Ancient Xiangqi Classics Elegant Pastime Manual Volumes 1 and 2 Hau Cheng Png 9789574344604 Books
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Chinese Chess or Xiangqi (which would be the preferred name) has been around for hundreds of years. “The Chinese seem to possess of a great many ancient scriptures on the topic.” --- HJR Murray.Before the Ming Dynasty, books about Xiangqi had already existed. Unfortunately, only a small fraction is still extant today. Ancient Xiangqi Classics is a collection of the ancient Xiangqi scriptures and manuals, that has been translated and presented in English. The main aim is to introduce Xiangqi to the Westerner, sharing and passing on the wisdom of the ancient Chinese.To this very day, the Elegant Pastime Manual is still one of the must-read classics in Xiangqi. It was edited and published in 1570AD by Xu Zhi. It was a selection of puzzles from an earlier book, Dreams of Divine Positions, which only a tiny fraction still exists. There are 550 Xiangqi puzzles in the ancient manual, all demonstrating brilliant kills, and tactical combinations. There were also some simple advice and pointers to play the game. The Elegant Pastime Manual is also very rich regarding Chinese culture. The title of each endgame composition is a short verse in Chinese. Each title name would have various implications, with references to numerous poems, stories, and historical incidents or other bits of Chinese culture. However, the titles have seldom been researched, even in Chinese publications of the book. The author has taken much effort to research the titles to help understand the implications of each position. Simple background knowledge to the titles would further assist in the appreciation of each puzzle.Immerse in this elegant pastime, enjoy the Elegant Pastime Manual!
Ancient Xiangqi Classics Elegant Pastime Manual Volumes 1 and 2 Hau Cheng Png 9789574344604 Books
I bought two books from this author, one is the present, for which I'm writing the review, and the other is the Lexicon.I believe the author is doing a marvelous job, a job never done before. He is connecting two worlds, the Chinese, with its long history, traditions and immense culture, with the western world. Chinese Chess, XiangQi, is a more violent and exciting game than western Chess. While in chess a tactic can be spotted 2-3 moves ahead, for Chinese chess the calculation, and the art of visualization needs to run quite deeper.
This book is based on two manuals from the Ming Dynasty (about 4-500 years ago) that are fundamental for those who want to begin the journey on learning how to play Xiangqi.
Now I'd like to explain why I gave this book only 5 stars, but 6 or 7 would be needed!
Let's begin with the amazing work the author did of finding and translating the name of the single puzzles (these are positions one must study, solve, and memorize). That is the work a sinologist (a scholar of Chinese language) would do, but unfortunately till now we had Chinese language grammars, we had dictionaries, but we didn't have a way to translate XiangQi terminology, and the core of it, the symbols through which they convey their spiritual value, since one must go beyond the words to grasp the immense ocean we have in front.
First of all let's admire the beautiful work of art that is the cover of the book, those ancient pieces, whose original color has been changed by time. Then if we just open the book we see the good work of the author, when he puts the PinYin (this is the phonetic transliteration in Latin character of the ideograms) near the ideograms, so that we can learn how to pronounce the ideograms, and maybe one day to exchange ideas with other XiangQi players. But inside the book we have a lot of diagrams, making possible to follow the book without a board! This is something the western publisher of chess book should learn from!
And under each page, in the bottom, we have a way for the beginners to remember the name of the pieces, thanks to their ideogram and the main letter which describe the piece.
At the end of the book there is an appendix on how to read the notation, and play the game.
The quality of the paper is good. And these are just few of the qualities of this book which came to mind while writing this quick review.
In conclusion: I'm buying little by little all the books published by this author, I believe he is doing fundamental work, never done before in the history of humanity, and I truly hope he gets the acknowledgment he deserves for a work which is facilitating the meeting of the far east and the west, in a world which needs clearly more peace and friendship. Peace and friendship can only be achieved through knowledge of each other culture, and for this reason Jim Png Hau Cheng work should be introduced in each library, and institution which deals with Chinese culture and traditions. I also believe Jim Png Hau Cheng books should be treated as a treasure for all humankind, and as so preserved for future generations.
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Tags : Ancient Xiangqi Classics: Elegant Pastime Manual Volumes 1 and 2 [Hau Cheng Png] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Chinese Chess or Xiangqi (which would be the preferred name) has been around for hundreds of years. “The Chinese seem to possess of a great many ancient scriptures on the topic.” --- HJR Murray.Before the Ming Dynasty,Hau Cheng Png,Ancient Xiangqi Classics: Elegant Pastime Manual Volumes 1 and 2,Jim Png Hau Cheng,9574344606,GAMES & ACTIVITIES Chess,Games Chess,Games Puzzles
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Ancient Xiangqi Classics Elegant Pastime Manual Volumes 1 and 2 Hau Cheng Png 9789574344604 Books Reviews
If you are a serious xiangqi enthusiast, you cannot miss this next gem of xiangqi literature. "The elegant pastime manual" is a rich source of beauty and wisdom on the xiangqi board. Jim Png made another good piece of work, explicating the meaning of the titles for each composition. The reader will not only train chess fantasy and see the real beauty of xiangqi stratagems, but will have also a wonderful journey through ancient Chinese history, classic literature and culture.
These translations of ancient manuals were previously unavailable in English. Great resource.
I bought two books from this author, one is the present, for which I'm writing the review, and the other is the Lexicon.
I believe the author is doing a marvelous job, a job never done before. He is connecting two worlds, the Chinese, with its long history, traditions and immense culture, with the western world. Chinese Chess, XiangQi, is a more violent and exciting game than western Chess. While in chess a tactic can be spotted 2-3 moves ahead, for Chinese chess the calculation, and the art of visualization needs to run quite deeper.
This book is based on two manuals from the Ming Dynasty (about 4-500 years ago) that are fundamental for those who want to begin the journey on learning how to play Xiangqi.
Now I'd like to explain why I gave this book only 5 stars, but 6 or 7 would be needed!
Let's begin with the amazing work the author did of finding and translating the name of the single puzzles (these are positions one must study, solve, and memorize). That is the work a sinologist (a scholar of Chinese language) would do, but unfortunately till now we had Chinese language grammars, we had dictionaries, but we didn't have a way to translate XiangQi terminology, and the core of it, the symbols through which they convey their spiritual value, since one must go beyond the words to grasp the immense ocean we have in front.
First of all let's admire the beautiful work of art that is the cover of the book, those ancient pieces, whose original color has been changed by time. Then if we just open the book we see the good work of the author, when he puts the PinYin (this is the phonetic transliteration in Latin character of the ideograms) near the ideograms, so that we can learn how to pronounce the ideograms, and maybe one day to exchange ideas with other XiangQi players. But inside the book we have a lot of diagrams, making possible to follow the book without a board! This is something the western publisher of chess book should learn from!
And under each page, in the bottom, we have a way for the beginners to remember the name of the pieces, thanks to their ideogram and the main letter which describe the piece.
At the end of the book there is an appendix on how to read the notation, and play the game.
The quality of the paper is good. And these are just few of the qualities of this book which came to mind while writing this quick review.
In conclusion I'm buying little by little all the books published by this author, I believe he is doing fundamental work, never done before in the history of humanity, and I truly hope he gets the acknowledgment he deserves for a work which is facilitating the meeting of the far east and the west, in a world which needs clearly more peace and friendship. Peace and friendship can only be achieved through knowledge of each other culture, and for this reason Jim Png Hau Cheng work should be introduced in each library, and institution which deals with Chinese culture and traditions. I also believe Jim Png Hau Cheng books should be treated as a treasure for all humankind, and as so preserved for future generations.
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