Page 76 - A Dictionary of Chinese Symbols BIG Book

A-Z 69
Chess

xiang-qi

Several variants of chess are attested in China at an early period. The game known in
Japan as go is described as a game of ‘encirclement chess’ (wei-qi). Go was exactly like
war and was played according to the rules of military strategy. The usual game of chess,
however, is said to correspond to the ‘Plan of the Yellow River’ (he-tu): and the first man
to spot this, at once defeated the ruling grand master. This ‘Plan’ takes the form of the
magic ‘square’. ‘Figure chess’ (xiang-qi) is connected with astrological symbolism, and
is also supposed to be an imitation of Chinese football ( games).
Chess is one of the ‘four arts’. People playing chess are often to be seen in paintings.
A celebrated scene shows the two constellation deities of the North and South Poles
playing chess with each other. A boy comes along and watches for a while – when he
gets home, however, he finds that many years have passed.

Chestnut

li

The so-called ‘gold-leaf’ chestnut is native to the eastern part of the Himalayas. It is a
shrub variant of the chestnut-leaved oak. In Chinese, the word li = chestnut is
phonetically close to li = propriety, good manners (only the tones differ).

Another meaning of the character for li = chestnut is ‘fearful’, ‘anxious’ – i.e. lest one’s
behaviour be found wanting. At weddings, chestnuts are served together with dates
(zao): the implicit message is ‘May they soon (zao) have sons (li).’

Children

haiz

Implicitly if not explicitly, for the Chinese, ‘children’ means ‘sons’. Before 1949
only a male heir could inherit the parental estate and perform the ancestral sacrifices for
father and forefathers. The superior status of male issue is already evident in the