Weiqi
围棋
In China's ancient board games, the most influential one is Weiqi. It is not only the fad that its complicated development and its changeable situations rouse people's keen interest, but it contains philosophy as well. Both the theory of yin and yang by Chinese and the politics of the kingly way are contained in a small board.
在中国古代的棋类运动中，围棋的影响是最大的。这不光是因为围棋棋局纷繁复杂，棋势变化无穷，能引起人们浓厚的兴趣，还在于它所蕴含的深刻的哲理。小小的棋盘之中，既包含阴阳之理，又蕴有王道政治。
The Birth of Weiqi
围棋的出现
It's normally said that the birth of weiqi dates back to the Yao-Shun-Yu times, and that is more than 4, 000 years ago. According to what "A Survey of Zoology, Botany, Mineralogy, and Physiology etc.” ,by Zhang Hua in the Jin dynasty says "Yao invented Weiqi, and Danzhu was good at it". This saying is adopted in the two books “The Great Britain Encyclopedia” and “The US Encyclopedia".
人们通常认为，围棋出现在距今4000多年前的尧舜禹时代。据晋朝张华的《博物志》称:“尧造围棋，而丹朱善围棋。”《大英百科全书》和《美国百科全书》也采用这种说法。
战国时期出现了中国历史上有文字记载的第一位围棋高手，名叫弈秋。孟子曾借用弈秋教徒之事来说明专心致志对于学习的重要性，但他用“通国之善弈者”来评价弈秋，证明战国时期的围棋活动应该已经相当普及了。
In the Warring States period, there appeared the first Weiqi ace named Yi Qiu in Chinese written history. Mencius once used the incident of Yi Qiu to prove the importance of concentration on study, but he also used ”the master of Weiqi throughout the whole nation” to praise Yi Qiu, which shows Weiqi might have been rather popular then.
魏晋时期有围棋活动倍受玄风影响
Dark-learning's deep influence on Weiqi Games in Wei and Jin dynasties.
秦汉时期，由于秦始皇焚书坑儒，围棋活动曾一度沉寂。但是，到了汉末魏晋时期，中国的围棋活动则迎来了它发展历史上的第一个高峰。
In Qin and Han dynasties, due to the influence of the event-to Burn the Books and Bury the Confucian Scholars Alive by Qin Shihuang (the first emperor of the Qin dynasty), Weiqi was silent for quite a while. However, until the end of Han coincident with Wei and Jin dynasties, Weiqi had its first peak in its development history.
其围棋活动发展的一个突出表现是众多名人的参与。据史载，曹操、孙策、陆逊、诸葛瑾等人均酷爱围棋。而著名的关云长一边与手下大将马良下棋，一边让神医华佗为其刮骨疗毒的故事，也发生在三国时期。而且，受魏晋时期提倡超越尘世、生活的玄学的影响，一些文人还把沉溺于围棋看作是一种行为放荡的表现和忘忧的手段。
At the end of Han coincident with Wei and Jin dynasties, the conspicuous characteristic was the joining in of a lot of celebrities. According to the history record, Cao Cao, Sun Ce, Lu Xun, and Zhuge Jin and so on in the Period of the Three Kingdoms were addicted to Weiqi. The famous story about Guan Yunchang that he was playing Weiqi with his General Ma Liang while he received operation on his leg with no anaesthetic at all from the miracle-making doctor Hua Tuo also happened in the Three Kingdoms. Moreover, influenced by the dark-(earning to surpass the worldly life advocated in Wei and Jin period, some scholars even considered addiction to Weiqi as an expression of unconventional and unrestrained behaviors and a way of forgetting sorrows.
魏晋时期中国围棋史上久负盛名的“烂柯”故事。据南朝梁时《述异记》载，晋朝时，信安郡打柴人王质，有一天，进山打柴，看到有两个童子在山中下棋，他便站在一旁观看。其中的一个童子递给王质一枚枣，王质吃了后便不觉得饥渴。一局棋还未下完，一位童子对王质说，你来了这么久，连斧子柄都烂了，为什么还不回家。王质回头一看，斧子柄果然烂了，便急忙下山往家赶。但等他回到居住的村庄一看，除了村头的小石桥，面貌全变了，连自己的家都不知道在哪里，而王质自己也已从一个年轻人变成了百岁老人。
The long-lasting well-known story ”Rotten Ax-shaft" in China's Weiqi history also happened in this era. According to “Stories about the Unusual" in the period of Liang of The Southern dynasty, there was a chopper, Wang Zhi, in Xin'an state in the Jin dynasty. One day, he went to the remote mountains to chop with an ax When he saw two lads were playing Weiqi in the mountains, he stood aside and watched. One of them gave Wang Zhi a Chinese date, and he did not feel thirsty and hungry after eating it. Before one game was finished, one of them said to Wang Zhi "you have been here so long that the ax-shaft has already been rotten, and why do not you go home", he looked back and found it was really rotten, So he hurried down the mountains for home. When he got to the village, all had changed except the stone bridge at the entrance to the village. He even did not know where his home was, and he himself had already changed into a hundred-year-old man from youth.
围棋手等级的出现
Weiqi Races in the Southern and Northern Dynasties
南北朝出现了全国性的围棋大赛，并且棋手的水平确定等级标准。南朝时，梁武帝十分喜爱围棋，他曾命人品定棋谱，选拔国中围棋高手278人，评为9个等级，一品最高，九品最低。现代围棋采用的段位制，即源于南北朝时。当时的棋手对自己的品级均极为看重，连死后的墓志铭中都要写明自己属于几品。
Up to the Southern and Northern dynasties, the national Weiqi races appeared as well as the grades standards were decided for the levels of the players. In the Southern dynasty, Liang Wudi was very fond of Weiqi, he ordered his people to set up chess manual, select 278 masters and divide them into nine classes, of which the first Bass was the highest, while the ninth lowest. Modem Weiqi adopts duan grading system, which originates from the Southern and Northern dynasties. Then the players valued their grades greatly, even after death they demanded to have their grades carved in the inscription of their tombstones.
唐宋—围棋活动的又一高峰
The Flourishing of Weiqi in Tang and Song Dynasties
到唐代，围棋活动获得了更大的发展。当时，专门在翰林院设置了一种名为棋待诏的官职，其任务就是陪皇帝下围棋。据史载，唐玄宗就经常和棋待诏下棋，甚至在因“安史之乱”跑到四川时，也带着棋待诏。唐玄宗除了与棋待诏下棋，也经常与皇室成员和大臣们下棋。
Up until the Tang dynasty, Weiqi received greater development. Then there was an official position named Weiqi-servant in the Imperial Academy, whose task was to play Weiqi with the emperors. According to the historical records, Tang Xuanzong always ordered them to play Weiqi with him, even when he fled to Sichuan because of the Rebellion of An Lushan and Shi Siming, he still brought them with him. Besides playing Weiqi with the servants, he often did with royal members and chancellors, too.
宋代的围棋活动也很兴盛。宋朝的开国皇帝宋太祖赵匡胤就是一位围棋爱好者，在他还是后周皇帝柴荣手下的军校时，他就曾在华山与一位老道士下棋，甚至还输掉了随身携带的宝剑。
Weiqi was also prosperous in the Song dynasty. Song Taizu, whose name was Zhao Kuangyin, the first emperor of the Song dynasty, was one of the Weiqi lovers. When he was only an officer under Chai Rong-the Emperor of Later Zhou dynasty, he had once played with an old Taoist priest in Huashan Mountains and even lost his sword that he took with him every day. In the Song dynasty, not only the kings loved Weiqi, but many famous ministers, such as Wang Anshi, Su Dongpo, Wen Tianxiang etc. were Weiqi masters as well. Additionally, among the average people, Weiqi was also quite prevalent. At that time, there was an amateur Weiqi organization with the tile of ”Chess Garden” among the people, which would organize Weiqi races at fixed intervals. The prevalence of Weiqi also promoted the development of its theory. ”The Classic of Weiqi”, an important work on Weiqi in Chinese Weiqi history, was written by Zhang Ni in the Song dynasty
宋朝时，除了皇帝喜欢围棋，就连许多著名的大臣如王安石、苏东坡、文天祥等都是围棋高手。另外，在普通百姓中，围棋活动也很盛行，当时在社会上出现了一种名为“棋园”的业余围棋组织，定期组织围棋比赛。围棋活动的兴盛，也促进了围棋理论的发展，在中国围棋史上具有重要地位的围棋专著《棋经》，就是由宋代的张拟写成的。
While in Ming and Qing dynasties, Weiqi developed much more greatly. It was very popular among the common people, and different schools were formed because of the different districts and styles such as the Capital school, Yongjia school, and Xin'an school and so on.
明清时期，围棋活动进一步发展。民间围棋活动也很兴盛，并因地域和棋风的不同而形成了不同的流派，分别有京师派、永嘉派、新安派等等。
In the early and middle periods of the Qing dynasty, Weiqi was still very active because of the prosperity of the nation, and there emerged a large group of Weiqi aces, such as Huang longshi, Zhou Donghou, and Xu Xingyou etc. Up to the late years of the fling dynasty, with the gradual corruption of the government, it began to decline. On the contrary, Weiqi was doing like a raging ire in the eastern neighbour, Japan. Thus, in the races between China and Japan, the Chinese team seldom won. This kind of situation began to change until 1980s, and Nie Weiping is the master of Weiqi who changed it.
清代的前、中期，由于国势兴旺，围棋活动仍很活跃，出现了黄龙士、周东侯、徐星友等一大批围棋高手。但是，到了晚清时期，随着清政府的日益腐败，围棋活动开始衰落。相反，在东邻日本，围棋活动却开展得如火如荼，因此，当时的中国棋手在与日本棋手的对局中，常常是输多赢少。直到20世纪80年代开始，这种局面才有了改观，聂卫平就是这个扭转乾坤的高手。
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