Why are there 32 pieces in Chinese Chess? What is the significance of each piece?

Chinese Chess with 32 pieces evolved from the development of ancient armies and is a game with military meaning in ancient China.

In the early days of chess, the chess system consisted of three kinds of instruments: chess pieces, chopsticks, and bureaus. The two sides traveled in a line, each with six pieces: lord, lu, pheasant, calf, and plug (two pieces).

During the Tang Dynasty, Xiangqi underwent great changes in China, and there were already four types of pawns: generals, knights, rooks, and pawns, consisting of 64 squares in black and white. Later on, the 64 squares were changed into 90 points with reference to the Chinese game of Weiqi.

During the Song Dynasty, Chinese chess was basically finalized, and in addition to the addition of "cannon" due to the invention of gunpowder, "sergeant" and "bishop" were also added. That is to say, on the basis of using a chessboard with nine palaces, absorbing and borrowing the types of pieces from other types of chess and upgrading three of the pawns into a sergeant and two cannons, in order to meet the interests of the people at that time.

In the Ming Dynasty, the word "general" was changed to "marshal", probably for the convenience of playing and memorizing.

Meaning of pieces:

1. Shuai/general

Red side is "Shuai" and black side is "General". The marshal and the general are the heads of the game, and are the targets for which both sides are fighting.

It can only move within the "Nine Palaces", either up or down, left or right, and each move can only be one square on a vertical or horizontal line. The commander and the general cannot be directly opposite each other in the same straight line, otherwise the walking side will be judged negative.

2, Shi / Shi

Red is "Shi", black is "Shi". It too can only move within the nine squares. Its path can only be diagonal lines within the nine squares. The Shi can only move one diagonal at a time.

3. Bishop/phase

Red is the "phase" and black is the "bishop". It moves diagonally two squares at a time, commonly known as the "bishop flying field". The scope of activity of the phase (bishop) is limited to its own position within the "river boundary" and cannot cross the river, and if there is a piece in the center of the "field" where it moves, it cannot move, commonly known as "stuffing the bishop's eye".

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4. Rook (jū )

The rook is the most powerful in chess, no matter the horizontal or vertical line, it can be walked, as long as there is no sub block, the number of moves is not limited. It is commonly known as "rook traveling straight". Therefore, a rook can control up to seventeen points, so it is called "a rook with ten pieces".

5. Cannon

Cannon does not eat the discs, move exactly the same as the rooks, but the cannon in the eating discs, must jump over a piece, our side and the enemy's can be, commonly known as the "cannon to play spaced out", "over the hill.

6. Horse

The way a horse moves is always diagonal, i.e., it moves horizontally or straight for a frame, then diagonally for a diagonal, commonly known as "Horse walks on the day". The horse can go to eight points around the selection point at a time, so there are "eight sides of the wind" said. If there are other pieces blocking the way, the knight will not be able to move past them, commonly known as "crapping the horse's leg".

7. Pawns/pawns

Red is a pawn and black is a pawn.

The pawns can only move forward, not backward, and cannot move sideways before crossing the river. After crossing the river, they can still move left and right, but only one step at a time. Even so, the power of the pawns is greatly enhanced, so there is a saying that "a small pawn crossing the river is as powerful as a large rook".

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