Who invented Chinese chess and in what era?

Chinese chess has no specific inventor. It should be a classic product of the intangible culture of Chinese civilization, with a history of about two thousand years.

China has attached great importance to the use of military force since ancient times. The powerful nobles can simulate and reproduce war scenes through the battle of wits and courage on the chessboard. They not only gain the fun of the game, but also learn about the development and changes of the art of war. It also plays a certain role in understanding. In fact, the evolution of chess has always been closely related to military affairs. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, due to the widespread use of firearms in the army, "cannons" appeared among the chess pieces.

Extended information:

It is said that during the era of Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, Emperor Shun himself made chess to enlighten his younger brother. Because his younger brother's name is "Xiang", he is named "Xiangqi". Of course this is just a beautiful legend. Due to the lack of historical documents, it is now difficult to verify the specific origin time of chess.

Han Liu Xiang's "Shuo Yuan·Shan Shuo" also recorded the story of Lord Mengchang playing chess during the Warring States Period: "Yongmen Zhou transferred Lord Mengchang, and when he moved Yan, he played chess, which was also a battle." There is also a sentence in the work "The Songs of Chu: Calling the Soul" that "the chessboard is covered with six pieces." This shows that "chess" has become a regular activity during the Warring States Period.

In addition, many aspects of chess during this period were also different from today's chess. A set of chess equipment is composed of chess pieces, chopsticks, and games. The chess pieces are Xiao, Lu, Pheasant, Du, and Sai (two pieces). The chopsticks are equivalent to dice. Chops must be thrown before playing chess. The game is a square chessboard. During the game, "throw six chopsticks and play six chess pieces."

The reference material comes from Baidu Encyclopedia-Chinese Chess