📚 Yuanshen Haikua — a Qing-dynasty endgame manual
Red to move with only seven pieces — one knight, two chariots, one cannon, two pawns — facing twelve Black pieces with a full guard of advisors and elephants around the palace. Outnumbered almost two to one, Red is nevertheless declared the winner by Uyên Thâm Hải Khoát. The name is an immortal idiom: “Returning the Jade Intact to Zhao.” The jade of He was once priced by the King of Qin at fifteen cities, and the envoy who carried it into Qin had sworn: the jade comes back untouched, or his head stays behind. His threat to dash his own head against a pillar together with the jade is told in the anecdote below. On the board, meanwhile: can you find any path by which seven Red pieces bring down a palace guarded by the full advisor–elephant set?
Fifteen cities for one jade disc: the envoy who threatened to smash his head on a pillar
The king of Qin wrote to the king of Zhao: fifteen cities in exchange for the famous He jade disc. Everyone knew Qin would never hand over the cities — but refusing meant losing face, and sending the jade meant losing the jade. An unknown retainer volunteered with a strange promise: the jade would…
Stories around this position — storytelling, not part of the engine-verified content.
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