What is Go?

Speaking of mysticism, we can see some clues from the origin of Go. Talking about the origin of Go is not out of the need of textual research, and in fact there is no textual research. China culture pays attention to tracing the source. For example, Shennong tasted a hundred herbs and taught the people to farm, and Fuxi wove the first fishing net. Carpenters call Lu Ban the granddaddy, even if he sings and sells himself, he has his own god to bless him. In contrast, the origin of Go is much more vague. There is a popular saying that Yao taught him Go in order to train his son. However, this legend is not a blessing for Weiqi, so it is better to ignore it, because Dani is not a good character in history, which is clearly recorded in the history books. If we insist on linking Go with Dani, it can only show that Confucius and Mencius have profound insights: Go is not nourishing, but chaotic.

In his autobiography "There is a Sky Behind the World", Wu Qingyuan believes that Go was originally a tool for divining astronomical phenomena, not a tool for competition. This is probably a more acceptable statement at present. The ancients recorded the position of celestial bodies in the form of coordinates, so there was the embryonic form of chessboard, and those coordinate points that recorded celestial bodies were the original chess pieces. According to this logic, the prototype of Go is likely to have only one colored piece.

Weiqi, also called black and white chess, obviously must have a transition from one color to two colors, and it is quite logical from an astronomical point of view. Celestial bodies are not static, but constantly changing with the seasons. In order to reflect this change and explore the law of this change, the ancients began to put two-color chess pieces on a chessboard for comparative study. In this way, the pieces of Go began to touch each other.

But even so, Go is still just a celestial recorder. What force pushed it to the competitive level? I think that is the power of divination and prediction, an innate curiosity of human beings about mysterious things. In any human culture, astronomy and divination are inextricably linked. If astronomy is a deep objective existence, then divination is a subjective and conscious spiritual force of human beings who want to be above the objective. When Kant looked at the starry sky and was deeply moved by an ultimate rational order, so were the ancients. They all believe that all the secrets of the future world can be explored with human wisdom. Once Weiqi has become a tool for divination, it is no longer a simple instrument, because it has been integrated with human wisdom and belief since then, and it is no longer a simple reflection of astronomical phenomena, but a carrier of human thought.

The obvious difference between human thought and the objective world lies in its contradiction. With contradiction, there will be confrontation, and with confrontation, there will be rules, so Go finally has its competitive soul.

To this day, Weiqi has only vaguely seen a little connection with astronomy in its external form, such as Tianyuan and Xingwei. And the connection with divination is not easy to detect. Our culture has a great view on divination, which belongs to Machamp, the so-called ghost of Confucius. In fact, however, divination is an ancient but never lost knowledge of human beings. Isn't the current game theory essentially divination? Of course, the former is naturally much more accurate. After all, we can't ignore the changes of human brain capacity over thousands of years. If we look at divination with an open mind, we may suddenly find that divination is still embodied in the most essential laws of Go. For example, judging the situation in Go, isn't it just like the taste of Wang Wen's signing?

When it comes to Go, divination and game theory, a movie clip comes to mind. Nash, the founder of American game theory, had many legendary experiences in his life, and Hollywood arranged a beautiful film with his stories. In the article, Nash is studying at the university. At that time, game theory was still in its infancy. A man challenged him to play chess. Nash's self-confidence and loss seemed to give him great stimulation.

They are playing Go! I still remember the incredible feeling when I saw this lens. Since the Enlightenment, people have always believed that human beings can explore all the mysteries of this world through rational thinking and summary of laws. I think Nash must have picked up the chess piece with such confidence. "As long as every step is in line with the law, he should be able to win." I remember that Xiu Ce, the first Japanese man in ancient and modern times, also said something similar: "If black and white are correct, black is not as good as three and a half eyes." Of course, Nash can't compare with Xiu Ce in Go. His loss should be a chess problem, but even so, he still feels a huge question in his heart: "Even if every step conforms to the existing laws, can you really win?"

This problem is precisely the spirit of game theory and the spirit of Go. As the crystallization of human thinking and wisdom, can its laws really be the ultimate? In the 20th century, the greatest progress of human beings in nature and humanities lies in the recognition of the contingency and unpredictability of the development of all things in the world, and this unspeakable mystery has never dissipated since the birth of Go.

If Xiu Ce can really become a chess soul and live to this day, he will definitely sigh: "There is no best way to play."

Go, after all, is played by people. This is the soul of Go. It was like this when it was born, it is like this now, and it will be like this in the future.

The benefits of go

Weiqi is an entertainment activity that integrates intelligence, physical strength, quality and will. Playing Go has many advantages.

First, the activity of Go is brain-strengthening gymnastics.

Weiqi is a game in which people kill each other around. Every move is equivalent to sending a soldier to attack the other side, forcing the other side to find a way to deal with it, and the other side is attacking you, asking you to find a way to fight him back. This process of constant attack and defense is the process of constantly asking questions and solving problems. In this process, the brain gets uninterrupted exercise and becomes more and more flexible and intelligent.

Second, Go is a paradise for mathematics.

Many children are bored with the addition, subtraction, multiplication and division of numbers, and there are many opportunities to use numbers in Go, which can make you unconsciously accept mathematics in entertainment and improve your computing ability.

Third, Go activities can cultivate temperament.

In the game of Go, players are required to be polite, not arrogant in winning, and not willing to lose. In dealing with the lively, fierce and unpredictable chess game, only by carrying forward the spirit of tenacious struggle can the players win the final victory. Most people who often play Go are calm, modest and prudent, and behave in a civilized and elegant manner.

Fourth, playing Go can cultivate ability.

Weiqi attaches great importance to thinking, and every player in the game has an offensive and defensive role. The whole process is full of wits and wits and intense tension. It can effectively cultivate a high degree of attention, fast calculation ability, keen observation, meticulous analysis ability, flexible adaptability and overall coordination ability, so that your problem-solving ability is greatly improved.

In a word, learning Go can develop intelligence, cultivate ability, cultivate temperament and improve quality.

Some people praise Weiqi, saying that "Weiqi world is a paradise for teenagers" and "Weiqi activity is the golden key to developing intelligence!" This is enough to show that the benefits of playing Go have been deeply rooted in people's hearts.

Learning Go has many advantages.

Enhance wisdom and brain flexibility.

Strong ability, good at calculation,

It is not difficult to solve this problem.

More strategies make you more flexible.

Ingenuity is really capable.

Dare to fight, strong-willed,