WHAT THEY SAY...
Encouragement and suggestions are always welcomed.
Please email to
From Mr CH Lee, "I had the privilege of getting a preview of this excellent website which explains the basic theories of xiangqi in the English language. This way, all chess players would be able to learn and enjoy this wonderful game. There are many sets of theories, eg endgames, openings, ancient manuals, which are especially interesting. After having set aside the ancient manuals, it was so refreshing to view the moves again after a few decades. Having these ancient manuals on the web is especially convenient as we don't have to lug along old Chinese manuals. Instead, as long as you have an internet connection and a laptopr or smartphone, you can access the ancient manuals. I hope that everyone enjoys this website and benefits as much from it as I do. It took a lot of time for the webmaster to paste the game, move by move, so everyone should appreciate his efforts. The links are especially useful if the visitor wishes to find out more about xiangqi."
Editor's reply: Thanks for the encouragement. It is an honor to try to promote this chinese cultural heritage to the English speaking world. Progress is slow, but I guess I will just keep moving on.
Charee from Thailand. "Hello Jim, Yes, I'm Chinese-Thai. My grandfather and grandmother came from China. My father play this game with me and my brother since I was 7-8 years old. But it's not in t actical or strategy approach. It's just know how to move the pieces and play for fun and most of the games I lose my father. So in fact I'm not the good player but I still like it. I try to find the knowledge in internet and then I found "World Xiangqi Federation" website where I downloaded some XiangQi books to learn. Then I improve some. Until your website "xqinenglish" exist in the WXF link. I don't wait any time to access and Oh yes!!! I discover it. It's very systematic ; basic, basic kill, endgames, openings, midgames, ancient manuals, .... You have a very good links to others XiangQi websites where I found Xiangqi Opening VDO by Master Zhang Qiang with subtitle in English!!!, in fact I found some VDO in youtube by other masters but in Chinese so I don't understand what they explain. So from your site, I learn and improve a lot than before and understand more how beautiful and attractive of XiangQi. Thank you again for your great job and wish you success in your good willing to spread XiangQi to the English speaking world."
Jim's reply: Thanks! To be frank I have been seriously thinking of doing the boards found on youtube into the boards found on my site, but I fear copyright...
2011/7/11 : Somehow has already subtitled them.
Great work to Jimmy! 2011/7/11: This is a most impressive site! The extent of the information provided is unparalleled and the ease of navigation a delight. It seems to me that this is THE starting point for anyone to explore xiangqi on the internet. What a tremendous achievement! Mark N Taylor who happens to be an editor for a chess magazine with a circulation of over 50000 in the US. 2011/7/11
Aloha Jim, Your site on English Xiangqi is truly wonderful. I imagine that you get people writing you all the time thanking you and telling you how much of a difference you are making for them, but, in case you don't, I most certainly wanted to. Thank you. And, a warm smile and a friendly hug. Your site is AWESOME!!! So, I am a surfer girl. And, I happen to be in love with Xiangqi. My very close friend and teacher/mentor is Dr. David Li who is the author of half a dozen books on Xiangqi in English. I call him, the Professor. My personal nickname for him. Your site has taught me so very much about the game I so much love, and, I am especially grateful for your Ancient Manuals. They utterly fascinate me and every day I find myself eagerly looking to see if you have any more. I wish that I spoke and read Mandarin, I am but a very beginner in the language, and it would be so fun to meet you and be able to help you translate these true historical gems. But, alas, I can barely read words on my Rosetta Stone like cat, dog, jet, man, woman, horse, and so on. I have, however, thanks to your site, got a pretty good handle on all 157 words related to Xiangqi in both their Character form, in Pinyin, and sort of in pronunciation, I am, I admit, hopeless at the moment at the tones. Goodness!!! But, I am trying daily. I so hope to hear back from you. I have a ruined knee at the moment from a rather bizarre accident, and had knee surgery, so, I am stuck at home and can't drive right now. I live in the Seattle area (about 50 minutes outside of Seattle in a small town), and when my knee heals and I can drive again, I am so very much looking forward to hanging in the International District and playing Xiangqi there as often as I can. In the meantime, I study the game here, at home. I am, at the moment, studying the games of Hu Ronghua. And, I am learning a lot from them and having a truly wonderful time in my studies. I hope you are well, and that you continue with your truly beautiful web site. Alohas, Lily of the Valley Carnie
From Jim: Thanks! That was some encouragement indeed!!! :)
8th Nov 2011 Dear Jim, I started playing and studying Xiangqi in June 2010. Since then it became the most fascinating mind sport to me. Before that I had played Weiqi and Chess. I like Xiangqi for its dynamics and for its unique cannon causing many surprises, if you are not used to it. Yes, as you say, I find a lack of Xiangqi resources in western languages which give a deeper understanding of the game. Though there is a really great and helpful work done by Hans-Joachim Siewert, who compiled openings and endgames in German notation published as pdf-documents on the website of the European Xiangqi Federation (http://www.chinaschach.de/dxblit.html ), this material is totally without comments and incomplete. So I appreciate a lot every comment and hint you give during the analysis of openings, games or endgames. You help us to get an idea how this Xiangqi-machine works. For beginners it is difficult to recognize what’s the plan and what are its means, not to speak of countermeasures. Thank you for all your efforts and hard night work. You started a wonderful project and you are doing a great job. Since I discovered XQINENGLISH I visit it regularly and don’t want to miss it. I hope you will get some help, because creating a Wikipedia on Xiangqi is a big thing. I’m a little afraid about your health, if you do additional night shifts permanently. Take care! And don’t forget about Europe. Aren’t 500 million people a big market? I tried to promote your website a little by posting comments on it in the forum of the European Xiangqi Federation and the chess-forum of BrainKing (http://www.brainking.com/), a czech gameserver for long distance games. Maybe you will get some new visitors to XQINENGLISH. All the best to you and your family, with kind regards Georg Berlin, Germany
From Jim, Thanks Georg, Xiangqi is too good a game not to be shared with the world!
From Virgil of Germany: Thank you very much for such a great site. I and my wife are teaching ourselves to play this fine game. Ever since my father teaching me chess as a child, and loving the chinese culture through my expereiences in martial arts, I found chinese chess very appealing. As you know there are limited english resourses so it has been great to find your site! I have recently purchased a set and downloaded a game to my computer as well. I especially have found the openings section helpful. I look forward to using your site and becoming a better player, as I know my wife is also. THank you again.
From Jim: Thank you! I hope all domestic matters can be settled on the chess board, peacefully! LOL.
Dear Jim, thank you for this great xiangqi site. It is one of the best recources for beginners and not only for them! Greetings, Martin / Germany
From Jim: Thank you! > It may be of interest to you that I have played this position against VSCCP Level 6. The computer was unable to avoid black's defeat, the game is attached as file sqyq301.txt The VSCCP-6 engine followed another variation from 4. C2-1, giving a check with chariot R7+1! Thanks again for your brilliant XiangQi pages, it has been an > enormous help to me for learning to play chinese chess.
Best regards Robert Hancock
From Jim. Ha, I always use a bat when playing against the computer...
Hi, Jim! I'm a chess lover. My playing strength is rather modest but I play chess for pure pleasure and for the beauty of the Game itself, not for ratings and such. I have no possibility to play live (no time, place and partners) so I play correspondence chess via Internet. Recently I renewed my former interest in other board games like Go (Weiqi), Shogi and Xiangqi. From them I prefer the last one for its inherent Chinese elegance and this strange vague feeling it raises in my soul, something with fragrance of ancientry and valor of long-forgotten battles. There's no many sites dedicated to Xiangqi over the Internet, and even fewer in Russian language. So I was searching for anglophone site and found your one. Take the most sincere of my words of admiration of your inspired work, it is such a rare gem in the modern fastfood world of Kali-yuga (and all of this was mastered under pressure of your vigilant wife...:) ). Keep the course you chose. Sincerely yours. V. Razumov (Ahi-Buddhi). --> Nov 2011
From Jim : Shhhhhhhh....my wife still does not know... and I will keep the course !
Hi, Dr. Png,
Just dropping a note saying how much I appreciate your excellent website on Xiangqi. There's really nothing like it on the internet, and it helped me greatly in getting ideas and pointers when I was writing my book on Chinese Chess. I don't know how you found the mind energy to write all of those pages. It might not be an exaggeration to state that given all of your books, and this unique website, that you might be the world's foremost promoter of Xiangqi to the english-speaking world. It is an important game to promote to the english-speaking world, given the complexity and unique tactical language of the game. Once again, thanks!
--Dr. John Mamoun
Note: And Dr. Mamoun's book is now out on Amazon!