Qijing Shisanpian (The Classic of Weiqi in Thirteen Chapters) III

CHAPTER EIGHT: ON EXAMINING FEELINGS
At birth, a person is calm and his feelings are difficult to discern. However, after he has received sensations from the outside world, he becomes active and, consequently, his states of mind may be perceived. If we apply this theory to weiqi, we will be able to predict victory or defeat [1].
Generally, if you are sure of yourself yet modest, you will often win; if you are uncertain and proud, you will often lose . If you can maintain your positions without fighting, you will win: if you continually kill pieces without worrying about anything else, you will lose.
If, after a defeat, you reflect on its causes, you will improve your skill at the game, whereas if you flatter yourself on your victories, you will lose your ability. To seek the error in yourself and not blame others, therefore, is advantageous.
Attacking the enemy without caring about the attacks which he may make on you is disadvantageous.
Thinking is perfected by carefully observing the entire development of the conflict on the game-board. If you are distracted by other matters, your mind will be confused.
Skilful players correctly weigh up all aspects of the game. Unworthy players prepare themselves for battle in a superficial or incorrect manner.
You are strong if you are really able to intimidate your adversary. Merely glorying in the fact that he cannot attain your level is a sure way of being defeated. If you are competent, you will be able to make associations of ideas; if you only have one plan in your mind, you have little indeed!
Abstain from making comments but remain inscrutable, so that your adversary will not be able to guess your plans and will be in difficulties. If first you are agitated and then calm, without finding a proper equilibrium, you will irritate him.
In Shijing it is written: “If others have something in mind, I will try to discover what it is” .

CHAPTER NINE: ON CORRECTNESS AND INCORRECTNESS
Some [2] have stated: “Weiqi considers change and deceit as necessary, invasion and killing as technical terms; is this not perhaps a false Dao?!” But I answer: Not at all!
In Yijing we may read: “When an army is out on a mission, it needs well-defined rules, otherwise it is in danger” . An army must never be deceived: false words and the path towards betrayal belong to the “Horizontal and Vertical” doctrine and the Warring States [3].
Although weiqi is a small Dao , it is exactly the same as fighting. Thus, there are many levels of play and not all players are equal: those who are at a low level play without thinking or reflecting, and simply act in order to deceive. Others aid their thinking by pointing at the positions of the pieces, and yet others talk and allow their intentions to become known.
But those who have reached a high level certainly do not behave like this. On the contrary, they think deeply and ponder on remote consequences, exploit the possibilities offered by the shapes which come into being as the pieces are laid down, and let their thoughts travel around the game-board before putting down a single piece. They aim at conquest before conquest becomes manifest, preventing their adversaries from placing pieces even before they think of placing them.
Do such skilled players base their method of play on talking too much and making frantic gestures?!
Zuozhuan states: “Be honest and not incorrect!” Is that not precisely what we are talking about?!

CHAPTER TEN: ON OBSERVING DETAILS
During play, there sometimes appears to be an advantage where in fact there is not; at other times, the opposite is the case. It is usually considered advantageous to invade, although there are invasions which only cause damage to those who make them.
At times the advantage lies in playing to the left, at others to the right. Sometimes you have the initiative, sometimes you are subjected to it. Sometimes the pieces are arranged close together, at others they are far apart. When you play a "zhan" [4], do not forget what has happened before . When you abandon pieces, reflect on the consequences. Sometimes you begin playing close to certain pieces and end up far from them; at others you have only a few pieces in a given spot and end up with many.
If you wish to strengthen the outside, first take care of the inside . If you wish to consolidate to the east, attack to the west .
Pieces laid down by your opponent which are aligned but which do not yet form “eyes” must be “broken” as soon as possible .
Play a "jie", if it does not damage other groups of pieces.
If your opponent plays with “handicap pieces” , arrange your own pieces amply: the player who uses handicap pieces avoids battle but extends his positions.
Invade territories only after you have selected them carefully. Once you have ascertained that they contain no obstacles, penetrate them.
These are some of the most excellent methods used by expert players, who naturally know them well.
Yijing states: “Who but the most intelligent and elevated person in the world can attain such a position?” .

CHAPTER ELEVEN: ON TERMINOLOGY
Weiqi players have given precise names to all dispositions. Some configurations may be understood easily, like “life or death” and “establish oneself or disappear”.
These technical terms are: "wo", "chuo", "yue", "fei", "guan", "zha", "zhan", "ding", "qu", "men", "da", "duan", "xing", "li", "na", "dian", "ju", "qiao", "jia", "za", "bai", "ci", "le", "pu", "zheng", "jie", "chi", "sha", "song", and "pang".
Although there are only thirty-two technical terms , players must think of ten thousand variations. But all the changes made on the game-board, according to distance and nearness, horizontality and verticality, are so many that even I will never be able to know them all.
However, it is difficult to disregard these terms if you are aiming at victory. And in Zuozhuan you will find written: “Certainly the names must be rectified!” Can't this sentence be applied to weiqi too?

CHAPTER TWELVE: ON MENTAL LEVELS
There are nine mental levels into which players are distinguished. The first is called “being in the spirit”, the second “seated in enlightenment”, the third “concreteness”, the fourth “understanding changes”, the fifth “applying wisdom”, the sixth “ability”, the seventh “strength”, the eighth “being quite inept”, and the ninth and last “being truly stupid”.
Levels lower than these cannot be enumerated successfully and, as they cannot form part of the above list, they will not be dealt with here.
It is written in Zuozhuan: “The superior man already possesses perfect knowledge from birth; the man who attains it only after study is at a slightly lower level; the inferior man studies only after having encountered difficulties” .

CHAPTER THIRTEEN: MISCELLANEOUS
On the game-board, the sides are not as important as the corners, and the corners are not as important as the centre.
Playing a "na" is better than playing a "yue", but playing a "bai" is better than playing a "na" .
If your opponent plays a "zhuo", answer with a "yue". If he plays a "za", your response should often be a "zhan".
A large “eye” can overcome a smaller one; a diagonal line is not as useful as a straight one .
If two "guan" face each other, play a "qu" immediately.
Do not undertake a "zheng" if there are enemy obstacles in your path.
If an attack is not completed successfully, do not immediately play at that point again.
At the end of the game, a "jiaopansusi" group will certainly be dead , whereas "zhisi" and "banliu" groups will certainly be alive.
If it is struck in the centre, a “rose” formation will have practically no life left. If a "cross" formation is in a corner, do not try to capture it at first.
When a handicap piece is played in the centre, do not play a "jiaotu".
Weiqi should not be played many times consecutively, otherwise its players become exhausted, and once you are exhausted you cannot play well. Do not play when you are indisposed, because you will forget the moves and be defeated easily.
Do not boast of victory, nor complain about defeat! It is proper for a "junzi" to appear modest and generous; only vulgar persons manifest expressions of anger and rage. A good player should not exalt his skills; the beginner should not be timorous,but should sit calmly and breathe regularly: in this way, the battle is half won. A player whose face reveals a disturbed state of mind is already losing.
The worst shame is due to a change of heart, the lowest baseness is to deceive others.
The best way to play is to lay down one's pieces in an ample fashion; there is no more stupid move than to repeat a "jie".
Change your play after playing three pieces in a line; playing a "fangjusi" is not acceptable.
Winning by occupying many intersections is called "yinju"; losing without having acquired even one intersection is called "shuchou".
When both players have won one game each they are equal. A game is declared a draw when both players have acquired the same number of intersections. Matches should not be composed of more than three games each!
When you count your pieces, do not worry about how many you have won.
Remember that a jie may be double (which creates an alternate figure) or even triple, which leads to an infinite configuration.
Not all players are equal, you must sometimes concede the initiative, or two, or five or seven handicap pieces .
It may be said that, in weiqi, the life of one is the non-life of the other, that the near and the far complement each other, that the strong configuration of one corresponds to the weakness of the other, that the advantage of one is the disadvantage of the other. This means peace but not serenity, it means that one may establish oneself but not remain inactive. In the same way that danger may lurk behind peace and serenity, remaining inactive means being annihilated. Remember the words contained in Yijing: “The "junzi" is at peace but does not forget the danger; he affirms his position but does not forget the possibility of being destroyed!”

[1] The author clarifies the following concept: for a player to manifest the fact that he is disturbed during play is not only impolite but also disadvantageous, because it allows his opponent to understand and exploit his plans. To keep calm and breathe regularly allows an adult person to regain that “original state” which he had when he was a child. The value of this regression to a childlike state was upheld by Taoism.
[2] The author refers here to the Confucians, who had harshly criticised the game.
[3] By this statement, the author distances the game from the doctrines, condemned by Confucian thought, which were generally associated with weiqi and in which the game was viewed as amoral: the indifference of means towards ends, which in turn were based exclusively on personal advantage. By objecting that weiqi does not allow total liberty but instead obliges players to follow a series of unwritten rules of courtesy (indicating pieces with one's hand, making known one's plans, etc.) and by making a rigorous logical examination of the situation, the author concludes that weiqi is correct in itself, and relegates players who do not follow this etiquette to a lower level. This reasoning overcomes the greatest cultural obstacle, which later became anachronistic, which prevented the Chinese élite from full acceptance of the game.
[4] Definitiile termenilor se vor prezenta in anexa.