Stones

I've just started studying the game of Go, a 4000-year old Chinese game using black and white stones on a 19x19 grid. It is a strategy game in which two players work to surround and capture territory, but must do so with patience and a willingness to preserve harmony with the opposing side.

The game has been argued as having its origins in ancient Chinese shamanism, and the board representing the universe and the natural balance of yin and yang as echoed in the Tao Te Ching:

"The board must be square, for it signifies the Earth, and its right angles signify uprightness. The pieces of the two sides are yellow and black; this difference signifies the yin and the yang -- scattered in groups all over the board, they represent the heavenly bodies. Following what the rules permit, both opponents are subject to them -- this is the rigor of the Tao." 

-- Pan Ku, 1st century historian 

There are on the Go board 360 intersections plus one. The number one is supreme and gives rise to the other numbers because it occupies the ultimate position and governs the four quarters. 360 represents the number of days in the [lunar] year. The four quarters symbolize the four seasons. The 72 points around the edge represent the [five-day] weeks of the [Chinese lunar] calendar. The balance of yin and yang is the model for the equal division of the 360 stones into black and white.
-- from The Classic of Go , by Chang Nui (Published between 1049 and 1054)  

I like the beauty of the stones and the various patterns that emerge on the board as it is being played. I also like thinking of the game as the creative act of dueling artists laying a mosaic on top of the universe. The materials of the game, in the spirit of the Tao, come from nature -- a wooden board, and stones made out of slate and clamshell.

The relationship between the players is one of opposition, but they are holding each other in the balance -- mindful that they are building something together. According to Yasunari Kawabata, winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature,

"A masterpiece of a game can be ruined by insensitivity to the feelings of an adversary."

That the game requires attention to balance and a natural give-and-take sort of dance between players makes it appropriate for discussion in lots of classroom settings -- and I especially like how it bridges mathematics with philosophy and religion. Students might like this clip from Hikaru no Go (a teen manga series based on the game of Go), which depicts the potentially serious psychological drama involved in figuring out one's opponent: 

Lacking my own board (hoping to get one soon), I have found a way to play online, and would welcome the opportunity to discuss and play this game with real people.:)