Who Can Approach the Game of Go in Ancient China?在中国古代，什么样的人才可以下围棋？

In ancient China， the game of Go was mostly favored by intellectuals， especially those from the upper class. The ordinary people would seldom take a liking to this game.

Only those with some degree of education can approach this game， because it has too many variations of play and requires a great deal of calculation， time and effort.

The intellectual group of Go gradually lifted this pastime up into the realms of art， alongside the seven-stringed zither， calligraphy and painting. As such， the equipment of Go becomes an increasingly fastidious feature， with precious wood， jade， clamshell， crystal and quartz used to make the pieces.

Du Mu was a famous poet living in the late Tang dynasty. He once wrote a poem about playing a farewell game of Go with his friend， where they used jade stones and a catalpa table. Today the most popular stones are the Yunzi， made from pebble stone from southwestern Yunnan Province.

The influence of the Go game on Chinese society is quite evident in various works of literature. One of Chinas classics， The Romance of the Three Kingdoms， depicts Guan Yu playing Go while receiving surgery on his arm.

在中国古代，围棋最受知识分子（尤其是上层社会的知识分子）的青睐，普通老百姓中很少有人喜欢下围棋。

因为围棋的下法非常多，需要进行大量的推算，既耗时间又耗心力，也只有受过一定程度教育的人才有精力下围棋。

由于知识分子群体逐渐将围棋这种消遣方式提升到艺术领域，与古琴、书法和绘画相提并论。因此，对围棋设备的要求变得越来越挑剔，需要用珍贵的木材、玉石、贝壳、水晶和石英制作棋子。

杜牧是唐朝晚期著名的诗人。他曾经写过一首诗，描述和朋友下圍棋告别的场景。在下围棋时，他们使用翡翠石做的棋子和梓树做的棋盘。如今，最受欢迎的围棋棋子叫“云子”，是用云南省西南部的鹅卵石制成的。

围棋对中国社会的影响在各种文学作品中都有体现。经典名著之一《三国演义》就描述了关羽刮骨疗毒时下围棋的场景。

Word Bank

intellectual /'?nt?'lekt?u?l/ n. 知识分子

calculation /'k?lkju'le??n/ n. 计算；推测

realm /relm/ n. 领域

fastidious /f?'st?di?s/ adj. 爱挑剔的，苛求的