127. The art of Weiqi (Go/Baduk) war (碁#13) 巽 (☰/☰)

門 Every now and then, I get a very good question that deserves answering: What is the difference between the Weiqi Art of War and Sun Tzu's classic by the same name? ☴ The main difference between the two is one of focus, mindset and who the intended receiver of such profound wisdom was. ☲ Sun Tzu's beautiful work of art, was in response to a king's questions regarding war and the making of it. Sun Tzu, being a sharp fella, realised very quickly the flipancy in the king's way and needed a diplomatic way in advising the king on not making war, but if push came to shove, then the king should/would know what was required to win. ☱ The opening warnings on war are deliberate and the first few chapters purposefully go on and on about the numbers, logistics and all the tediously boring stuff. If you've felt put off by it all, you are meant to feel that way. ☷ In martial arts, we keep hearing about being grounded and how important it is. Well, that's what Sun Tzu does from the start and it's not fun! It's not meant to be: In war people die. Permanently like forever. There is no reboot button like in the movies. ☰ Those of you that live the martial arts dream as a way of life will know from continuous experience what I mean. Real life sometimes only looks exciting in the retelling but not when you're actually in it. ☶ Now the game of Weiqi was actually created to be a teaching tool to help budding princes learn how to rule and fight wars. It comes with the assumption that as a prince, you were born into it and so, you've got no choice in the matter. So you'd better get good at it or else. ☵ You fight wars because you have to and not out of flights of fancy. ☳ Weiqi is about maneauverings and posturings. And as you start out, there is the strong possibility that you may be on your own without money, men and guns, nor a vast state ready to die for your goals. 門 It's about placing your stones on the board in such a way, that could be miles and years away, that when actual battle commences, victory is swift and complete. That's the theory. The reality is that lesson 1) there's always somebody who's come before you - hence the master starts first, and lesson 2) life isn't fair and that's why they get one extra stone. And finally lesson 3) as the board fills up with stones, so too as with real life complexities that we love to call "drama" ⚔️圍棋戰聖