The origins of the game of chess have been traced to India and from there it spread around the world to Persia, China, the Arab world and eventually to Europe. Here, we consider Chess as Metaphor as given in The Journey to the West, an epic, first passed down through the ages in the oral story-telling tradition of ancient China. Later it was set to writing in the 16th century during the Ming Dynasty. It is the story of a Chinese monk sent by the Tang Emperor to India to obtain the scriptures from the Buddha – a journey of 16 years. Anthony C. Yu gave us the epic in English in 4 volumes¹ covering 100 chapters and 1437 pages (including preface, introduction and footnotes). The 4 volumes can be read as any fiction or myth for simple pleasure, filled with spectacular drama, intrigue, tragedy, love, hate, envy, murder, terror, joy, victory & defeat, unexpected surprises and hilarious stories throughout. It can also be read for penetrating insight, wisdom and practical life-lessons. One method of reading need not be sacrificed for the other. Yu’s work is an unparalleled feat of scholarship, interpretation and translation for western readers.

As metaphor, chess has many practical lessons for us as individuals, first and foremost for a correct understanding of ourselves. Because chess is a contest, that understanding of ourselves is learned in the context of our interpersonal relations. Applying chess as a metaphor, our interpersonal relations can be viewed in hostile, combative terrain with a real enemy – or in terms of intelligent conflict resolution with fellow travelers encountered in our journey through life, including casual acquaintances, fellow workers, friends and even members of our own families.

Chess as Metaphor also provides an excellent guide for international relations. Through its prism we can see how some governments err grieviously in their geo-political attitudes and strategies when dealing with other nations. We can also see how other governments formulate wiser strategies, employing winning tactics when dealing with both, friend and foe.

Reading Chess as Metaphor as presented in Journey to the West, provides us with wisdom for practical decision-making in our personal lives and for an understanding of wise leadership in international relations.

The following brilliant description of Chess as Metaphor can be found in the first volume of Yu’s Journey to the West, pp. 229-230. (Transcribed by Axis of Logic):

Instruction of a chess classic, Lan-k’o Ching2 The way of chess exalts discipline and caution; the most powerful pieces should remain in the center, the weakest ones at the flanks, and the less powerful ones at the corners. This is a familiar law of the chess player. The law says: “You should rather lose a piece than an advantage. When you strike on the left, you must guard your right; when you attack in the rear, you must watch your front. Only when you have a secure front will you also have a rear, and only if you have a secure rear will you maintain your front. . The two ends cannot be separated, and yet both must remain flexible and not be encumbered. A broad formation should not be too loose, while a tight position should not be constricted. Rather than clinging on to save a single piece, it is better to sacrifice it in order to win; rather than moving without purpose, it is better to remain stationary in order to be self-supportive. When your adversary outnumbers you, your first concern is to survive; when you outnumber your adversary, you must strive to exploit your force. He who knows how to win will not prolong his fight; he who is master of positions will not engage in direct combat; he who knows how to fight will not suffer defeat; and he who knows how to lose will not panic. For chess begins with proper engagement but ends in unexpected victory. If your enemy, even without being threatened is bringing up his reinforcement, it is a sign of his intention to attack; if he deserts a small piece without trying to save it, he may be stalking a bigger piece. If he moves in a casual manner, he is a man without thoughts; response without thought is the way to defeat. The Book of Odes says: ‘Approach with extreme caution as if facing a deep canyon.’ Such is the meaning thereof.” The poem says: The chessboard is the earth; the pieces form the sky; The colors are light and dark3 as the whole universe. When the playing reaches skillful, subtle stage, Praise with laughter the Chess Immortal of old.4

Meditating on this ancient description of chess as a metaphor helps us measure our own thoughts, emotions, reactions to others and our strategies and tactics for winning in the game of life. It provides an untarnished mirror that reflects our deepest desires, hidden motivations and thought processes, showing us when we are acting correctly and when we are erring. It also enables us with clear understanding of our milieu and with skills of mind and heart as a guide for dealing with others.

Chess as Metaphor also helps us understand what is happening around us in the arena of international relations. On this mirror, we see governments who have unprecedented resources, economic and military power, sometimes playing the game well and other times making massive blunders resulting from impulse, hubris and blind arrogance. We also see other governments with relatively few material resources playing the game carefully, wisely and with humility. For one example of the latter we can look back on the previous 20 years of Hugo Chavez Frias who as a young Leutenant Colonel in the Venezuelan army, first entered the game by leading a military coup against the Carlos Andrés Pérez regime in 1992 and had his Queen captured during his first battle with the US-backed oligarchy. While imprisoned, he went through the refiner’s fire, looking in the mirror, searching his own soul, reading and formulating his political philosophy. Four years after being released from prison he was democratically elected president of Venezuela in 1998 and as they say, “the rest is history.” Over that entire 20 year history, Chavez has employed his native intelligence, natural instincts and humanity, enabling careful in-process assessments of himself and his opponents, time, place, set & setting, accepting defeat and victory gracefully, knowing when to wisely sacrifice a position for ultimate gain and when to exploit times and positions of power, steadily maneuvering toward checkmate in one of the greatest games of chess in the history of international relations.

Today, as President Hugo Chavez lies seriously ill in the hospital in Havana, with great anticipation we pray, watch and wait … for his next move on the board. Considering his mastery of the game, we can be certain that it will be a wise one.

BIO AND MORE ESSAYS AND POETRY BY LES BLOUGH

1. The Journey to the West, Translated and Edited by Anthony C. Yu, University of Chicago Press, pub. 1977.
   
   
2. The Journey to the West, V.I, pp 229, 230
   
   
3. Literally, the colors are in accordance with the yin and the yang. (JTW, V.I, p. 518)
   
   
4. The Chess immortal is literally, in the Chinese, the immortal with the rotted ax-handle. The rotted ax handle (lan-k’o) alludes to a mountain by such a name (Lan-k’o Shan) in the province of Che-chiang, south of Chu-chou. According to the Shu-I chi, a certain Wang Chih of the Tsin period went to this mountain to gather wood. He saw two youths playing chess who gave him a fruit to eat shaped like the pit of a date, after which he felt no hunger at all. When at last the game was finished, one of the youths pointed to his ax and said, “Your handle has rotted!” When Wang returned to his home a century had elapsed. (JTW, V.I, p. 505.

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