talino.org » game of go http://www.talino.org Permanently under construction Sun, 23 May 2010 13:28:41 +0000 en hourly 1 Beijing : Weiqi http://www.talino.org/blog/beijing-weiqi/ http://www.talino.org/blog/beijing-weiqi/#comments Wed, 23 May 2007 16:09:46 +0000 Tal http://www.talino.org/blog/beijing-weiqi/ This is a short clip I shot of two people sitting in a street of Beijing and playing a game of Go (in China, the game is called Weiqi [pronounced, more or less, "way-chee"]). Although originally a Chinese game, Weiqi isn’t played very often by Chinese people (it has evolved into its current form after being introduced into Japan). The Chinese seem to prefer Mah-Jong or Chinese Chess and, whenever asked about Weiqi, they dismiss the game as being “much too complicated”. I had stopped hoping to see anyone play it until, a few days before leaving China, I came across two men sitting in the middle of Dong Si Shi Tiao street and negotiating the Endgame (Yose).

[See post to watch Flash video]

In the Zhejiang province of China there was a mountain inhabited by faeries. One day, an uncautious carpenter, Wang Zhi, went up the mountain in search of wood. Coming over a group of people gathered round a Go board, he joined them to watch the game. Sitting down, Wang Zhi gently leaned his axe against a rock.

One of the company gave him a prune to eat. The moves made during the game were of unsurpassable beauty. Wang Zhi lost himself completely in it. Suddenly, one of the spectators turned to him and asked if he shouldn’t be thinking about getting home at some point.

Startled, he reached for his axe, but it crumbled to dust at the touch of his hand. Returning to the village, he came across a man he had never met. The man pointed to a statue and said: “This is a statue erected to the memory of Wang Zhi, who disappeared one hundred years ago.”

(The legend of Ranka mountain)

]]> http://www.talino.org/blog/beijing-weiqi/feed/ 0 Go-ban with beer and cigarettes http://www.talino.org/3d/go/ http://www.talino.org/3d/go/#comments Mon, 20 Nov 2006 16:47:45 +0000 Tal http://192.168.0.4:8888/uncategorized/go-ban-with-beer-and-cigarettes/ Although I don’t like using the new-generation renderers (much too slow to be useful), you have to admit they can produce some very nice lighting. This scene was rendered with the test release of Brazil r/s (version 0.2.26). This engine did some very subtle shadow effects under the black and white stones. And I only worked for half an hour on the light, so it could be a lot better. This image took 24 minutes to render on a PIII 733/512.

The game of Go

In case you wonder what the wooden board and the stones are: this is the ancient game of Go, invented by the Chinese and later developed into its current form in Japan. Probably the most beautiful and complex game in history. If you’re intrigued, check out this Introduction to Go. I’ve recently posted a short film I shot of two Chinese men playing the final stage of a game.

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