History of Go

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. The game was described by Thomas Hyde in 1694, but it did not start to become popular in the West until 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.

Origin in China

Go's early history is debatedFact|date=August 2008, 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"Potter 1985; Fairbairn 1995] (c. 4th century BCBrooks 2007] ), referring to a historical event of 548 BC. It is also mentioned in Book XVII of the "Analects of Confucius" (c. 3rd century BC) and in two of the books of MenciusPotter 1984; Fairbairn 1995] (c. 3rd century BC). In all of these works, the game is referred to as transl|zh|ISO|yì ( _zh. 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.Pickard 1989]

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 broken piece of a pottery 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 proves that go was played at least 2,000 years ago. A picture can be found [http://cswnet.blog.sohu.com/39470351.html here] (third picture down).

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 broken fragment of the board measures 5.7 cm to 28.5 cm long, 17 cm to 19.7 cm wide and 3.6 cm thick.

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.

In 1954 a complete Go board made out of stone was found in a tomb dating to the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-220) in Wangdu County, Hebei Province. This board has a 17 × 17 grid, which confirms the statement by the 3rd century author Handan Chun in the Classic of Arts that Go was at this time played on a 17 × 17 grid:

The go board has 17 lines along its length and breadth, making 289 points in all. The black and white stones each number 150. [Fairbairn 1995]

The earliest board with a 19 × 19 grid to have been found is a ceramic board dating to the Sui Dynasty (581-618) that was excavated from Anyang in Henan Province, so sometime between the 3rd and 6th centuries a change in grid size must have taken place. However, the 17 × 17 board has survived in the version of Go played in Tibet. [Shotwell 2003]

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 [ [http://www.kiseido.com/printss/fa.html The Four Accomplishments] ] (四艺, Pinyin: Sìyì), or the Four Arts of the Chinese Scholar.

Go is believed to have been introduced to Japan by Kibi Makibi who had studied in Tang China at the beginning of the eighth century. But the Taihō Code, enacted in 701, has a description of Go and therefore the game may have been introduced a little earlier. After it was introduced from China, Go came to be actively played during the Nara period (710-794), and during the following Heian period (794-1185) Go was a favourite aristocratic pastime, as is described in typical literary works of this period such as "The Pillow Book" and "The Tale of Genji".

During the Muromachi period (1336-1573), potentates employed semi-professional Go playeres, called Go-uchi (碁打ち) or Uwate (上手) who competed against other clans. At the end of the 16th century, Nikkai (Honinbo Sansa) served Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi and Tokugawa Ieyasu as a Go teacher, and in 1578 was recognized as the first "Meijin" of Go by Oda Nobunaga; he also became the first Honinbō.

In 1612, at the beginning of the Edo period (1603-1868), the Tokugawa Shogunate established Four hereditary "houses" to teach the game of Go: nihongo|Honinbō|本因坊|Honinbō, nihongo|Hayashi|林|Hayashi, nihongo|Inoue|井上|Inoue and nihongo|Yasui|安井|Yasui. These four houses (Iemoto) competed with each other throughout the 300 years of the Edo period.

The wave of Westernization and modernization accompanying the Meiji Restoration in 1868 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 into a tournament title.

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.cite web | url = http://www.leipzig-go.de/fruehgeschichte_e.php | title = History of Go in Europe 1880-1945 | author = Leipzig Go] 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.cite web | url = http://www.usgo.org/archive/agahbk95.html | title = American Go Association 1995 Historical Book | author = American Go Association ] Lasker's book "Go and Go-moku" (1934) helped spread the game throughout the US, and in 1935, the American Go Association was formed. Two years later, in 1937, the German Go Association was founded. World War II put a stop to most Go activity, but after the war, Go continued to spread. [cite web | url = http://shinbo.free.fr/TheMagicOfGo/index.php?tmog=40 | title = The Magic of Go - 40. Go in Europe | author = Richard Bozulich ]

Western players did not take up the game as more than a passing interest until the 1950s. In 1978, Manfred Wimmer [ [http://pokspace.goverband.at/essays/wimmer_e.htm Manfred Wimmer] ] 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.cite web | url = http://www.britgo.org/history/pros.html | title = Pro Go Player visits to UK & Ireland (since 1964) | author = British Go Association | accessdate= 2007-11-17] By 2005, the European Go Federation had a total of 35 member countries. [cite web | url = http://www.eurogofed.org/history/index.htm | title = EGF History | author = European Go Federation | accessdate = 2007-10-31 ]

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.Peng & Hall 1996]

Notes

References

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External links

* [http://linkexplorer.net/go/history/history.html The Go Link Explorer: History of Go]
* [http://gobase.org/history/ History of Go in ancient China, Korea and Japan]