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Evidence for Da Ma (Song)
1 pieces of evidence found.
Id DLP.Evidence.1628
Type Contemporary text
Location 36°40'41.56"N,117°31'37.19"E 32° 3'18.88"N,118°46'24.32"E 30°16'15.15"N,120° 9'3.78"E
Date 1083-01-01 - 1155-12-31
Rules 91 spaces, 56 pieces. Five two-sided dice, black on one side, red on the other. Pieces can be sent back to start. Certain spaces prevent players from moving forward. Pieces can move forward or backward.
Content "I am, by nature, fixated on board games. I can play morning and night
without any thought of food. When I traveled south to Jinhua, I put up
at the Chens’ house. Having spoken with my hosts about board games,
I subsequently wrote this “Rhapsody on a Handbook for ‘Capture the
Horse’. As the year draws to a close,
we seize the chance to shout “Black Eyes”!
A thousand gold is wagered on a single throw,
a million cash rides on ten fists of tallies." Dama Fu (Rhapsody on Capture the Horse) by Li Qingzhao. Shields 2019: 35-45.
Wine cups and plates have been set out,
the ceremonious greetings have been performed.
After the host and guests are tipsy with wine,
isn’t there, after all, such a thing as chess?2
Once Capture the Horse caught on,
chupu dice was no longer played.
This is, in fact, the most cultured of trivial pursuits,
an elegant amusement in the women’s apartments.
Powerful steeds like Ji and Lu are yoked together,
recalling the ten thousand mile rides of Duke Mu.
Black stallions and sorrels prance in tandem,
just like the Yang clan’s five teams of mounts.
The tinkling of gem pendants—
we marvel at jade stirrups struck together.
Arrayed like a constellation of stars—
we imagine bronze coins smashed to bits.
When the maples turn chill along the Wu River,
leaves blow off the trees on the nomad hills.
When the border is closed at Jade Gate,
grasses are plentiful at Sandy Plain.
Approaching the waves, one steed would not cross the ford,
for fear of staining its mud-guards.
Troops may be deployed with surprise,
as in the battle fought at Kunyang.
Or battlefield protocol may be scrupulously maintained,
as with the armies at Zhuolu.
There are famed riders long known as outstanding
who fall to the ground like Master Yu.
There are men with no reputation for horsemanship
who perform as brilliantly as Shu the Fool!
There are those who return home haltingly,
having set out brimming with confidence.
Some gallop over a steep trail fit only for crows,
while others trot gingerly around an ant hill.
Struggling to get through perilous terrain,
some horses have not met their Wang Liang.
Laboring to haul a salt cart,
others have yet to encounter their Zaofu.
Moreover, the plateaus and hills stretch distantly,
white clouds cover the sky.
One nag is thinking only of its beloved bin of beans,
while a fine steed yearns for the sting of the whip.
Hoofs come to rest on yellow leaves,
the gold coins are just as many.
The tiles that are used number fifty-six,
the routes that may be taken amount to ninety-one.
Rewards and punishments are meted out unambiguously,
the lowest and highest merit are properly tallied.
Battlefield commands originate in the recesses of one mind,
victory and defeat are decided in advance of the portents.
Besides, fondness for victory is part of human nature,
though these minor arts are a gentleman’s smallest skill.
Still, mention of the plum served to alleviate thirst,
so too this game may calm a mind obsessed with winning.
Drawing a pancake satisfied hunger,
this pursuit may relieve the ambition to vanquish others.
If you aspire to get real results,
you must face danger and not retreat.
But sometimes to repay high honors conferred on you
you must interpret subtle signs and withdraw for a time.
Some go forward slowly with gags in their mouths
to penetrate the obstacles at mountain passes;
Others peddle their valor and strive to be first
only to fall into a pit they never saw.
That comes from not knowing when to stop,
remorse was a result they gave themselves.
You must know the proper way to guide the chariot,
and not forget the warnings worn at the gentleman’s waist.
Is this not better than doing nothing at all,
as the classic itself teaches?
Each move must be rooted in utmost sincerity
the principles must accord with the way of Heaven.
The mare conforms to the constancy of earth,
the lady of Lu exemplified correct “returning.”
We learn from the fallen hair-knots of the Woman Liang,
we follow the curving riverbank in the state of Qi.
Therefore, when one fellow shouted out as he circled the couch,
all five sticks came up black.
When another cried out as he sprinkled wine on the ground,
all six dice showed red.
One man never lost at board games his whole life,
thus his victory at Jiange was assured.
Someone else had not gambled away his mountain estate
when invaders were already defeated at Huai and Fei.
Today how could we lack a commander like Yuanzi?
Our enlightened age is not short of leaders like Anshi.
Why must we imitate Tao Changsha, throwing the chessboard away?
We should emulate Yuan Yandao, who flung down his cap.
The concluding verse says:
Foli is sure to die in the mao year,
why are we all, high-ranking and lowly, still fleeing in chaos?
Confidence 100
Ages Adult
Social status Elite
Genders Female
Source Shields, A. 2019. The Works of Li Qingzhao. Translate by R. Egan. Boston: De Greuyter.
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