Zhang Zhaohong: Talking about Go with black and white spirit

Zhang Zhaohong: Talking about Go with black and white spirit It is said that the black and white game of Go was invented in the era of Yao and Shun. In ancient legends, it is said that a woodcutter saw two elders playing chess in the mountains,...

The black and white Go game is said to have been invented in the era of Yao and Shun. In ancient legends, it is said that a woodcutter saw two elders playing chess in the mountains. He was curious to see what was going on. The elder couldn't get rid of it and took a pill. After watching a game of chess, the woodcutter discovered that the wooden handle of the ax used to cut firewood had rotted away. It was already decades later when he returned to the countryside. It turns out that the two elders are gods, and the chess they play is Go. It can be seen that although Go only has two colors: black and white, its playing method is unpredictable and requires a lot of skill. Even wise men like gods can play it in a trance, regardless of whether things have changed or the stars have changed. The Go board has nineteen vertical and horizontal lines, and pieces can be moved at any intersection. The vast board is like the universe, allowing imagination to run wild. It can be inferred that in the era when Go was produced, there was no class concept. I remember that when I was in middle school, at the height of the Cultural Revolution, I almost attracted criticism because I had a book called "Black Layout" on hand. Because in that "red era", everything was a "red sea" of "red books, red badges, red slogans", and black was only related to "reactionary opposites" such as "black hands, gangsters, and the seven black categories". Therefore, the title of the book "Black Layout" alone triggered a warning, although it was only an introductory book on Go, explaining the moves and layout of black stones in Go. Since the beginning, Go has lost its connection with me. I have been fond of chess since I was a child, and I can still play chess without learning Go. During the Cultural Revolution, chess matches were held in the national spirit and were held from time to time. In Go, it was not until the battle between the Chinese and Japanese players that a master Nie Weiping emerged. At that time, he went to the mountains and countryside to work as an educated youth and persisted in studying Go, eventually bringing glory to the country. The characteristic of Chinese chess is that it is hierarchical and is a product of centralization. All soldiers must protect the commander, sacrifice soldiers to protect the rook, lose rooks to protect the commander, fight for the commander, and die for the commander. Small soldiers and small soldiers do not even have a way out. Go focuses on the overall layout. In an offensive and defensive battle, the territory owned by each party does not belong to the emperor and the queen, but is collectively owned by the fighting forces of the black and white parties. In this sense, Go has a deeper connotation than other chess games, is rich in philosophy, and enlightens people with wisdom. There is a copy of "Jinqi Painting Collection" at home, which was given by Professor Cao Jinqi. Among them is a painting by "Eighteen-dan Master", which shows nine naughty kittens knocking over the Go pieces. As we all know, the highest number of steps a Go master can play is nine. Professor Jinqi doubled the number of steps for the cat, and the chessboard was no longer sufficient. Is it possible that when the professor was playing chess, the cat in his mind came to disturb the game, unwilling to be distracted by the chess game that distracted the professor's attention and love for them? Or maybe the professor humanized the cat, implying the appeal and artistic beauty of Go? Professor Jinqi loves to play Go. He has a persistence and love for Go, which can be seen in his articles and paintings. The professor loves Go, a black and white art, or Go, a macro-thinking of the overall layout, equality, free play of skills, and unpredictable formations, which have naturally penetrated into the professor's writing and painting. Many of the contrasting black and white pictures in the album contain the unpredictable connotation and beauty of Go. Playing Go is also known as "talking between hands". The back and forth of black and white chess pieces can reflect the player's technical level, realm quality, moral sentiments, and even cosmology. The professor believes that playing Go, like being a human being, should pursue the realm of "Concord". The chess records of many masters, and every perfect game, contain the shadow of "Concord", "The mentality of peace and harmony leads to victory." Go, an art with an oriental mystery, may still be a "book from heaven" to Americans, but the freedom and equality of the black and white chess pieces of Go, the vast sea and sky, and the courageous and enterprising methods have something in common with the "American spirit". When I was in middle school, I read the introductory part of the book "Black Layout" and learned that the bottom three lines of Go are called "land". It is not too difficult to make a kill on the "land", and the motivation is easier to see. But the three lines and above are called "sky", which is the vast and uncultivated "universe". The intersection in the middle is regarded as the "tianyuan", and chess players do not easily make moves here. For thousands of years, how many people have enjoyed playing Go, and are happy with it, unmoved by the time when the ax handle is about to decay. The fun of it makes players enjoy it, and the philosophy in it should have its mystery.