📚 Shiqing Yaqu — the famous Ming-dynasty collection of entertaining endgame compositions
Red to move and checkmate in 19 — one of the longest solutions in the entire dictionary. Both armies are thin: Red has a Rook, a Knight and a Cannon; Black a Rook, three Pawns and both Advisors. Few pieces and an open board, yet Red needs all 19 moves to finish — each move like another prod into the grass with a stick. The position comes from the classical manual Thích Tình Nhã Thú (No. 275) and is named after the tale of 'beating the grass and startling the snake': a county magistrate reading a corruption complaint against his own clerk broke into a sweat and, in eight characters of marginalia, confessed himself. The story is told in this page's Anecdotes section. In your view, why can't Red win quickly with forces this thin, and instead must 'shake the grass' for 19 moves?
✓ Engine-verified — The Fairy-Stockfish engine (NNUE) confirms Red checkmates in 19 moves — the main line was checked move by move, every move legal. Date checked: 2026-11-04.
서기의 뇌물 혐의를 읽던 현령이 땀을 흘렸다 — 그리고 여덟 글자로 자백했다
백성들이 뇌물을 받은 서기를 고소했다. 현령이 고소장을 읽자 땀이 흐르고 손이 떨렸다. 적힌 죄목 하나하나가 자신이 저지른 일과 정확히 일치했기 때문이다. 판결 대신 그는 파일 위에 여덟 글자를 불쑥 적어 넣었다. 자기 몫을 자백한 셈이었다. 그 관리는 남당의 당도 현령 왕로로, 사서들은 건조하게 “오직 부자가 되는 데만 마음을 썼다”고 적는다. 그가 쓴 여덟 글자는 이랬다. “너는 풀을 쳤을 뿐인데, 풀 속의 뱀인 나는 놀랐다(汝雖打草, 吾已蛇驚).” 그 메모는 새어 나가 일대의 웃음거리가 됐고, 『남당근사』의 말대로 ‘호기심…
Stories around this position — storytelling, not part of the engine-verified content.
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