Dunhuang Go Manual

Lore & Background

The manuscript is a paper scroll 15.5 cm high and 240 cm long, with 159 lines of cursive handwriting containing many transcription errors. It is incomplete at the beginning, missing three to five lines, but the end is intact and gives the title 'Qi Jing' (Classic of Go). The author's name is not provided. A single line of Tibetan at the end reads 'Written by the monk Ba', though it is uncertain whether this means a Tibetan scribe copied the Chinese text or a Tibetan monk added the line later.

Reader's Guide

The Dunhuang Go Manual is significant as the earliest known surviving manual on Go, providing unique insight into the game's theory and practice in 6th-century China. Its discovery in the Mogao Caves and preservation at the British Library highlight its historical and cultural value. The manual's contents, including discussions of strategy, board symbolism, and rules, offer a rare window into early Go development, while the use of 'crow pieces' instead of 'black pieces' due to a taboo under the Northern Zhou dynasty provides a key dating clue. The appended extract from Emperor Wu of Liang's lost 'Commentary on Go' adds further importance, as no other editions of that text survive. The manuscript's incomplete state and uncertain authorship underscore the fragmentary nature of early Chinese board game literature.

Did You Know?

• The manuscript uses 'crow pieces' (烏子) instead of 'black pieces' (黑子), though the reason for this is not historically documented and remains speculative.
• The text explicitly mentions a Go board with 361 intersections, indicating use of the standard 19×19 grid rather than the earlier 17×17 grid.
• A single line of Tibetan at the end reads 'Written by the monk Ba', but it is uncertain whether a Tibetan scribe copied the text or added the line later.
• In September 2013, Wang Runan, vice-chairman of the Chinese Weiqi Association, called for the manual to be returned to China.