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games, Go does not consider it a play-
er’s ultimate goal to kill off all of the
most important stones of an opponent.
Neither does it consider the side that
has lost more stones the loser. Winning
by one grid is as much a win as win-
ning by half a grid. There are no dif-
ferences of stones, no such distinctions
as cavalrymen and generals; all stones
are equal, and their potency is derived
from the intelligence of their player.
Any stone is thus capable of being
imparted with a mighty force. In such
a gentle contest, any part of the board
can afford possibilities for change.
Consequently, any given situation
can be responded to with numerous
different moves – violent or graceful
or steady – depending on the player’s
personality and way of thinking. There
is practically no limit to the amount of
wisdom that man is capable of project-
ing onto the Go board.
A lookout platform for
appreciating wisdom
Historical luminaries including Han
Dynasty’s founding emperor Liu Bang,
and the Three-Kingdoms period’s Cao
Cao, Zhuge Liang and Sun Quan were
all Go enthusiasts. Indeed, Chinese
history has almost never known an
emperor or refined scholar who could
not play Go. In today’s China, too,
there are many Go matches. Each year
the Chinese Go Association organizes
more than 160 matches, averaging
over ten matches per month. Such
frequency of competition is not seen
in any other kind of sport. Many TV
stations have channels for professional
Go players, often inviting world cham-
pions to share their insights into bril-
liant matches. You can also play online.
More and more people are now able to
play Go. Those who can play all have
this experience to share: once you have
learned to play Go you will fall in love
with it, and this love will remain for
the rest of your life.
Playing Go exercises your mind and
moulds your temperament. Go requires
of its players a heart that is pure and ani-
mated; so, it is advisable to start learning
the game at as early an age as possible. In
fact, the world’s Go masters have all been
initiated into the game at a young age.
Go being a quiet game, its players are
arguably the most quiet group of people
in our society. Go has distanced many
people from the din of society since
their kindergarten years. However, as a
competition in both mental and physical
strength, Go matches are of all games
also the most intense and most capable
of testing a player’s will. Not just a kind
of game, Go is also an educational tool.
As such, it has been officially introduced
into China’s educational systems, and
many of the country’s primary schools
now offer lessons in the game. Eager
to develop their children’s intelligence,
parents are all willing to let their children
learn Go. On weekends, classrooms in
Children’s Palaces are filled with young
learners of Go.
Like China, other Asian countries,
especially Japan and Korea, also see Go
prosper nationwide and have produced
large numbers of master players. Go
was introduced to Japan in 735 by Kibi
Makibi, a Japanese scholar who had
studied in China. Later, it was spread
to Korea. Since then it has flourished in
Asia. Many rules in modern Go such as
those about dan grades and title fights
were born in Asia. Go enthusiasm has
also spread from Asia to other countries
of the world. In 1979 the first World
Amateur Go Championship had only
15 countries participating; that number
has now increased to almost 80, with
contestants coming from all five conti-
nents of the world. In Africa and South
America Go’s popularity has grown
tremendously.
This ancient game knows no na-
tional borders. Drawn by its indescrib-
able wonder, wisdom lovers from all
corners of the earth gather around little
game boards. The silent stones and the
crisscross game board are an ocean of
intelligence and a palace ever sparkling
with mental exploits. The Go board is
a lookout platform for appreciating hu-
man wisdom.
descriptions on an illustration. Go is
a game of precision, but that has not
discouraged people from talking about
it in poetic styles using all kinds of
metaphors. To Chinese people, Go is
not just a game of intelligence; it mani-
fests a unique way of thinking and of
understanding life and the universe.
The invention of Go was insepa-
rable from the Chinese philosophy of
the oneness of Heaven and Earth. In
Yi Zhi (The Essence of Go, written
by Ban Gu of Han dynasty (206 BC-
229AD)) it is said: “Go’s white and
black stones stand respectively for yin
and yang, while the arrangement of
its grids is a reflection of celestial pat-
terns.” In ancient times Go was an
imperial tool for observing celestial
phenomena and guiding agricultural
activities. It was only later that it be-
came a game. The stones of Go come
only in two colors, black and white,
symbolizing the alternation of day and
night and also the extremely important
concept of yin versus yang. The stones
are round, and “the Heaven is round
and moves”; the Go board is square,
and “the Earth is square and still”. The
Go board has 361 points, exactly the
number of days in a lunar-calendar
year. The four quadrants of the board
symbolize the four seasons, and the 90
crossing points on each quadrant cor-
respond to the 90 days of each season.
Go is known by many names. In
ancient times, it used to be called
“yì”, and playing Go was called “duì
yì” (confronting someone in Go). Its
appearance also earned it the elegant
name of “Square Round”. Playing Go
was also called “sh
ǒ
után” (hand talk) –
communication through hand instead
of language. Go was called “zuòy
ǐ
n”
(sitting in seclusion), a name that
brings to mind the image of a recluse
living in the mountains physically and
in Go spiritually. It was also called
“wàngyōu” (forgetting worries), as it
was believed that it could make the
players forget their worries.
Although Go seems to be a way of
“fighting”, its essence is about harmony
and balance. Unique among all board
CULTURE
Confucius Institute
VOLUME 17 | NO.6 NOV. 2011