Book Series: Elegant Pastime Manual 《适情雅趣》

To this very day, the Elegant Pastime Manual is still one of the must-read classics in Xiangqi. It was edited and published in 1570AD by Xu Zhi. It was a selection of puzzles from an earlier book, Dreams of Divine Positions, which only a tiny fraction still exists. There are 550 Xiangqi puzzles in the ancient manual, all demonstrating brilliant kills, and tactical combinations. There were also some simple advice and pointers to play the game.
The Elegant Pastime Manual is also vibrant regarding Chinese culture. The title of each endgame composition is a short verse in Chinese. Each title name would have various implications, with references to numerous poems, stories, and historical incidents or other bits of Chinese culture. However, the titles have seldom been researched, even in Chinese publications of the book. The author has taken much effort to research the titles to help understand the implications of each position. Simple background knowledge of the titles would further assist in the appreciation of each puzzle. Immerse in this elegant pastime, enjoy the Elegant Pastime Manual!
The Webmaster has done in-depth analyses of each of the puzzles, polishing them and adding sub-variations so that the pure beginner would be able to understand clearly.

Because of the sheer volume of its contents, the Webmaster has divided the classic into three books.
All the books are available in print versions and ebook versions.
Elegant Pastime Manual Volumes 1 & 2: Print Version, Ebook Version.
Elegant Pastime Manual Volumes 3 & 4: Print Version, Ebook Version. 
Elegant Pastime Manual Volumes 5 & 6: Print Version, Ebook Version. 
             

The original book and its puzzles are also available on the site with minimal explanations.

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