Ancient Engraved Chessboards Found On Great Wall

People's Daily - Xinhua ^ | 6-5-2006

[blam]

Some believe that Europeans can trace their roots to the Gansu Province of China.

[kinoxi]

cool

[blam]

Ancient Europeans Remains Found In Qinghai (China)

[DannyTN]

As the Chinese guards sat playing chess. Mongol hordes guest workers were allowed to swarm into China to do the jobs ordinary Chinese were not willing to do.

[Publius6961]

Is it safe to assume that the boards were engraved on a horizontal rather than on a vertical surface?
Pictures might have been nice, it being a "wall" and all...

[elcid1970]

Hmmm.... it would be difficult to play Chinese Checkers on a vertical stone.

[Political Junkie Too]

Archaeologists have also found 17 Chinese characters in five lines engraved on a stone nearby, of which the names of two soldiers are still clear.

The scoreboard?

-PJ

[bruinbirdman]

"the names of two soldiers are still clear"

He means pawns doesn't he?

yitbos

[blam]

GGG Ping.

[kinoxi]

"in front of a great wall beacon"

[BenLurkin]

SO true.

[DannyTN]

"it would be difficult to play Chinese Checkers on a vertical stone"

I thought the same thing, but somewhere in the article it says it was engraved on stone in front of the wall.

[RightWhale]

Chess was invented in India and was given to Persia as a military challenge. This was long before the Arab/moslem conquest of Persia. There was regular and continuing communication between China, India, and Persia in those days, and a couple of wars but they generally refrained from war.

[SunkenCiv]

[singing] "watch the moon Pass over Shanhaiguan, and watch the sun go down on Bohai Bay..."

Have traveled, will ping.

[blam]

"Have traveled, will ping."

Have Gun, Will Travel.
Paladin

I just saw an interesting program on TV. The largest copper mine in the world is in Wales and it was already being mined when Stonehenge was being built. (I didn't know that!)

[flaglady47]

"it would be difficult to play Chinese Checkers on a vertical stone"
I thought the same thing, but somewhere in the article it says it was engraved on stone in front of the wall.

The Great Wall is flat on the top and has the equivalent of a road up there. It is very wide, and lots of tourists walk along the upper part of the wall. So it would be easy to have chess boards (or hopscotch), or anything else up on top of the Great Wall.

[SunkenCiv]

Copper mining is very old. Of course, as elements go, it'll never take me alive.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Blam.

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[SunkenCiv]

China liked to build big.

[Serb5150]

Sweet! Now it looks like I can kick your a55 at chess all over Qinhuangdao too.

; )