Editing History of Go

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{{GoBoardGame}}

The game of [[Go (board game)|Go]] ({{zh|t=圍棋|s=围棋|p={{audio|Zh-wéiqí.ogg|wéiqí|help=no}}}}; [[Old Chinese]]: ''*ɢʷəj grə'' "surrounding game"<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=20 September 2014 |title=Baxter-Sagart Reconstruction of Old Chinese, version 1.1 |url=http://ocbaxtersagart.lsait.lsa.umich.edu/BaxterSagartOCbyMandarinMC2014-09-20.pdf}}</ref>) originated in [[China]] in ancient times. It was considered one of the [[four arts|four essential arts]] of a cultured Chinese scholar in antiquity and is described as a worthy pastime for a gentleman in the ''[[Analects of Confucius]]''. It reached [[Korea]] by the 5th century,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://sentego.net/history-of-go/|title=history of Go|website=Sentego|access-date=2018-11-09}}</ref> in the 7th century it had reached [[Japan]]. The game was described by [[Matteo Ricci]] in 1615 <ref>[[De Christiana expeditione apud Sinas]] - see: https://senseis.xmp.net/?GoHistory</ref> and by [[Thomas Hyde]] in 1694, but it did not become popular in the West until the late 19th century.

According to legend, the game was created as a teaching tool after the ancient [[Chinese Emperor]] [[Emperor Yao|Yao]] {{lang|zh|堯}} designed it for his son, [[Danzhu]] {{lang|zh|丹朱}}, to learn discipline, concentration, and balance. Another suggested genesis for the game is that [[Han Chinese|Chinese]] [[warlord]]s and generals used pieces of stone to map attacking positions. Other plausible theories relate Go equipment to [[divination]] or flood control.

== Origin in China ==
[[File:Sui Dynasty Go Board.jpg|thumb|right|A ceramic 19 x 19 board preserved from the [[Sui dynasty]].]]
[[File:Zhou Wenju 重屏会棋图 Palace Museum, Illustrated Section.jpg|thumb|right|350px|[[Li Jing (Southern Tang)|Li Jing]] playing Go with his brothers. Painting by [[Zhou Wenju]] (fl. 942–961), [[Southern Tang]] dynasty.]]
Go's early history is debated, but there are myths about its existence, one of which assuming that Go was an ancient fortune telling device used by Chinese astrologers to simulate the universe's relationship to an individual.{{citation needed|date=July 2016}} Another common origin story is that the mythical sage [[Emperor Yao]] invented the game to educate his son and cultivate proper virtue.<ref name="Berge-Becker" />{{Rp|page=27}}

The earliest written reference of the game is usually taken to be the historical annal ''[[Zuo Zhuan]]''{{sfn|Potter|1985}}{{sfn|Fairbairn|1995}} ({{circa|4th century BCE}}), referring to a historical event of 548 BCE. It is also mentioned in Book XVII of the ''[[Analects of Confucius]]'' and in two of the books of [[Mencius]]{{sfn|Potter|1984}}{{sfn|Fairbairn|1995}} ({{circa|3rd century BCE}}). In all of these works, the game is referred to as {{transliteration|zh|ISO|yì}} ({{lang|zh-Hant|弈}}; Old Chinese: ''*ɢrak'').<ref name=":1" />

Chinese archaeologists have discovered a broken piece of a pottery [[Go (board game)|go board]] from the [[Western Han dynasty]] (206 BCE – 24 CE) in [[Shaanxi Province]]. This is the earliest discovery of an existing board unearthed in China. The board was found in the ruins of a watchtower at the tombs of Emperor [[Jingdi]] and [[Empress Wang Zhi]] of the Western Han dynasty. The broken fragment of the board measures 5.7&nbsp;cm to 28.5&nbsp;cm long, 17&nbsp;cm to 19.7&nbsp;cm wide and 3.6&nbsp;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:

<blockquote>
The go board has 17 lines along its length and breadth, making 289 points in all. The black and white stones each number 150.{{sfn|Fairbairn|1995}}
</blockquote>

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.{{sfn|Shotwell|2003}}

The first book dedicated to Go is the ''[[Dunhuang Go Manual]]'' ({{circa|6th century}} CE), and was found in the [[Mogao Caves]] in [[Dunhuang]], and discusses the game as played on a 19 x 19 board. More books devoted to the game were written during the [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] and [[Song dynasty|Song]] dynasties.<ref name=":0" />

In ancient China, Go had an important status among elites and was associated with ideas of self-cultivation, wisdom, and gentlemanly ideals.<ref name="Berge-Becker">{{Cite book |last=Berge-Becker |first=Zach |title=Games & Play in Chinese & Sinophone Cultures |date=2024 |publisher=[[University of Washington Press]] |isbn=9780295752402 |editor-last=Guo |editor-first=Li |location=Seattle, WA |pages= |chapter=Groups on the Grid: Weiqi Cultures in Song-Yuan-Ming China |editor-last2=Eyman |editor-first2=Douglas |editor-last3=Sun |editor-first3=Hongmei}}</ref>{{Rp|page=23}} According to Japanese historian Miyoshi, Go flourished in China from about 200 to 600 CE, when the interest in art and literature was at a high point.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|last=Lasker|first=Edward|title=Go and Go-Moku: The Oriental Board Games|publisher=[[Dover Publications]]|year=1960|isbn=0486206130|location=|pages=}}</ref> Go was one of the [[Four Arts of the Chinese Scholar|four cultivated arts]] of the [[Junzi|Chinese scholar gentleman]], along with [[Chinese calligraphy|calligraphy]], [[Chinese painting|painting]] and playing the musical instrument [[guqin]], and examinations of skill in those arts was used to qualify candidates for service in the [[bureaucracy]].{{sfn|Pinckard|1989}}

==Growth in east Asia==
[[Image:Kano Eitoku 010.jpg|thumb|upright|[[China|Chinese]] Go players during the [[Ming dynasty]], depicted on a painted screen by a Japanese artist of the [[Kanō school]]. [[Momoyama period]], 16th century.]]

Go is believed to have been introduced to Japan by [[Kibi no Makibi]] who had studied in [[Tang dynasty|Tang]] China at the beginning of the 8th century. But the [[Taihō Code]], enacted in 701 CE, has a description of Go and therefore the game may have been introduced a little earlier. The approximate period can be confirmed by the Middle Chinese pronunciation [[wikt:圍棋|圍棋]] ''*ɦʉi ɡɨ'', which was loaned into Old Japanese as ''*wigə/wigo<sub>2</sub>'' (= [[man'yōgana]] 井碁), later becoming the modern Japanese mixed [[kan-on]]/[[go-on]] reading [[wikt:囲碁|囲碁]] ''igo''.

After it was introduced from China, Go came to be actively played during the [[Nara period]] (710–794 CE), and during the following [[Heian period]] (794–1185 CE) 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 players, called Go-uchi ({{nihongo2|碁打ち}}) or Jouzu ({{nihongo2|上手}}) who competed against other clans. At the end of the 16th century, Nikkai ([[Hon'inbō Sansa]]) served [[Oda Nobunaga]], [[Toyotomi Hideyoshi]] and [[Tokugawa Ieyasu]] as a Go teacher, and in 1578 was recognized as the first ''[[Meijin (go)|Meijin]]'' of Go by Oda Nobunaga; he also became the first [[Hon'inbō]]. Around this time, free opening of the game started; before, the game started from a set position of several stones on the board.

In 1612, at the beginning of the [[Edo period]] (1603–1868), the [[Tokugawa shogunate]] established [[four go houses|Four hereditary "houses"]] to teach the game of Go: {{nihongo|[[Hon'inbō]]|本因坊|Hon'inbō}}, {{nihongo|[[Hayashi house|Hayashi]]|林|Hayashi}}, {{nihongo|[[Inoue house|Inoue]]|井上|Inoue}} and {{nihongo|[[Yasui house|Yasui]]|安井|Yasui}}. These four houses (''[[iemoto]]'') competed with each other throughout the 300 years of the [[Edo period]]. Professional matches between the four houses, as well as other high-profile players, were called ''[[oshirogo]]'' ("castle Go"), because they were held at castles of the [[shogun]].

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 [[Hon'inbō]] title was transformed into a tournament title.

==Development in the West==
[[Image:FarmworkersplayGo.jpg|thumb|left|Japanese-American [[Farm Security Administration]] workers play go in [[Twin Falls, Idaho]], during the 1940s. Asian immigration to the U.S. was a factor in the growth of the game in the Americas.]]
Despite its widespread popularity in [[East Asia]], Go has been slow to spread to the rest of the world, unlike other games of ancient Asian origin, such as [[chess]]. Schädler<ref name=travel>{{Cite journal | last = Schädler | first = Ulrich | title = Some Games Travel, Some Don't | year = 2001}} in The Proceedings of the First International Conference on Baduk, the Hankuk Kiwon, 2001</ref> speculates that chess has more widespread appeal because culturally congruent game pieces can be created in chess (e.g. [[Queen (chess)|Queen]] and [[Bishop (chess)|Bishop]] in [[Chess|Western Chess]], [[Chinese Chess#Advisor.2FGuard|Advisor]] and [[Chinese Chess#Minister.2FWar Elephant|Elephant]] in [[Chinese Chess]]), while Go is totally abstract. Also, there is no climactic ending in Go (such as [[checkmate]] in chess). New players often have trouble figuring out when a game of Go is over. Other theories center around the existence of fundamental differences in the level and type of thinking required by Go players as opposed to chess players. While pure analytical thought and the ability to plan many moves in advance are advantageous in chess, in Go a more intuitive approach based on pattern recognition and experience is stressed. A purely analytical approach, due to the sheer number of moves available for consideration, can be paralyzing.

The first detailed description of Go in a European language, ''De Circumveniendi Ludo Chinensium'' (''About the Chinese encircling game''), was written in Latin by [[Thomas Hyde]], and included in his 1694 treatise on Oriental board games, ''De Ludis Orientalibus'' (''About Oriental games''), pp.&nbsp;195–201; [[Oskar Korschelt]], a German [[engineer]], is credited with being the first person to try to popularize Go outside of East Asia. He learned about the game from [[Hon'inbō Shūho]] (Murase Shūho) 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 language|Japanese]], and Westerners generally refer to the game by its Japanese name {{lang|ja|go}} instead of its [[Chinese language|Chinese]] name {{lang|zh|weiqi}}.

By the early 20th century, Go had spread throughout the [[German Empire|German]] and [[Austria-Hungary|Austro-Hungarian]] empires.<ref name=eugo18801945>{{cite web|url=http://www.leipzig-go.de/fruehgeschichte_e.php |title=History of Go in Europe 1880–1945 |author=Leipzig Go |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060528115529/http://www.leipzig-go.de/fruehgeschichte_e.php |archive-date=2006-05-28 }}</ref> 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.<ref name=agahbk95>{{cite web | url = http://www.usgo.org/archive/agahbk95.html | title = American Go Association 1995 Historical Book | author = American Go Association | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110806204728/http://www.usgo.org/archive/agahbk95.html | archive-date = 2011-08-06 }}</ref> Lasker's book ''Go and Go-moku'' (1934) helped spread the game throughout the US,<ref name=agahbk95/> and in 1935, the [[American Go Association]] was formed. Two years later, in 1937, the German Go Association was founded.<ref name=eugo18801945/> [[World War II]] put a stop to most Go activity, but after the war, Go continued to spread.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://shinbo.free.fr/TheMagicOfGo/index.php?tmog=40 | title = The Magic of Go – 40. Go in Europe | author = Richard Bozulich | access-date = 2008-04-28 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20070730222854/http://shinbo.free.fr/TheMagicOfGo/index.php?tmog=40 | archive-date = 2007-07-30 | url-status = dead }}</ref>

Western players' interest increased in the 1950s. In 1978, Manfred Wimmer<ref>[http://pokspace.goverband.at/essays/wimmer_e.htm Manfred Wimmer]</ref> became the first Westerner to receive a professional player's certificate from an East Asian professional Go association. It was not until 2000 that a Westerner, [[Michael Redmond (Go player)|Michael Redmond]], achieved a professional 9 dan rating, the top rank awarded by East Asian Go associations.

For most of the 20th century, the [[Nihon Ki-in|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.<ref name=ProVisits>{{cite web | url = http://www.britgo.org/history/pros.html | title = Pro Go Player visits to UK & Ireland (since 1964) | author = British Go Association | access-date= 2007-11-17}}</ref>
By 2005, the European Go Federation had a total of 35 member countries.<ref>{{cite web | url = http://www.eurogofed.org/history/index.htm | title = EGF History | author = European Go Federation | access-date = 2007-10-31 }}</ref>

In 1996, [[NASA]] astronaut [[Daniel T. Barry|Daniel Barry]] and Japanese astronaut [[Koichi Wakata]] became the first people to play Go in space, they used a special Go set designed by Wai-Cheung Willson Chow.{{sfn|Peng|Hall|1996}} Both astronauts were awarded honorary [[dan rank]]s by the [[Nihon Kiin]].{{sfn|Peng|Hall|1996}}

In 2016 [[Lee Sedol]] was defeated by the computer program ''[[AlphaGo]]''.

==Trivia==
The first recorded game of Go in Europe was played in 1872 between [[Kido Takayoshi]] and [[Ōkubo Toshimichi]]. Both were vice ambassadors of the [[Iwakura Mission]], which traveled to the United States and Europe between 1871 and 1873. Kido was an enthusiastic Go player, as can be seen from his diary (translated by Sidney DeVere Brown and Akiko Hirota as ''The Diary of Kido Takayoshi'', Vol. I–III, Tokyo, The University of Tokyo Press, 1983–1986). During his journey, after arriving at Birmingham on 1 November 1872 and staying at the Queen's Hotel in Room No. 10, Kido notes two days later in his diary (Vol. II, p.&nbsp;243):

<blockquote>'''3 November 1872 [Meiji 5/10/3]''' Fair, then rain. I stayed in my room all day to recuperate from my illness, and had a special diet. I played ''go'' with Ōkubo.<br /> (Note) Sunday.</blockquote>

== See also ==
{{Portal|China|Japan}}
* [[Go at the 2010 Asian Games]]
* [[International Go Federation]]
* [[List of professional Go tournaments]]
* ''[[Dunhuang Go Manual]]''
* ''[[Classic of Arts]]''
{{Clear}}

== References ==
{{Reflist|30em}}

== Notes ==
* {{cite journal | last = Potter | first = Donald L. | year = 1984 | title = Go in the Classics | journal = [[Go World]] | issue = 37 | publisher = Ishi Press | location = Tokyo | pages = 16–18 | url = http://www.kiseido.com/classics.htm | access-date = 2007-11-02 | archive-date = 2010-12-18 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101218113923/http://kiseido.com/classics.htm | url-status = dead }}
* {{cite journal | last = Potter | first = Donald L. | year = 1985 | title = Go in the Classics (ii): the Tso-chuan | journal = [[Go World]] | issue = 42 | publisher = Ishi Press | location = Tokyo | pages = 19–21 | url = http://www.kiseido.com/classics.htm | access-date = 2007-11-02 | archive-date = 2010-12-18 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101218113923/http://kiseido.com/classics.htm | url-status = dead }}
* {{cite web | url = http://www.pandanet.co.jp/English/essay/goancientchina.html | title = Go in Ancient China | last = Fairbairn | first = John | author-link = John Fairbairn (writer) | year = 1995 | access-date = 2007-11-02}}
* {{cite web|url=http://www.msoworld.com/mindzine/news/orient/go/history/origin_korea.html |title=History of Go in Korea |last=Fairbairn |first=John |author-link=John Fairbairn (writer) |year=2000 |access-date=2007-11-06 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110608021308/http://www.msoworld.com/mindzine/news/orient/go/history/origin_korea.html |archive-date=2011-06-08 }}
* {{cite book | last = Lasker | first = Edward | author-link = Edward Lasker | title = Go and Go-Moku | isbn = 0-486-20613-0 | year = 1960 | publisher = Courier Corporation | orig-year = 1934 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/gogomokuoriental00lask }}
* {{Cite book | url = http://www.kiseido.com/printss/ukiyoedx.html | chapter-url = http://www.kiseido.com/printss/four.html | title = Japanese Prints and the World of Go | chapter = The Four Accomplishments | year = 1989 | last = Pinckard | first = William | editor = Richard Bozulich | access-date = 2007-11-02 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080316051106/http://www.kiseido.com/printss/ukiyoedx.html | archive-date = 2008-03-16 | url-status = dead }}.
* {{Cite journal|title=One Giant Leap For Go |url=http://homepage.mac.com/bjornwendsjo/go/2-96.pdf |journal=Svensk Gotidning |volume=96 |issue=2 |year=1996 |pages=7–8 |last1=Peng |first1=Mike |last2=Hall |first2=Mark |access-date=2007-11-12 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304121705/http://homepage.mac.com/bjornwendsjo/go/2-96.pdf |archive-date=2012-03-04 }}
* {{Cite web | last = Shotwell | first = Peter | date = 3 April 2003 | title = The Game of Go in Ancient and Modern Tibet |url=https://www.usgo.org/sites/default/files/bh_library/go_in_tibet.pdf | access-date = 23 September 2021 | url-status = dead | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230131142827/https://www.usgo.org/sites/default/files/bh_library/go_in_tibet.pdf | archive-date = 31 January 2023}} Revision of {{cite magazine | last = Shotwell | first = Peter | title=Go in the Snow |magazine=GoWorld |number=69 |date=1993}}

==External links==
* [http://gobase.org/history/ History of Go in ancient China, Korea and Japan]

{{Go (game)}}

[[Category:History of Go|*]]