In the
wikipedia article on go, under
"History", this statement is made:
Quote:
The earliest written reference to the game is generally recognized as the historical annal Zuo Zhuan (c. 4th century BCE), referring to a historical event of 548 BCE. It is also mentioned in Book XVII of the Analects of Confucius[10] and in two books written by Mencius (c. 3rd century BCE). In all of these works, the game is referred to as yì (弈). Today, in China, it is known as weiqi (simplified Chinese: 围棋; traditional Chinese: 圍棋; pinyin: wéiqí; Wade–Giles: wei ch'i), lit. 'encirclement board game'.
Now, when I describe go to non-players, I would like to bring this up, to show how old the game is. (The often-made claim of an origin 4000 years ago is not solidly established, in my opinion.) But I am not sure if historians are certain that yi and weiqi refer to the same game.
However, there is a very interesting article by John Fairbairn, from 1995, on "Go in Ancient China":
https://www.pandanet.co.jp/English/essa ... china.html It includes such statements as this:
Quote:
As to why yi was first used whereas weiqi became usual later, the answer is probably found in the book "Fang Yan" [Dialects] by the Han scholar Yang Xiong (53 BC - 18 AD) which says, "Yi refers to weiqi. East of the Hangu Pass in the states of Qi and Lu everyone says yi." Lu, now Shandong Province, was the home of both Confucius and Mencius and so yi was naturally the term used by them.
This is exactly the sort of thing I am looking for.
But - and my apologies if my impression is wrong - it seems that now he no longer refers to these early, Confucian-era references. Instead, the earliest he mentions is usually the Dunhuang classic. So my question, for John Fairbairn, is: Do you still feel that the earlier sources prove that go existed back in the time of Confucius? Or has some uncertainty arisen since 1995?
Thanks very much!