Chess sage Master Wu Qingyuan once said, "Teaching a woman to play Go is equivalent to teaching three people to play Go." ?Wu Qingyuan has high expectations for women to play Go. However, in China's feudal society, women who wanted to participate in Go activities were subject to various restrictions.
As we all know, in feudal society, women were the most oppressed. The feudal system imposed various restrictions on women. For example, women were not allowed to take exams, join the army, or appear in official circles, etc. In order to fight for equal rights with men, women had to disguise themselves as men, so legendary figures such as female champions and generals appeared. In the Han Dynasty, Go had a clear rule that women were not allowed to participate in the game. At that time, women playing Go could only be seen in myths and stories.
(1) Women disguised as men to play Go
During the Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties, Go was a compulsory course for emperors, generals, and literati. However, women were still discriminated against when playing Go. According to historical records, there was a woman named Lou Chuang in Dongyang, Zhejiang. She was good at writing articles and loved Go. However, because she was a woman, she could not go out to meet friends and exchange chess skills, so she felt very depressed. Later, I finally figured out a way to hide it from my parents and brothers, disguise myself as a man, leave my hometown, and travel around to find chess friends. After arriving in the capital of the Southern Qi Dynasty, he competed with the high-ranking ministers in Go and was promoted to an official in Yangzhou. As time went by, Lou Cheng became old and was finally discovered to be a woman. Someone reported her to Emperor Qi Ming. Emperor Ming ordered her to be sent back to her hometown. When Lou Zhi was forced to put on women's clothes, he sighed and said with regret: "My chess skills are so good, wouldn't it be a pity to go home and become an old woman?"
(2) Ladies of the Tang Dynasty Love Go
Among the palace concubines and aristocratic women in the Tang Dynasty, many people loved to play Go. For example, Concubine Yang Guifei and Mrs. Du Fu all knew Go.
Poet Zhang Ji has a poem called "Beauty Palace Chess":
Cui'e appears in front of the red candlestick, and the sea and sand spread out in harmony.
Take advantage of the opportunity to move your hands and collect them all, counting to see who gets the most.
Among the ancient tombs in Astana Village, Turpan, Xinjiang, some are the tombs of the Zhang family, a local wealthy family in the Tang Dynasty, and many cultural relics of the Tang Dynasty are preserved. Among them is a painting of Go ladies, which depicts 11 lifelike images of women. In the picture, two aristocratic women are concentrating on playing Go, which shows the cultural life of aristocratic women in the early Tang Dynasty.
(3) Female champion and Go
During the Five Dynasties, there was a young and beautiful woman named Huang Chonggu (gǚ古) in Linqiong. She was good at playing the piano, calligraphy and painting, and poetry. Wen is also very good at Go. He once disguised himself as a man and won the first prize in the examination. Later, he was arrested and imprisoned by the Linqiong County Magistrate because of his involvement in the fire. At this time, a man named Zhou Xiang [xi?ng Xiang] was staying in Qiongnan as a government official. He found out that Huang was a talented man who could play chess, calligraphy, and painting. After summoning him, he recommended him to the county officials. Zhou Xiang originally planned to betroth his daughter to Huang, but Huang had no choice but to compose a poem to confess that she was a woman. Only then did Zhou Xiang find out, and later he chose another son-in-law for her to marry.
(4) Picture of Gong E playing chess
During the Five Dynasties, Go was popular in the palace of the Southern Tang Dynasty. When spring comes to the earth, flowers are in full bloom, the wind is gentle and the sun is bright, and the flowers are red and the willows are green, the ladies of the palace come to the lotus pond pavilion to play chess and fish. Zhou Wenju, a famous painter of the Five Dynasties, once painted "Picture of Ladies Playing and Fishing in a Lotus Pavilion", which reflects the vivid scene of women in the palace of the Southern Tang Dynasty loving Go.
In the Song and Yuan Dynasties, playing Go among palace ladies was more popular than in the Five Dynasties and Tang Dynasties. Wang Gui's "Gong Ci" contains: "Bi Taohua tried to play chess, but she miscalculated and made the first move low." ?When the palace ladies entered the palace during the Song Dynasty, learning Go was a compulsory course for them, and some even played Go to compete for favor in front of the emperor. Song Huizong's "Gong Ci" contains: "Forgetting worries and enjoying happiness are in the chessboard, and the fairies attack the chickens that have not yet been born." Every time I put a plan under the window, I am afraid that the edict will be higher or lower. ?
(5) Seeing the chessboard and the bottle losing money
There are many scenes in "Jin Ping Mei Ci Hua" describing women playing Go in the Song Dynasty. For example, in Chapter 23, you can see a piece of money being lost on a chessboard and a vase.
It is said that during the Spring Festival, Ximen Qing went out to celebrate the festival and was not at home. Several of his concubines, Meng Yulou, Pan Jinlian, and Li Ping'er, gathered together to play chess. Meng Yulou asked: "What should we bet on today?" Pan Jinlian said: "Let's each play three games and bet five coins on the host." Three coins bought Jinhua wine, and two coins bought a pig's head. The three of them played chess pieces. After three games, Li Ping'er lost five coins. Pan Jinlian immediately asked someone to take the money to buy wine and pig heads.
(6) Lin Daiyu's wonderful rejuvenation
Go has become a fashionable activity among women in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Some boudoir ladies and famous prostitutes in brothels can play Go. Even Emperor Chongzhen of the Ming Dynasty played Go. Tian Guifei, the concubine of Emperor Yongzheng of the Qing Dynasty, was also good at playing Go. Most of the dramas and novels at that time included scenes of women playing Go, which became an indispensable part of the love lives of men and women at that time. For example, "The Romance of the West Chamber" has a section about "breaking the chess game"; "The Story of the Jade Hairpin" has a section about "players talking"; and "The Story of a Surprise" has a section about "the little Taoist conquers the world with one move, and the girl chess girl loses her life after two games". Especially in the classic literary masterpiece "A Dream of Red Mansions", there are more than 10 descriptions of Go.
The most exciting part is a game of Go between Jia Baoyu and Xue Baochai. Jia's chess skills are not as good as Xue's. Seeing that he is about to be defeated, Cheng Yaojin comes out in the middle. Lin Daiyu comes and with just a pointer, she revives and defeats him. Xue Baochai.