History of Go

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Screen showing Chinese Go players in the Ming Dynasty, made by Kano Eitoku (狩野永徳) in the 16th century.

The game of Go originated in China. No one knows when the first game was played, but by the 4th century BC it was considered a worthy pastime for a gentleman, and described as such in the Analects of Confucius. It reached Japan by the 7th century and long been a popular game within East Asia. It finally reached the West at the end of the 19th century.

According to legend, the game was used as a teaching tool after the ancient Chinese Emperor Yao 堯 (2337 - 2258 BC) designed it for his son, Danzhu 丹朱, who he thought needed to learn discipline, concentration, and balance. Another suggested genesis for the game states that in ancient times, Chinese warlords and generals would use pieces of stone to map out attacking positions. Further and more plausible theories relate Go equipment to divination or flood control.

[edit] Origin in China

Go's early history is debated, but there are myths about its existence, one of which assumes that Go was an ancient fortune telling device used by Chinese cosmologists to simulate the universe's relationship to an individual. The earliest references of Go come from the 6th century BC (548 BC, from Zuo Zhuan).

The earliest written reference of the game is usually taken to be the historical annal Zuo Zhuan^[1] (c. 4th century BC^[2]), referring to a historical event of 548 BC. It is also mentioned in Book XVII of the Analects of Confucius (c. 3rd century BC^[2]) and in two of the books of Mencius^[3] (c. 3rd century BC^[2]). In all of these works, the game is referred to as yì (弈), a name that is no longer in use today.

In China, Go was perceived as the popular game of the aristocracy, while Xiangqi (Chinese chess) was the game of the masses. Go was considered one of the four cultivated arts of the Chinese scholar gentleman, along with calligraphy, painting and playing the musical instrument guqin.^[4]

Recent archaeology has added concrete facts. China is the probable birthplace of Go (WeiQi in Chinese, meaning "surrounding game"), but an exact date for the appearance of the game is still unclear at present.

Chinese archaeologists have discovered a porcelain go board from the Western Han Dynasty (206 BC - 24 AD) in northwest China's Shaanxi Province. This is the earliest discovery of a board unearthed in China, and suggests that people started playing go more than 2,000 years ago. A picture can be found here.

The board was found in the ruins of a watchtower at the tombs of Emperor Jingdi of the Western Han Dynasty, and his empress. The board, slightly damaged and irregular, measures 5.7 cm to 28.5 cm long, 17 cm to 19.7 cm wide and 3.6 cm thick. It is carved with a grid of 17 by 17 lines, which is similar to the modern (19×19) board.

Li Gang, a research fellow with the Shaanxi Provincial Archaeological Research Institute, said that this board might have been made from a floor tile, and that it did not belong to the royal family since the carvings are too rough. Li said the board could have been made by the tomb guards who played go to pass the time. "That proves that go was being played not only by nobles, but also by ordinary people like tomb guards, more than 2,000 years ago," Li noted. Li said that a stone board made in the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) was found in Wangdu County, north China's Hebei Province in 1954.

[edit] Growth in east Asia

Before the industrial age in China, Go was long perceived as the popular game of the elite aristocratic class while Xiangqi (Chinese chess) was perceived as the game of the masses. Go was considered one of the cultivated arts of the Chinese scholar gentleman (junzi), along with Calligraphy, Painting and playing the Guqin, known as 琴棋書畫 ^[5] (四艺, Pinyin: Sìyì), or the Four Arts of the Chinese Scholar.

After it was introduced from Tang, Go was played by the general public in Japan by the 13th century. The Tokugawa Shogunate established Four hereditary "houses" to teach this game. The wave of Westernization and modernization accompanying the Meiji Restoration caused the dissolution of the official iemoto Go system and a wane in general popularity for the game. In the wake of this upheaval, the Honinbo title was transformed in to a tournament title.

Japanese-American Farm Security Administration workers play go in Twin Falls, Idaho during the 1940's. Asian immigration to the U.S. was a factor in the growth of the game in the Americas.

[edit] Development in the West

The details of Go were unknown outside of Asia for most of the game's history. Oscar Korschelt, a German engineer, is credited with being the first person to try to popularize Go in a non-Asian country. He learned about the game from Honinbo Shuho (Murase Shuho) when he worked in Japan from 1878 to 1886. Korschelt published a detailed article on Go in 1880. A few years later he published a book based on this article. He brought the game to Europe, especially to Germany and Austria, and thus became the first person to systematically describe Go in a Western language. Since he learned Go in Japan, the terms of Go in Western languages come from Japanese, not Chinese.

By the early 20th century, Go had spread throughout the German and Austro-Hungarian empires.^[6] In 1905, Edward Lasker learned the game while in Berlin. When he moved to New York, Lasker founded the New York Go Club together with (amongst others) Arthur Smith, who had learned of the game while touring the East and had published the book The Game of Go in 1908.^[7] Lasker's book Go and Go-moku (1934) helped spread the game throughout the US,^[7] and in 1935, the American Go Association was formed. Two years later, in 1937, the German Go Association was founded.^[6] World War II put a stop to most Go activity, but after the war, Go continued to spread.^[8]

Western players did not take up the game as more than a passing interest until the 1950s. In 1978, Manfred Wimmer^[9] became the first Westerner to receive a professional player's certificate from an Asian professional Go association. It was not until 2000 that a Westerner, Michael Redmond, achieved a professional 9 dan rating, the top rank awarded by Asian Go associations.

For most of the 20th century, the Japan Go Association played a leading role in spreading Go outside East Asia, publishing the English-language magazine Go Review in the 1960s, establishing Go centers in the US, Europe and South America, and often sending professional teachers on tour to Western nations.^[10] By 2005, the European Go Federation had a total of 35 member countries.^[11]

In 1996, NASA astronaut Daniel Barry and Japanese astronaut Koichi Wakata became the first people to play Go in space, using a special Go set designed by Wai-Cheung Willson Chow. Both astronauts were awarded honorary dan ranks by the Nihon Kiin.^[12]

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Potter 1985; Fairbairn 1995
2. ^ ^{a b c} Brooks 2007
3. ^ Potter 1984; Fairbairn 1995
4. ^ Pickard 1989
5. ^ The Four Accomplishments
6. ^ ^{a b} Leipzig Go. History of Go in Europe 1880-1945.
7. ^ ^{a b} American Go Association. American Go Association 1995 Historical Book.
8. ^ Richard Bozulich. The Magic of Go - 40. Go in Europe.
9. ^ Manfred Wimmer
10. ^ British Go Association. Pro Go Player visits to UK & Ireland (since 1964). Retrieved on 2007-11-17.
11. ^ European Go Federation. EGF History. Retrieved on 2007-10-31.
12. ^ Peng & Hall 1996

[edit] References

• Potter, Donald L. (1984). "Go in the Classics". Go World (37): pp. 16–18. Tokyo: Ishi Press. 
• Potter, Donald L. (1985). "Go in the Classics (ii): the Tso-chuan". Go World (42): pp. 19–21. Tokyo: Ishi Press. 
• Fairbairn, John (1995). Go in Ancient China. Retrieved on 2007-11-02.
• Fairbairn, John (2000). History of Go in Korea. Retrieved on 2007-11-06.
• Lasker, Edward [1934] (1960). Go and Go-Moku. ISBN 0486206130. 
• Pinckard, William (1989), “The Four Accomplishments”, in Richard Bozulich, Japanese Prints and the World of Go, <http://www.kiseido.com/printss/four.html>. Retrieved on 2 November 2007 .
• Peng, Mike & Hall, Mark (1996), “One Giant Leap For Go”, Svenks Go Tidning 96 (2): pp. 7–8, <http://homepage.mac.com/bjornwendsjo/go/2-96.pdf>. Retrieved on 12 November 2007 

[edit] External links

• The Go Link Explorer: History of Go
• History of Go in ancient China, Korea and Japan