A Game on rotted Axhandle mountain

2 min read

There is a legend about the great allure of go.Wang Zhi，a Jin-dynasty（265-420）woodman was on his way up a mountain to gather firewood when he came across two fellows playing a game of go.He stopped to watch them and forgot all about the firewood In the middle of the game, one of the players told him You should be going home.

Look, the handle of your axe has rotted away Wang Zhi hurried down the mountain, but when he arrived home he could find none of his family there any longer. all the villagers, too, were strangers to him Only an old well assured him it was indeed his home village This story is the source of an ancient Chinese saying: “Seven days in the mountains are as long as a thousand years in the world. “In Quzhou, Zhejiang Province. there is indeed a rotted Ax-Handle mountain. said to be the location of the legend Rotted ax-handle was later adopted as another name for the game of go.

High-level go players sometimes write the Chinese characters （lanke）(rotted ax-handle) on folding fans, and give them as gifts to lower-level friends Playing go helps to calm the mind. On a clear day, one can play a game with a visiting friend, while indulging in random reflections on life and history.

Or, on a moonlit night, two friends might sit by a go board, while sipping cups of fragrant tea. Except for the moonlight shining through the window, nothing else seems to exist. Gone from their minds, too are any thoughts of worldly favor or humiliation.