*	Origins of Go
	Go is said to have originated in China about 4,000 years ago. There are also theories that it may have originated in India or Tibet, but there is no concrete evidence for this.
	There is a legend that Go was invented by the mythological Emperor Yao (said to have reigned from 2357 to 2255 BC.) as mental training for his son. There are other theories that the Go was used in the calendar and divination, with the board representing the universe and the stones the stars.
	Go is mentioned in such Chinese classics as the Analects of Confucius and in Mencius. It is also said to have become popular as a simulation game for strategy, politics and life in the period described in the Spring and Autumn Annals of the State of Lu (722 to 484 BC.) and the ensuing Period of the Warring States (to 221 BC.).
*	The oldest game record and Go references
	The oldest existing game record is given in a work called The Anthology of Forgetting Sorrows and Pure Pleasures, dated to 196 AD. The game was played between Sun Ce and Lu Fan of the state of Wu. There are various anecdotes about Go recorded in other ancient Chinese texts. In the classical romance Tale of the Three Kingdoms, written around 214 AD., there is the story of a warrior named Kan Yu who had to have an operation to have a poisoned arrow removed. In lieu of anesthetic, he plays a game of Go.
*	The lute, Go, calligraphy and painting
	Since ancient times in China, music (the lute), Go, calligraphy and painting were considered as the four essential accomplishments of an educated person, so people were trained in them from childhood. Of course, a king had to master them also.

© Nihonkiin