中国象棋已被印度申遗6次？Fake News！
今天，一则“匪夷所思”的“新闻”引爆了网络：中国象棋已被印度申遗6次。该“新闻”出自《扬子晚报》，没有其他信源。
当然，为了更加严谨，还是得用英文找找看有没有相关的英文媒体报道。
找了半天，终于发现一条算得上和该“新闻”最“接近”的帖子，一年前有网友在Reddit（类似贴吧）上发帖提问，问中国人能不能接受「象棋起源于印度，而非中国人发明」这一事实（Do the Chinese people accept that Xiangqi wasn't invented by them but came from India?）
而此时，你再去看文章开头的“头条新闻”，就已经变成了这样：
废话不多说，我们来看看相关历史介绍。
无注释原文：
A Brief History of Chinese Chess
The Culture Trip
Rachel Deason
9 May 2017
Chinese chess, or Xiangqi as it is called outside the west, became popular in China long before China was even a concept. Often thought to have spread to the far east from India, the game was already being played in the courts as early as the Warring States period (475-221BCE).
It is hard to tell just when Xiangqi arrived in China or whether it originated there from the start. Part of the confusion springs from the linguistic ambiguity of the character Xiang. Whereas modern Chinese combines single word characters to form larger and clearer meanings, ancient Chinese relied on one character to convey a singular meaning. Thus, Xiangqi could plausibly mean “Elephant Game,” “Figure Game,” or “Constellation Game.” As such, the game has divided scholars along these three terms.
Those who interpret the characters to mean “Elephant Game” believe that the game evolved from an earlier Indian counterpart, likely influenced upon its arrival in China by the pattern of troops in the Warring States period. Others, primarily Chinese scholars, hold that Xiangqi evolved from a Chinese game called Liubo, an early iteration of backgammon that uses dice. Proponents of such a theory typically believe that the game is a simulation of astronomy, with game pieces mimicking the movements of objects in the night sky.
Many books have been written on the subject, each scholar convinced that his theory is the correct one. Much more solid evidence exists for the timeline of the solidification of the game’s rules, however. The first reference to gameplay comes from the Tang dynasty (618-907CE) story Cen Shun. In the story, the titular character dreams he is visited by a messenger of the Golden Elephant Kingdom who says that his kingdom would soon go to war with the Tian Na Kingdom. The messenger asks Cen if he would like to watch, and suddenly Cen’s room turns into the gate of a castle prepared for a great battle. A military adviser comes to the Golden Elephant King with a unique strategy: “The flying horse (knight) goes diagonally and stops at three (third line), the general moves all over the field, the wagon (rook) proceeds straight into the enemy’s territory, and soldiers should not move sideways.” The king follows the advice and the war is won in a day. Later, Cen digs up a board game, Xiangqi, that uses the same strategy put forth by the adviser.
Regardless of its origins, Xiangqi is undeniably a popular board game even to this day. It is in the same family as Western Chess and its play involves similar levels of strategy and forethought. Visitors to China can catch a glimpse of its play in parks and on street corners, with aunties and uncles absorbed in plans of attack just as their forebears were thousands of years before them.
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含注释全文：
A Brief History of Chinese Chess
The Culture Trip
Rachel Deason
9 May 2017
Chinese chess, or Xiangqi as it is called outside the west, became popular in China long before China was even a concept. Often thought to have spread to the far east from India, the game was already being played in the courts as early as the Warring States period (475-221BCE).
the Warring States period 战国时期
It is hard to tell just when Xiangqi arrived in China or whether it originated there from the start. Part of the confusion springs from the linguistic ambiguity of the character Xiang. Whereas modern Chinese combines single word characters to form larger and clearer meanings, ancient Chinese relied on one character to convey a singular meaning. Thus, Xiangqi could plausibly mean “Elephant Game,” “Figure Game,” or “Constellation Game.” As such, the game has divided scholars along these three terms.
spring from
可以替换come from，表示“起源于；来自；由…造成”，英文解释为“to come from or be a result of something”举个🌰：
His need to be liked obviously springs from a deep-rooted insecurity.
他渴望别人喜欢他，这显然源于一种根深蒂固的不安全感。
linguistic
表示“语言的；语言学的”，英文解释为“connected with language or the scientific study of language”，如：linguistic and cultural barriers 语言和文化上的障碍。
ambiguity
1）表示“歧义；一语多义”，英文解释为“the state of having more than one possible meaning”；
2）表示“模棱两可的词；含混不清的语句”，英文解释为“a word or statement that can be understood in more than one way”；
constellation
表示“星座”，英文解释为“A constellation is a group of stars which form a pattern and have a name.”
divide
表示“使产生分歧；使意见不一”，英文解释为“to make two or more people disagree”举个🌰：
The issue has divided the company.
这个问题在公司中引起了意见分歧。
Those who interpret the characters to mean “Elephant Game” believe that the game evolved from an earlier Indian counterpart, likely influenced upon its arrival in China by the pattern of troops in the Warring States period. Others, primarily Chinese scholars, hold that Xiangqi evolved from a Chinese game called Liubo, an early iteration of backgammon that uses dice. Proponents of such a theory typically believe that the game is a simulation of astronomy, with game pieces mimicking the movements of objects in the night sky.
counterpart
counterpart一词经常出现，counter-表示“opposite; against; in return; corresponding 相反的；对立的；相应的”，和part一起就是“对立的，相应的事物”，从而表示“职位相当的人；作用相当的事物”，英文解释为“Somene's or something's counterpart is another person or thing that has a similar function or position in a different place.”
backgammon
表示“西洋双陆棋戏；十五子棋戏（棋盘上有楔形小区，两人玩，掷骰子决定走棋步数）”，英文解释为“Backgammon is a game for two people, played on a board marked with long triangles. Each player has 15 wooden or plastic discs. The players throw dice and move the discs around the board.”
dice
表示“骰子；色子”，英文解释为“a small cube of wood, plastic, etc., with a different number of spots on each of its sides, used in games of chance”。
*六博，又作陆博，是中国古代民间一种掷采行棋的博戏类游戏，因使用六根博箸所以称为六博，以吃子为胜。其中的古玩法大博，由于是与象棋一样要杀掉特定棋子为获胜，是很早期的兵种棋戏，被推论象棋类游戏可能从六博演变而来。（百度百科）
piece
熟词僻义，表示“棋子”，英文解释为“one of the small figures or objects that you move around in games such as chess”。
Many books have been written on the subject, each scholar convinced that his theory is the correct one. Much more solid evidence exists for the timeline of the solidification of the game’s rules, however. The first reference to gameplay comes from the Tang dynasty (618-907CE) story Cen Shun. In the story, the titular character dreams he is visited by a messenger of the Golden Elephant Kingdom who says that his kingdom would soon go to war with the Tian Na Kingdom.
The messenger asks Cen if he would like to watch, and suddenly Cen’s room turns into the gate of a castle prepared for a great battle. A military adviser comes to the Golden Elephant King with a unique strategy: “The flying horse (knight) goes diagonally and stops at three (third line), the general moves all over the field, the wagon (rook) proceeds straight into the enemy’s territory, and soldiers should not move sideways.” The king follows the advice and the war is won in a day. Later, Cen digs up a board game, Xiangqi, that uses the same strategy put forth by the adviser.
* knight：a piece used in the game of chess that is shaped like a horse's head （国际象棋中的）马
* rook：In chess, a rook is one of the chess pieces that stand in the corners of the board at the beginning of a game. Rooks can move forward, backward, or sideways, but not diagonally.（国际象棋中的）车
Regardless of its origins, Xiangqi is undeniably a popular board game even to this day. It is in the same family as Western Chess and its play involves similar levels of strategy and forethought. Visitors to China can catch a glimpse of its play in parks and on street corners, with aunties and uncles absorbed in plans of attack just as their forebears were thousands of years before them.
forethought
表示“深谋远虑；事先的策划”，英文解释为“careful thought to make sure that things are successful in the future”。
forebear
表示“祖先；祖宗”，英文解释为“a person in your family who lived a long time ago”。
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