In Weiyang lived a Go player named Wang Ben who was exceedingly proud of his abilities. He had traveled among nobles and senior officials in the capital region and once played several games in Wuqiao with a powerful military official. By flattering the man and keeping him in good spirits, Wang Ben received generous rewards.
Afterward, he began styling himself the “Go King” (qí wáng), but wrote the title with 汪 (Wāng), the character used for his surname, instead of 王 (wáng), the Chinese word for “king.” The name seemed to grow wings, spreading throughout the country.
Among Go enthusiasts, Wang Ben’s reputation became so formidable that many players lost their courage before they had even sat down across the board from him.
One year, Wang Ben traveled to Wuchang in Hubei Province. The local prefect, Zhang, was devoted to Go and had few interests outside the game. When he heard that a celebrated master had arrived, he immediately invited Wang Ben to his residence.
The results were disastrous.
After three games, Prefect Zhang had been thoroughly defeated. Wang Ben made no effort to spare his host any embarrassment. Instead, he sat with an air of superiority and glanced sideways at the prefect with unmistakable contempt, as though his expression alone were saying, “Is that all?”
Prefect Zhang was deeply humiliated. He searched throughout Wuchang for a player who might avenge his defeat, but no one in the city could match Wang Ben.
A hidden talent
Late that night, the prefect’s residence was silent. Zhang sat alone in his study, staring at the unfinished position from that day’s game. He held a cold Go stone and rubbed it between his fingers until it grew warm.
Again and again, he examined the board, but Wang Ben’s strategy seemed like an iron wall covered in thorns. Every attempt to break through appeared certain to end in injury.
“Master, the water clock says it is already the third watch. Are you still studying the game?”
The speaker was Cui Liu, Zhang’s 15-year-old personal maid. She was a bright and quick-witted girl who had been standing nearby for some time with a cup of hot tea.
The prefect had no heart to answer her. He merely sighed.
Cui Liu smiled and cautiously stepped closer. Pointing toward one corner of the board, she said: “Master, you were only mistaken by a single move. Had you begun here, would the entire position not have come back to life?”
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Zhang stared at the place she had indicated. After studying it for a long moment, he slapped his thigh.
“Excellent! How did I fail to see that?”
He looked at the young maid in astonishment.
“You know how to play Go?”
Cui Liu lowered her head shyly.
“I have watched while serving you during so many games that I gradually learned. Perhaps I could play a game with you.”
That night, beneath the flickering lamplight, the two played until the game reached its conclusion.
To Zhang’s amazement, he lost.
The prefect was overjoyed. He drew Cui Liu close as though he had discovered a hidden treasure.
“Excellent, my child! Tomorrow, you will play against Wang Ben and help me recover my honor.”
The maid challenges the master
The following morning, Prefect Zhang arranged a grand banquet and invited Wang Ben and many prominent city residents.
After several rounds of wine, Zhang pointed toward Cui Liu.
“Master Wang’s skill is unrivaled. Today, I have invited a little maid who has barely learned to walk to seek a few lessons from you. Consider it a small amusement.”
Wang Ben looked Cui Liu over. She was only a young servant girl with braided hair and a childish face. He lifted his nose and snorted, thinking the prefect must have lost his senses after their games.
Cui Liu approached the board and picked up the white stones.
“Master Wang is a famous player,” she said timidly. “I will give you the first move with Black. Otherwise, people may say I took advantage of an elder.”
Wang Ben confidently accepted.
He did not yet understand what awaited him. After only a dozen moves, however, his hand began to tremble.
Cui Liu’s style belonged to no famous school. Her moves were like sparrows darting through a forest, suddenly appearing in the east and then the west. They seemed impossible to follow, yet danger lay hidden everywhere.
Wang Ben’s once-proud face gradually turned as red as if it had been painted.
Cui Liu smiled at him.
“Master Wang, why has your face become so red?”
He did not answer. He stared fixedly at the board as large drops of sweat formed on his forehead.
The longer he considered each move, the faster Cui Liu played. Her stones struck the board with crisp clicks that sounded to Wang Ben like signals of approaching disaster.
“Master, you are sweating,” she said as she casually placed another stone. “Is the stove making the room too warm?”
By then, Wang Ben had completely lost his earlier composure. He sat stiffly before the board like a wooden carving.
Cui Liu adjusted her hair and yawned.
“You are comfortable sitting there,” she said. “I have been standing so long that my legs are growing tired. Please make your move.”
The spectators struggled to suppress their laughter. The more anxious Wang Ben became, the more disordered his play grew.
The fall of the “Go King”
At last, Cui Liu recognized her opportunity. She quietly prepared a trap in the northwest corner and then struck with a decisive move.
A large group of Wang Ben’s Black stones was suddenly dead. Cui Liu removed them from the board in strings.
Moments earlier, the Black and White stones had been locked together in a confused struggle. Now the board looked as clean as a freshly washed pond, with Cui Liu’s White stones standing upon it like egrets resting on calm water.
Certain that the outcome had been decided, Cui Liu no longer bothered to look directly at her opponent. Covering her mouth with her sleeve, she laughed with a sound like ringing silver bells.
“Master Wang has lost! Master Wang has lost!”
She then skipped into the inner hall like a young deer.
Wang Ben stared wide-eyed at the board and remained silent for a long time. The game had not formally ended, but he understood that the reputation he had spent his life building had been destroyed.
The following morning, travelers at the Wuchang docks saw a solitary Go player leaving the city with a traveling pack strapped to his back.
From that day onward, the name of the self-proclaimed “Go King” was never heard again.
Source: Xiaodoupeng (The Little Bean Shed).
Translated by Katy Liu
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