First, Shennong originated from the legendary era. Monks in the Yuan Dynasty often said in the Biography of Buddhism: "Shennong takes the sun, moon and stars as images, while cattle, monks and children in the Tang Dynasty are replaced by chariots, horses, scholars and soldiers with guns." [5]
Second, the Yellow Emperor originated from the legendary era. In the Northern Song Dynasty, Huang Bu's Preface to Guang xiang opera said, "Like a soldier, the battle of the Yellow Emperor drove away animals and thought that the array was like an elephant, and the animals were heroes. Therefore, soldiers are named after elephants. " [5]
Third, the attack originated from Zhou Wuwang. Five Miscellaneous Tans, a single metabolic system in Ming Dynasty, said: "Like a play, it is said that it was made by Wu Zhou when he cut the contract, that is, it was also a stream of military strategists in the Warring States period and a battle of heavy trucks at that time." [5]
Fourth, it originated in the Warring States period. The book of seclusion contains: Zhou said:' If you step in Yanzhou first, you will be able to play chess, which is also a matter of the Warring States. "The Warring States used soldiers, so people used the image of war as a chess position." [5]
Fifth, it originated from the period of Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty. Magnolia Taiping The Ministry of Arts and Crafts said, "Emperor Wu of Zhou made chess." Amin writer Rosin also holds this view in Wuyuan. [5]
Nowadays, many scholars believe that according to reliable records in ancient books, chess was popular in the Warring States period. Han and Liu not only quoted the book of seclusion, but also recorded the story of playing chess in the Warring States period: "The first step of a swallow is to play chess, which is also a matter of using troops." There is also a saying in the evocation works of Chu ci in the warring States period that "the chess is thin and six points." All these show that "chess" has become a routine activity during the Warring States period. Therefore, some scholars believe that chess came into being before the Warring States Period. But when? Some people think that it can be pushed back to the Spring and Autumn Period, and that chess was produced by imitating the military system at that time. Their basis is that the "image" in chess means "symbol" and has nothing to do with animal images. For example, dancing symbolizes fighting, so it is called "elephant dance", and playing chess symbolizes fighting, so it is called "chess". The names of chess players also come from symbols of different arms. This situation coincides with the military system in the Spring and Autumn Period, that is, the arrow is on the string, handsome, car, horse, scholar, soldier and pawn. Therefore, the emergence of chess in the Spring and Autumn Period was in line with the historical situation at that time. However, some scholars disagree with this statement and think that this is still an inference after all. [5]
In short, it is difficult for academic circles to form a unified opinion on when chess originated, because the historical records are not detailed enough, which are mixed with many myths and legends. [5]