Go (Weiqi in Chinese) is one of the most popular games in East Asia, with a steadily increasing fan base around the world. Like chess, Go is a logic game but it is much older, with written records mentioning the game that date back to the 4th century BC. As Chinese politics have changed over the last two millennia, so too has the imagery of the game. In Imperial times it was seen as a tool to seek religious enlightenment and was one of the four noble arts that were a requisite to becoming a cultured gentleman. During the Cultural Revolution it was a stigmatized emblem of the lasting effects of feudalism. Today, it marks the reemergence of cultured gentlemen as an idealized model of manhood. Marc L. Moskowitz explores the fascinating history of the game, as well as providing a vivid snapshot of Chinese Go players today. Go Nation uses this game to come to a better understanding of Chinese masculinity, nationalism, and class, as the PRC reconfigures its history and traditions to meet the future.
Marc L. Moskowitz is Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of South Carolina. He is the author of several books, including Cries of Joys, Songs of Sorrow: Chinese Pop Music and Its Cultural Connotations.
"In this vivid and engaging study of Weiqi, Moskowitz demystifies an overlooked part of everyday life in China. Along the way, he exposes readers to the pressures of becoming a man in China today. I'll never walk by a cluster of men playing Weiqi the same way again!"—Karl Gerth, author of As China Goes, So Goes the World: How Chinese Consumers are Transforming Everything
208 pp.6 x 9Illus: 12 b/w photographs
9780520276321$29.95|£25.00Paper
Aug 2013