Life In 19x19

cdybeijing wrote: This is overly cynical in my view. It is true that in China most people won't know how to play weiqi, but they are certainly aware of the game and respect the intellect required to play. As a pursuit, it is generally held in higher esteem than other similar games like xiangqi.

No cynicism was implied or meant. I also don't think anything I wrote questioned respect for the game. Wuziqi IS a child's game, and the standard responses are just as I've listed them. Because it is related to weiqi - same board, same stones - people will offer to play that instead because that's what they are able to play.

I think you've read way too much into my post. I meant what I wrote and nothing more. Those are factually accurate statements.

Drew wrote:99.9% of people...

Drew wrote: Those are factually accurate statements.

[citation needed]

Let's have a try:

China's current population is estimated at 1.357 billion in 2013 by the World Bank， 1.381 billion including Taiwan if you like. I'm a neutral observer in that regard.

My asserted 0.1% who play weiqi comes out as 1,381,000 people.

Searching online through the "regular Chinese folks" estimates you get all sorts of numbers from 5mil up through 30mil players. Right around 15mil seems to be the most common estimate, which would be 1%.

Then this lovely saying turned up: 俗话说，100个中国男生里有90个都会下中国象棋，但会下围棋的可能只有5个。 ("It is said, among 100 Chinese men 90 can play xiangqi, but only 5 can play weiqi.") Assuming no women play we'd be at ~4% of the population, assuming they play the same rate as men we'd be at 10%... probably far too high.

Searching through official news didn't find anything. Even this article, titled roughly "Figuring out the Chinese weiqi population" doesn't provide an estimate. (Chinese clickbait?)

So, in the interest of satisfying our curiosity, I just emailed the 围棋棋院 asking for an estimate. If they write back I'll be sure to share here.

99.9% don't play is an order of magnitude too severe, but based on the above I'm quite comfortable with changing my assertion to 99% don't play.

if you do interact with someone who at least understands Go, they typically start with "oh what Dan are you?"

but yea, most people have no clue what Go really is over there. or if they do, its barely even any knowledge about it.

Our perception of how many people play go is skewed by ourselves being players. Go players in the USA probably know quite a few other go players but we have much less contact with shogi players in the USA. Of course there are more people in Japan who play shogi than are go players.

In Hong Kong, most adults would not know how to play go. It seems to be marketed more for kids as a way for them to get an advantage in building up their portfolio of activities to get into the right schools. For adults who are trying to get a job, I doubt most bosses really care whether you know how to play go regardless of whether you are a local or a foreigner. You could play as well as Lee Sedol and they wouldn't care unless you wanted a job teaching go to talented kids. The question most bosses would be more concerned with is how could you help the company make money or reduce cost.

Krama wrote:Total bullshit if you ask me

First of all, and fortunately, nobody asked you.

Krama wrote:Someone can be serious about go and only be 1d amateur. What if someone starts old like I did and decides to spend their life sudying go but they can't reach the higher dan levels? So they are not go players?

There's an amazing amount of nuances associated with different wordings and different cultures.

• I sing. __ I enjoy singing. __ I sing in the shower. __ I am a singer.
• I enjoy tennis. __ I play tennis. __ I am a tennis player.
• I studied the piano for 2 years. __ I am a pianist.
• I have a driver's license. __ I seldom drive. __ I am a FedEx delivery driver.
• I took biology in high school. __ I am a physician.
• I've cooked for my family for 30 years. __ I enjoy cooking. __ I am a chef.

If you say, "I'm an amateur 1 dan; I take about 7 stones (from pro)." That's one thing.
If you say, "I'm a Go player." That's different. You need to be mindful of your audience and what your statement may convey to them.

You may try and visit different countries with cultures you don't understand
and call them bullshit, and see how far that gets you.

EdLee wrote:

Krama wrote:Total bullshit if you ask me

First of all, and fortunately, nobody asked you.

Krama wrote:Someone can be serious about go and only be 1d amateur. What if someone starts old like I did and decides to spend their life sudying go but they can't reach the higher dan levels? So they are not go players?

There's an amazing amount of nuances associated with different wordings and different cultures.

• I sing. __ I enjoy singing. __ I sing in the shower. __ I am a singer.
• I enjoy tennis. __ I play tennis. __ I am a tennis player.
• I studied the piano for 2 years. __ I am a pianist.
• I have a driver's license. __ I seldom drive. __ I am a FedEx delivery driver.
• I took biology in high school. __ I am a physician.
• I've cooked for my family for 30 years. __ I enjoy cooking. __ I am a chef.

If you say, "I'm an amateur 1 dan; I take about 7 stones (from pro)." That's one thing.
If you say, "I'm a Go player." That's different. You need to be mindful of your audience and what your statement may convey to them.

You may try and visit different countries with cultures you don't understand
and call them bullshit, and see how far that gets you.

I love you

You could say, "I am a go player; I play go. I don't need to be judged by your high standards of what strength is and isn't a player to call myself a go player."

Hello Krama,

I browsed through the responses to your question and decided to collate the ones referring to China and distill them down to their essence, as follows:

Krama: Hi, I just arrived in China! Anyone want to play weiqi?
Chinese people #1-99: Ha, you think we play weiqi here? Don’t make us laugh. Chinese people work hard and don’t have time to play your obscure intellectual game. If anything, we play xiangqi, mahjong, and five-in-a-row, but not weiqi. How naive to think you could play weiqi against us. Stupid Westerner.
Chinese person #100: Yes, I play weiqi and am 7 dan. I was born this way. There are no kyu players in China. I am too far above your level to be interested in a game. How naive to think you could play weiqi against me. Stupid Westerner.

I hope you find this summary helpful!

calantir wrote:Hello Krama,
I browsed through the responses to your question and decided to collate the ones referring to China and distill them down to their essence, as follows:
...snip...
I hope you find this summary helpful!

If you can routinely twist and spin others' statements so adroitly I'd be happy to offer you a job in my company's marketing department.

Thanks! I will let you know if I'm ever looking.