David H. Li
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David H. Li, born 1928 in Ningbo, China, moved to the United States of America in 1949. He currently lives in Bethesda, Maryland.
After retirement from an accountancy and academic career, Professor Li has published a number of books in the English language on the culture of China, including translations of the Analects of Confucius, The Art of War, and Tao Te Ching, as well as several books on Xiangqi or Chinese chess.
In his book "The Genealogy of Chess" (which won the Book of the Year 1998 award from the editors of GAMES Magazine), Professor Li surveys evidence regarding the origins of chess and concludes that an early version of chess was invented in China in 203 BC: specifically, that General Han Xin, the commander-in-chief of the army of the then Prince of Han (Liu Bang), invented Xiangqi during the winter of 204 BC to 203 BC, while he and his troops were encamped waiting for spring. Han Xin supposedly drew on the earlier game Liubo as well as on the teachings of The Art of War to demonstrate, through the simulation of the board game, the importance of looking ahead, planning for contingencies, seeking the best course of action, avoiding attacking the opponent's strength but focusing on his or her weakness, and applying timing, coordination, cooperation, team play, and balance, all in order not only to amuse his troops but also to train them for the upcoming spring battle. (Han Xin was known to have written three volumes on The Art of War, all of which were destroyed, along with any direct evidence that Han Xin invented Xiangqi, when Han Xin was later condemned to death for treachery to the new Han Dynasty.) Professor Li then argues that from this beginning, Xiangqi was later disseminated to Persia (becoming various forms of Shatranj) and India (becoming various forms of Chaturanga) via the Silk Road, as well as to Japan (becoming Shogi) and Korea (becoming Janggi).
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