Cultural Evolution Of Xiangqi

Xiangqi is a mind sport with a history of over one thousand year. This thesis starts with the study of cultural evolution of Xiangqi. On the basis of previous research made by scholars at home and abroad, this thesis then analyzes the impact of philosophy, military, politics and economy at different times on the development of Xiangqi and attempts to prove that Xiangqi is not only a product of historical and cultural development, but also a symbol of a society.This thesis mainly consists of four parts. Chapter one introduces the origin and early development of Xiangqi and also discusses the impact of ancient philosophic and military thoughts on the development of Xiangqi. Chapter two summarizes the development of Xiangqi in the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Chapter three explores the modern development of Xiangqi. Chapter four focuses on the new features of modern Xiangqi.The conclusion part includes the major findings and some suggestions. The findings are:Xiangqi develops along with social progress, Xiangqi culture is developed and passed down in a relatively comfortable cultural context; ancient philosophic and military thoughts are the internal force for the cultural evolution of Xiangqi, not only integrates military theories based on its own characteristics, but meets the features of Chinese culture;"he"(a draw) in Xiangqi means no one fail, which clearly shows the wisdom of Chinese civilization; after the short-term rapid development of Xiangqi since it was officially recognized as a competitive sport, Xiangqi, as a traditional sport, meets great challenges in further development; with the progress of science and technology and emergence of network platforms, Xiangqi will embrace new development opportunities.The suggestions are:great importance should be paid to the role of Xiangqi as a carrier of China’s cultural soft power; the development and promotion of mass Xiangqi activities should be highly valued and the process of marketalization should be accelerated in order to provide more and better consumable products for Xiangqi fans; full attention should be paid to the opportunities the Internet era has brought for the development of Xiangqi and from the perspective of development to recognize the importance of network platform for the promotion of Xiangqi.