The most celebrated (though not the oldest) go manual is the Chinese "Xuan Xuan Qijing." It was published in 1349 by Yan Defu and Yan Tianzhang. The former was a strong go player and the latter (no relation) a collector of old go books. They made a perfect team.
The title of the book is literally "The Classic of the Mystery of the Mysterious", but it is an allusion to Chapter 1 of Lao Zi's "Dao De Jing" where the reference goes on to say that the mystery of the mysterious is "the gateway to all marvels." I prefer that as a title, especially as it is made clear in the preface that this latter phrase is meant to be called to mind, and is meant to imply that the book offers the way to mastering marvels in the form of go tesujis.
It contains, amongst other things, 387 life-and-death problems. Many are stunningly beautiful, and the book has been copied many, many times. The original is lost, and there are now several versions. There are two main texts in China, the oldest being a Ming copy. The first Japanese copy appeared in 1630, and it has appeared many times since. In the process, small changes have crept in. The Koreans also made copies and their main version contains a few problems not found elsewhere.
But the overwhelming core is unchanged, and differences are almost always minor. This must be due in part to the respect generated by the original - only a tiny handful of mistakes have been found - and partly to its almost unique feature of naming all the problems.
The significance of these names is at least twofold. They are more than pure whimsy. On the one hand they may provide a way of remembering the problem. On the other, they may give a clue to how the problem is to be solved (e.g. whether it ends in ko instead of simple death). Both features have helped perpetuate the original forms.
The names are not explained in the original. Some names are trivial, but many of the names refer to events, beliefs or symbols that would have been familiar to an educated gentleman of the time, though some would be a little testing. There is something of the cryptic crossword clue in this. We can easily imagine the exquisite pleasure felt when the combination of go problem and historical allusion was savoured and solved with friends in a pavilion overlooking a tranquil lake, aided perhaps by a little wine.
I am going to present some of these problems, one by one. For obvious reasons I am going to have to explain the names and the allusions. It may not be possible, therefore, to recreate the original pleasures presented by the problems, but I hope it will create enjoyment of another kind, and help you remember the marvellous tesujis.
I will begin with one of my own favourite combinations of problem and name.
Problem #1 CAPTURE AND RELEASE AT LU RIVER
Lu River is in Yunnan Province, home of the famous go stones. This title refers to Zhuge Liang's campaign in Annam, and possibly as far as Burma, when he repeatedly captured and released the Burmese general Meng Leng.
At Ningnan there is a river called the Black Water, where there is today said to be an almost inaccessible cave with a rusty-looking bronze sword suspended from the ceiling. Legend has it that it was left there by Zhuge, then prime minister of the ancient kingdom of Sichuan. He lived in the Three Kingdoms era (220-265) and his name is still a byword in China today for brilliant statesmanship.
He led seven expeditions from Chengdu to try to conquer a barbarian (i.e. non-Chinese) tribe in the Xichang area. He captured the chieftain of this tribe seven times, and each time he released him, hoping to win him over by his magnanimity. Six times the chieftain was unmoved and continued his rebellion, but after the seventh time he became wholeheartedly loyal to the Sichuan Chinese.
The moral of the legend in its modern interpretation is that to conquer a people one must conquer their hearts and minds. In the go problem it has a simpler meaning (concentrate only on capture and release - ignore the reference to sixes and sevens), but is just as apposite.
Problem #1