A chinese way to see the world

Ma Xiaochun

Well it has nothing to do with getting better at go, but simply using your latent strenght, which a go player has to it´s maximum.
Some will question now, yeah, but how are we gonna do it?
Answer: "Ever seen hikaru no go and watched Isumi getting stronger in China ?"
 Many Go players like the charakter Isumi from Hikaru no go
Go is a Mind sport! Which means mentaly instability leads to play most likely not as good as one might could play and I want to show ways of thinking on how you can do it.
Not becoming better, but using what you really can do if you set your mind to it, then you can do it!!!!!!!!!
It should be obvious but i will say it anyway:
The european and chinese players think differently when playing go.
I don´t mean because of strenght or experience in the game.
One might say it´s the way they have grown up in their country (for example girls drinking hot water while we all drink normal cold water, was quite the cultur shock for a friend of mine^^)
But well, how do the asian people think?
An essay from Elisabeth Papineau *A Chinese Way of seeing the world*, in there  Roger Caillois states the following:
"Along with music,  calligraphy and painting,  the Chinese place the
game of draughts and the game of chess among the four disciplines
that a learned man must practice.  They believe that these games
train the intellect to take pleasure in the multiple answers,
combinations and surprises which spring forth continuously from
constantly new situations. Aggression is said to be calmed, while the
soul learns serenity,  harmony,  and the joy of contemplating
possibilities.  Without any doubt,  this is a mark of civilization [...].
Societies which are full of hustle and bustle,  whether they be
Australian,  American or African,  are societies which are also
dominated by the mask and by possession,  which is to say by
mimicry and the ilinx:  conversely,  the Incas,  the Assyrians,  the
Chinese and the Romans present ordered societies, with offices and
careers,  with codes and scales,  with controlled and hierarchical
privileges,  where competition and chance,  which is to say in this
context, merit and birth, appear as the primary and complementary
elements of social interplay."
4 Arts of men, harmony, calmness, social interplay, competition and possesion are few of many key words in this short statement
The chinese way of thinking can be described as  thinking around corners.
While we think directly and localy in the game, they think  more globaly. It´s not about thinking ahead or thinking more complex, but more about why should i play there if i can play somewhere else first, maybe that move even helps later wanted local move.
A bit confusing how i am saying it right? Let me say it differently in a more picture like way:
attack the west before you attack the east (if you want to attack the east in the first place of course). It´s a popular military saying of chinese of the old days and was also used by Ma xiao  in the 36 strategems.
But there is an easier way to understand it:
To get hold of the father, try to get in the favour of the mother first for a successfull wedding.
This way of thinking is widely the nature of chinese go players and it shows in their go games itself as well.

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