Anti-Plum Flower Manual Introduction
The Anti-Plum Flower Manual is considered to be the last in the Plum Flower Manuals. Its original Chinese name was 《象棋梅花心法谱》(xiàng qí méi huā xīn fǎ pǔ) but it is more well-known as 《反梅花谱》(fǎn méi huā pǔ) . The original manual were hand-copied versions that were not published. An abridged version of the manual was only published in 1982.
The manual was written by Ba Jiren (巴吉人 bā jí rén， ?-?) who was one of the most accomplished Xiangqi players at the turn of the twentieth century. He led a desolate life and there are many stories about him.
The Anti-Plum Flower Manual was a short book that had only eight boards. But the level and quality of the moves was significantly higher than its Plum Flower Manual predecessors. This ancient manual corrected some of the weak or dubious moves in the earlier Plum Flower Manuals. Of special mention would be the inclusion of the Turtle Back Cannons Defense, which is an unorthodox counter to the Central Cannon invented by Ba Jiren.
Contents:
- Board 1 Central Cannon with Filed Chariot vs. Screen Horse Defense. (10 Variations)
- Board 2 Pawn Opening vs. Central Cannon. (2 Variations)
- Board 3 Same Direction Cannons: Ranked Chariot vs. Filed Chariot. (5 Variations)
- Board 4 Central Cannon with Riverbank Chariot vs. Screen Horse Defense. (Only 1 Variation)
- Board 5 Central Cannon vs. Turtle Back Cannons Defense. (Only 1 Variation)
- Board 6 Central Cannon vs. Turtle Back Cannons Defense. (Only 1 Variation)
- Board 7 Central Cannon vs. Left Proper Horse. (3 Variations). (Note: This board was a continuation of the Turtle Cannons but Black did not play the defining move of C8-1.)
- Board 8 Pawn vs. Pawn Opening. (2 Variations)
Note: "m" would refer to the main line. "v" would refer to the relevant variation.
The variations given in this book are based on the ones found in the Encyclopedia of Xiangqi Manuals by Cheng Mingsong, Yang Mingzhong and Tu Jingming.
Reference:
程明松, 杨明忠, & 屠景明. (2007 重印). 中国象棋谱大全. 成都: 成都时代出版社. ISBN 9787805485294.