.

D. Irregular Defences.

Attention has also been paid to the End-game. The resulting decisions are for the most part so obvious as to stand in need of no demonstration. There would seem to be nothing corresponding to the fine End-game play which is possible in European chess. The simpler endings are (1) K and R wins against K by mate; (2) K and 2 Kts win against K by mate; (3) K and Kt win against K; (4) K and P not on base line win against K, both by stalemate; (5) K and C against K, (6) K and Bs against K, (7) K and Qs against K, (8) K and P on base line against K are all drawn games. If more pieces are present the play is more complicated, and the Manual contains several positions from the 46 discussed in the Chinese work.

The following games are taken from the Manual:

I. Left Cannon Defence, Irregular. (Manual, pp. 15, 16.)

II. Left Cannon Defence, X. (Manual, pp. 26, 27.)

We have seen that the existing Chinese chessboard is different from that which was used under the T‘ang and Sung dynasties (618–1279). The present board would, however, appear to have been already in existence at that time, but to have been used for a distinct game called ta-ma, or ‘take horses’, i.e. ‘game-men’, which seems to have been a dice-game allied to the ‘game of goose’ Himly⁴² has given a full description of the modifications introduced in the board for this game, which chiefly consist in names for special points, more or less geographical in character, and in the marking of stations for the game on the lines connecting these points. The game was played with six men called ma or horses, and five dice, coloured black and white, which from the explanations of the throws have obviously taken the place of some simpler agent. The throws generally move the men forwards, but some throws move them backwards. The additional marked squares, eleven in number,. were separated by eight points, apparently distinct from the points of the chessboard, and were in the main obstacles to advance.

The nine-castle appeared on the ta-ma board, though it is not clear that it served any purpose in the game. It is therefore very improbable that the use for ta-ma was original; the board may very well be anterior both to ta-ma and to chess: if the name of ‘Milky Way’ for the River is original, the origin of the board may be found in Wu-Ti’s astronomical game of siang-k‘i. The board must have been very ill-adapted for ta-ma.

Game of the Three Kingdoms.

The Nine-castle takes its name from a board of nine points used for a game essentially identical with the three men’s merels, which has existed in China from at least the time of the Liang dynasty (A.D. 502–57). The Swei shu (first half of the 7th c.) gives the names of twenty books on this game.

There are also enlarged games of chess in China. One of these is the San-kwo-k‘i, or Game of the Three Kingdoms, which is described by v. Möllendorf. It is supposed to illustrate the war of the Three Kingdoms, Wei (blue), Shu (red), and Wu (green), A.D. 221–64. I give a diagram of the board; it will be noticed that the lines are not straight throughout, and that each kingdom faces the other two. The pieces consist of the usual 16 with, in addition, 2 new pieces [F] in each of the three armies. These are called: Red, Chuo (fire); Blue, Ch‘i (banner); Green, Feng (wind). Their move is an extended Kt‘s leap, viz. two steps vertically or horizontally and then one diagonally. The game is said to be very complicated and difficult, but is not considered as interesting as the ordinary chess. When one of the Generals, who are named Wei, Shu, and Wu after the names of the three kingdoms, is mated, the player who has mated him removes the King from the board and adds the remainder of his army to his own.

It is probable that some of the enlarged Japanese chess-games enumerated below were originally of Chinese invention. Y. Möllendorf cites the following names of pieces in a derived game from a Chinese romance:—Kin-siang tsiang-kiun (General of the golden elephant), kin-tsiang (gold-general), yu-tsiang (jewel-general), yin-tsiang (silver-general), kio-tsiang (horn-general), t‘ien-ma (celestial horse), pu-ping (foot-soldier).⁴³

During the last hundred years a considerable trade has developed between China and Europe in elaborately carved ivory chess sets. These are something quite different from the inscribed counters which are the sole type of man used in the native game, and are obviously not intended for use in the native chess, since the set consists of King, Queen, two Priests or Mandarins, two Horsemen, two Castles, and eight Soldiers on each side. It is evident that these sets, which commonly represent Chinese on the one side and Mongols on the other, are only the result of an attempt to treat the European chessmen from a Chinese point of view. Interesting and charming as these ‘Chinese chess-pieces’ are as specimens of elaborate and dainty workmanship, they are of no value for the history of chess. They merely illustrate that popularity of chess in Europe which has created a market for curious and recherché implements of play.