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Introduction

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.

John Fairbairn