Zhou Huanwen 周焕文 (zhōu huàn wén, Early 20th Century)
Nicknames: Not found yet.
Zhou Huanwen was a very famous player who lived at the turn of the twentieth century. He was a doctor by profession who loved Xiangqi. Zhou was known for his obsession with the Central cannon and played it as both Red and Black. He was an aggressive player. Being a doctor, Zhou was an important figure in his time. He was also one of the best in Xiangqi. There was an interesting story about Zhou. Legend has it that Zhou Huanwen and Zhang Jinrong (see relevant entry) once challenged each other. Try as he might, Zhou Huanwen's Central Cannon just could not defeat Zhang Jinrong's Screen Horse Defense. Zhou was so furious that he left Yangzhou. However, the story did not end there. In his time away from Yangzhou, Zhou studied and perfected his Central Cannon opening, and proceeded to teach his son, Zhou Deyu. Zhou Deyu would later use his father's teachings to avenge his father by beating Zhang Jinrong who used his Screen Horse Defense. Zhou Huan Wen and Zhou Deyu were thus widely hailed as the father and son Xiangqi Kings from two generations. Zhou Deyu would later do his father proud and become known as the Xiangqi King of the Seven Provinces.
Together with Wang Haoran and Zhang Jinrong, Zhou Huanwen was known as the Outstanding Three from Yangzhou. Zhou was also keen on helping others with the game. Other than his son Zhou Deyu, Xiangqi players at the turn of the century like Luo Tianyang and Dou Guozhu all benefitted from his tutelage. Please refer to the relevant entries on the players mentioned in this passage for more.
The following video would show a commentated game played by Zhou Huanwen.
First created: 6th, Dec 2017
Last updated:10th, Jan 2021
Acknowledgements: None yet
References:
Tu Jingming 屠景明 Yang Baiwei 楊柏偉 , Xiangqi Dictionary<<象棋辭典>> , 上海文化出版社 2009 , p175,
https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%91%A8%E7%84%95%E6%96%87
https://baike.baidu.com/item/%E5%91%A8%E5%BE%B7%E8%A3%95
https://read01.com/zh-tw/LOa75.html#.WiAZIzdx2Uk
http://www.ck.tp.edu.tw/…/hist…/history_master_ancient.html