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There are several interesting legends about the origin of China's chess in ancient China literature:

First, Shennong, which originated in the legendary era, Yuan Nianchang said in "The History of the Buddha in Past Dynasties": "Shennong takes the sun and the stars as an image, and the Tang cattle, monks and sons are replaced by cars, horses, scholars and soldiers."

Second, the Yellow Emperor originated from the legendary era. For example, Huang Bu's Preface to Guangxiang Xige in the Northern Song Dynasty said: The battle of the Yellow Emperor is like a war play, driving away animals and thinking about the array; The elephant is also a male among wild animals, so the soldiers play it by its name.

Thirdly, it originated from Zhou Wuwang's cutting week, and said in Hangzhou's "Five Miscellanies": "Elephant drama is said to have been made during the cutting week, that is, it was also a stream of military strategists in the Warring States period, when chariots were still the most important."

4. Originated in the Warring States Period, the hermit book said: "Zhou Zhi: Playing chess while stepping is also a matter of the Warring States Period. Gai Warring States fought with war, so the old man took the image of war as the chess potential. "

5. When it originated from Emperor Wu of the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Taiping Yulan said: Emperor Wu of Zhou made an elephant play. Ming Luo Qi and Wuyuan said, "Emperor Wu of Zhou played chess".

1: Warring States Period

During the Warring States period, there have been official records about chess, such as: "The Songs of Chu * Evocation" contains "Six Books of Chess; Go hand in hand with Cao and push each other; " If you become an owl, be specific. "..." Shuo Yuan "contains: Yong Men Zizhou Qin Yi met Meng Changjun and said," The first step is Wang Qian, and ... Yan Douqi dances Zheng Nv. Therefore, as early as the Warring States period, chess became popular among nobles.

According to the above situation and the shape of chess, chess was born in the southern clan areas of China around the Zhou Dynasty (BC 1 1 century). In early China chess, the chess system consisted of three instruments: chess, chopsticks and chessboard. The two sides play chess, with six players on each side, namely: owl, Lu, pheasant, calf and stopper (two pieces). The chess pieces are carved with ivory. Bam, equivalent to dice, must be thrown before playing chess. The chessboard is a square chessboard. In the game, "throw six sticks and play six chess games", fight with wits, attack each other and kill each other. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the military system was five men, one handsome man and six men. As a football match for military training, each side had six men. It can be seen that early chess was a game symbolizing the fighting at that time. On the basis of this chess system, a kind of chess called "Sai" appeared later, which only played chess without throwing chopsticks, and got rid of the element of winning by luck in early chess.

2. Qin and Han Dynasties

During the Qin and Han Dynasties, Sai Opera was quite popular, and it was also called "Wu Ge". The chessboard unearthed from the Western Han Tomb in Yunmeng, Hubei Province and the painted wooden figurines unearthed from the Mo Zuizi Han Tomb in Wuwei, Gansu Province can prove the description of the shape of Sai Opera in Bian Shao's Sai Fu in the Han Dynasty. During the Three Kingdoms period, the shape of chess was constantly changing, and it had a communication relationship with India.

3. Southern and Northern Dynasties

From the Southern and Northern Dynasties to the Northern Zhou Dynasty, Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty (reigned in 56 1 ~ 578) established Xiang Jing, and Wang Bao wrote Xi Xu and Xiang Jing Fu, which marked the completion of the second major change in chess form.

4. Sui and Tang Dynasties

During the Sui and Tang Dynasties, chess activities were carried out steadily, which was frequently recorded in history books. Among them, the most important is the narration of Wu Zetian's dream of playing chess in the Nine Commandments of Liang Gong published in Shiliju Series, and a story about Censhun's dream of playing chess in the first year of Baoying (AD 762) in Niu Senru's Mystery Record. Combining Suzhou brocade decorated with four patterns of "Qin, Qi, Calligraphy and Painting" and bronze chess pieces unearthed in Kaifeng, Henan, we can draw the conclusion that the shape of chess in Tang Dynasty is quite similar to that of early chess. The popularity of chess at that time can be seen from many records in poetry legends. The three-volume version of Xiang Bo Xiang's Opera Song may be a work of the Tang Dynasty.

5. Song Dynasty

The Song Dynasty was an era when chess was widely popular, and its form also changed greatly. During the Northern Song Dynasty, Sima Guang's Elephant Drama in Seven Countries, His Elephant Drama Style and Chess, and Chao's Elephant Drama Map came out one after another, and Elephant Drama was also deeply loved by the people. After nearly a hundred years of practice, chess was shaped into a modern model at the end of the Northern Song Dynasty: 32 pieces, a chessboard with a river boundary, and so on. During the Southern Song Dynasty, chess became a very popular chess activity. Writers such as Li Qingzhao and Liu Kezhuang, politicians such as Hong Zun and Wen Tianxiang all like playing chess. In the "chess to be called" formulated by the court, players account for more than half. There are professionals known as "chess masters" among the people, as well as craftsmen of autocratic chess and chessboards. In the Southern Song Dynasty, Hong Mai's Chess Classic, Chen's Chess Manual and Chen's Guang Ji also appeared.

6. Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties

During the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, chess continued to be popular among the people, and the technical level was constantly improved, and a number of summative theoretical monographs appeared, among which the most important ones were Dream in Dream, Eighteen Changes of Jin Peng, The Secret in Orange, Shu Ya, Plum Blossom Music, Zhuxiangzhai Chess Manual and so on. Scholars such as Yang Shen, Tang Yin, Lang Ying, Luo Qi and Yuan Mei all like playing chess. The emergence of a large number of famous chess players shows that chess is loved by people from all walks of life.

7. The New China Period.

After the founding of New China, chess entered a new stage of development. From 65438 to 0956, chess was regarded as a national sport. Since then, national competitions have been held almost every year. 1962 The China Qi Xiang Association, a subsidiary of the All-China Sports Federation, was established, and corresponding subordinate associations were also established in various places. Over the past 40 years, due to the promotion of mass chess activities and competitions, the level of chess has improved rapidly, and outstanding players have emerged, among which the most famous players are Yang Guanlin, Hu Ronghua, Liu Dahua, Zhao Guorong, Li Laiqun, Lv Qin and Xu Yinchuan.