中国象棋规则英文版

Xiangqi

, or

Chinese Chess

, is an extremely popular game in the Eastern

Hemisphere. It is currently played by millions (or tens of millions) in

China, Taiwan, Thailand, Singapore, Vietnam, Hong Kong and other Asian

countries.

Xiangqi

has

remained

in

its

present

form

for

centuries.

It

is

believed that both Xiangqi and

Orthodox Chess

derive from the original

Indian game of

Chanturanga

.

(xiáng)

(qí ) translates to Elephant Game. In Mandarin it is

written as either Xiangqi, Xiang Qi or Hsiang-Ch`i and pronounced

The name Xiangqi has an interesting origin. Of China's four traditional

arts -- qin (music), hua (brush pai

nting), shu (calligraphy) and qí

(strategy games) -- the latter term, qi, provides the final syllable of

Xiangqi.

There

is

much

literature

on

Xiangqi,

most

of

it

in

Chinese.

There

are, however, a few

books available in English

and other languages.

Xiangqi sets can be procured from a number of sources. The most obvious

of

these

are

shops

in

the

Chinese

districts

of

large

cities.

Often,

such

sets

are

quite

cheap,

consisting

of

a

paper

board

and

flat

wooden

counters

inscribed with red and black pictograms. These traditional Chinese

symbols

may

appear

strange

to

the

western

eye,

but

can

easily

be

recognized

with a minimum of practice. (For more sophisticated sets, see below.)

Rules

The board

The Xiangqi board is made up of ten horizontal lines and nine vertical

lines.

The

verticals

are

interrupted

by

a

central-horizontal

void

called

a

river

.

Two

palaces

are

positioned

at

opposite

sides

of

the

board.

Each

is distinguished by a cross connecting its four corner

points

.

NOTE: Orthodox Chess pieces are played on

squares

; X

iangqi Chess

pieces are played on line intersections which are called

points

.

The above board shows various L-shaped markings in order to distinguish

the

setup

points

of

Pawns

and

Cannons.

These

markings

are

not

present

on

all commercial boards.

Pieces

Each player has the following pieces:

2 Rooks

(R)

(or chariots)

2 Knights

(N)

(or horses)

2 Elephants

(M)

(or bishops or ministers)

2 Mandarins

(G)

(or advisors or assistants or guards)

1 King

5 Pawns

(K)

(or generals)

(P)

(or soldiers)

2 Cannons

(C)

The Xiangqi array is shown below: