Traditional Game Marks New Era of Cultural Exchange 围棋比赛开启文化交流新纪元

冯明辉（音） 译/范婕

“Go is like a mirror， if you allow yourself to look into it. You should accept all of your mistakes and realize how flawed your plans are and how inconsistent your ideas are， maybe see ideas you didn’t even know. In daily life， you don’t have that，” describes Timo Schreiber， Vice Chair of Berlin Go Association during an interview with China Daily Website at China Cultural Center in Berlin.

Go is a board game for two players that demands strenuous， abstract and logical strategies. To win， the players must use black and white playing pieces， called stones， to surround more territory than the opponent on a checkered board. The game was invented in China more than 2，500 years ago and enjoys a wide fan base， mostly in East Asia， but it is becoming more prevalent in other areas of the world. Andreas Urban， chair of Berlin Go Association， estimated that there are roughly 2，500 regular players in Germany.

Schreiber was introduced to the game 16 years ago by a classmate， but thought the game rather mediocre and boring at first. “That is the problem when you teach new players，” he said. “At first they cannot see that it’s a very interesting game. At the beginning you cannot understand.”

Similarly， Urban accidentally discovered a book on Go on his mother’s bookshelf when he was 37 years old. “I tried to understand the rules because I love board games and I did not get it，” added Urban.

But both found the game more and more intriguing after practice. The rules are rather simple， and the battlefield is clearly laid before the player’s eyes， but the game is so much more than just moving stones around the board.

“It is certainly an established form of art. In ancient Chinese history it is already one of the four traditional fine arts， along with playing guqin， writing and painting. It is also nicknamed ‘hand talk’ in Korea. They say it’s like speaking to another but with your hands. If you play against somebody who’s very experienced， it’s like you talk to each other except you cannot tell any lies or be unclear. You make a very direct message. It’s very interesting to play on the Go board， something I’ve never seen in any other game，” explained Schreiber.

And it is this straight-forwardness， elegance and need to think logically that Schreiber believes could be beneficial for children. “I recommend children to learn Go. They learn that there is always someone stronger， which is okay， and they learn that it’s okay to lose. They learn how to improve from their mistakes and say tomorrow will be better than today，” he explained.

To the experienced players， Go carries not just significance in leisure， but also a much more philosophical meaning on a deeper cultural ground. When two players meet on the Go board， they are restricted by the same rules， faced with the same game， but carry completely different tactics. One of the best ways to improve is to play against someone who’s stronger， as well as from different backgrounds. A game of Go takes a lot of time and effort to understand the opponent’s ideas. To Schreiber， cross-cultural communication and Go share that at their roots.

“Many are too quick to judge other people’s cultures. A proverb says， ‘Tell me， I’ll forget; Show me， I may remember; Involve me， and I will understand.’ With Go， you only get stronger if you play against different players. With culture， you need to go and talk to people， even better if in their language. If you can’t， maybe it’s enough to use the Go board as the language.”

As cooperation between China and Germany deepens in many aspects of life， including art and culture， efforts have also been made to further popularize Go in Europe. The European Go Congress has been hosting annual tournaments since 1983. The Berlin Go Association has worked together with the China Cultural Center in Berlin to host The China Cup， an international Go tournament which sees roughly 50 to 100 players a year. The tournament has helped to develop the Go scene in Europe for 10 years.

Training courses are also offered， and the duo sometimes invite professional players from China to deliver lectures for game lovers in Europe. A Grand Slam Tournament chooses professional players， who are in turn acknowledged by the Chinese Go Association， and offers them chances to study the skills of the game in China.

To give players on both sides a chance to try their hands at one another， Urban believes China and Germany could both do their parts.

“You have so many players， especially very young pupils， I heard about 2 million. Here we have more adult players. Maybe we could learn from each other; maybe Chinese could also get more adult players，” he said.

“仔細看一看，下围棋就好像是在照镜子，你得接受自己所有的失误，会意识到自己的计划存在漏洞，所思所想缺乏连贯性，或许还会有新发现，让你茅塞顿开。你在日常生活中不会有这样的体验。”蒂默·施赖伯是柏林围棋协会的副会长，他在位于柏林的中国文化中心接受中国日报网的采访时做了以上这段描述。

围棋是一种由两位棋手参与的棋类竞技比赛，讲究用抽象思维和逻辑思维制定精妙的计策。有黑白两色棋子，一位棋手执一色，落子包围对方棋子，在格子棋盘上占领较多区域的一方为胜。围棋2500多年前诞生于中国，主要流行于东亚，广受人们的喜爱，而如今，世界其他地区也有越来越多的人爱上了围棋。据柏林围棋协会会长安德烈亚斯·乌尔班的估计，德国大约有2500位经常下围棋的棋手。

施赖伯是16年前经一位同学的引介接触到围棋的，起初他觉得这种棋很一般，没什么意思。“这是教新手时常遇到的问题，刚开始他们体会不到围棋的乐趣，无法理解其中的奥妙。”施赖伯说道。

乌尔班也有相似的经历。37岁时，他在母亲的书架上偶然发现一本关于围棋的书。乌尔班补充说：“我喜欢棋类游戏，想去弄明白围棋的下法，但当时却是一头雾水。”

然而，两人都是经过练习后越发觉得围棋妙趣横生。围棋的规则非常简单，两位棋手在面前的棋盘上展开对弈，而整个过程绝不仅仅是动动棋子。

施赖伯解释道：“围棋绝对是一种精妙的技艺，在中国古代，它就与古琴、书法和绘画并称为‘文人四艺’。在韩国，围棋还被谑称为‘手谈’，人们觉得下围棋好比交谈，只是不用嘴，而是用手。与经验丰富的棋手下棋，就好像在和他谈话，只是不能说谎，也不能含糊其辞，信息的传达非常直接。下围棋的整个过程真是非常有趣，在任何其他比赛中，我都不曾有过这种感受。”

围棋让人变得真诚坦率、气质优雅，学会用逻辑思维去思考问题，施赖伯认为这些特质对孩子们都是有所裨益的。他解释说：“我建议孩子们去学学下围棋。他们会明白总有比自己更棒的人，不必为此耿耿于懷，学会坦然面对失败;他们将学会从自己的错误中吸取经验教训，取得进步，告诉自己‘明天会更好’。”

对于有经验的棋手来说，围棋不仅是能提高个人修养的休闲活动，在更深的文化层面，它还有非常丰富的哲学意义。两位棋手下棋时，受相同规则的约束，面对相同的棋局，但所采取的战术却完全不同。让技术提高的最佳方法之一就是和比自己棋艺更精以及有着不同背景的人进行比拼。下一局棋，需要消耗大量的时间与精力去搞清楚对手的心思，施赖伯认为跨文化交流归根到底也是这么一个过程。

“很多人常常对异国文化太快做出评判。俗话说：‘耳闻之，易忘却;目睹之，或可记;参与之，知其详而无惑。’要想让自己的围棋棋艺变得更精湛，就得和不同的对手展开对弈;要想了解异国文化，就得去和当地人交流，如果会说他们的语言更好，要是不会说，那就来下下围棋吧，或许它足以充当沟通交流的媒介。”

随着中德两国在包括艺术与文化在内的多方面合作持续深化，进一步在欧洲推广围棋的工作也已经开展。自1983年以来，欧洲围棋大会每年都会举办锦标赛。由柏林围棋协会和柏林中国文化中心联合举办的“中国杯”国际围棋锦标赛每年大约有50至100名棋手参加，10年来，帮助促进了欧洲围棋文化事业的发展。

同时，还开设了不少围棋课程，柏林围棋协会和柏林中国文化中心时而会从中国邀请职业棋手去为欧洲的围棋爱好者们授课。欧洲围棋大满贯赛选拔出的专业棋手也会得到中国围棋协会的认可，并有机会到中国研修棋艺。

乌尔班认为，为了让两国棋手有机会相互切磋棋艺，中德两国都有各自的工作可做。

他说：“中国有那么多棋手，尤其还有一些年龄很小的学员，我听说有200万人左右;而德国的棋手大多是成年人。或许两国的棋手可以相互学习，或许中国可以让更多的成年人参与到围棋竞技中来。”