Editing Xiangqi (section)

===Pieces===
Each player controls an army of 16 pieces; the armies are usually coloured red and black.<ref name=key>{{cite book |author=Heinrich, Sally |title=Key Into China |page=74 |publisher=Curriculum Press |year=2007 |isbn=978-1863666978}}</ref> Pieces are flat circular disks labelled or engraved with a [[Chinese characters|Chinese character]] identifying the piece type, and in a colour indicating which player has ownership. The black pieces are marked with somewhat different characters from the corresponding red pieces.

Even in [[mainland China]], most sets still use [[traditional Chinese characters]] (as opposed to [[simplified Chinese characters]]). Modern pieces are usually plastic, though some sets are wooden, and more expensive sets may use [[jade]]. In more ancient times, many sets were simple unpainted woodcarvings; thus, to distinguish between pieces of the two sides, most corresponding pieces used characters that were similar but varied slightly.<ref name=key/> This practice may have originated in situations where there was only one material available to make the pieces from and no colouring material available to distinguish the opposing armies. The oldest xiangqi piece found to date is a {{Lang|zh-hant|俥}} (chariot) piece. It is kept in the [[Three Gorges Museum]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=《中国之最》 |title=中国年代最早的象棋实物出土于重庆 |trans-title=The earliest Chinese chess object was unearthed in Chongoing |url=https://www.do1do2.com/chinasmost/2680 |access-date=2023-03-15 |website=Best of China |date=11 March 2012 |language=zh-CN}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=人民资讯 |date=2023-01-06 |title=最早的中国象棋 万州"车"内发现 |url=https://k.sina.cn/article_7517400647_1c0126e4705903v8x6.html?from=history |access-date=2023-03-15 |website=k.sina.cn}}</ref>

====General====
[[Image:Xiangqi General (Trad).svg|180px|The generals|left]]
[[Image:XiangqiJiangShi.png|thumb|240px|General and advisors]]

'''Generals''' (or '''kings''') are labelled 將 (trad.) / 将 (simp.) {{Audio|zh-jiang4.ogg|''jiàng''|help=no}} ("general") on the black side and 帥 (trad.) / 帅 (simp.) {{Audio|zh-shuai4.ogg|''shuài''|help=no}} ("marshal") on the red side.

The general starts the game at the midpoint of the back edge, within the palace. The general may move and capture one point [[orthogonal]]ly and may not leave the palace, with the following exception.

If the two generals face each other along the same file with no intervening pieces, the 飛將 ("flying general") move may be executed, in which the general to move crosses the board to capture the enemy general. In practice, this rule means that creating this situation in the first place means moving into check, and is therefore not allowed.<ref name="Pieces and Rules of Xiangqi">{{cite web|script-title=zh:象棋简明规则 – 中国棋院在线|url=http://games.sports.cn/server/xiangqi/2008-04-22/1442022.html|access-date=27 May 2014|language=zh}}</ref><ref name="pieces">{{cite web |url=https://www.xiangqi.com/help/pieces-and-moves |title=Pieces and Moves |website=xiangqi.com}}</ref>

The Indian name ''king'' for this piece was changed to ''general'' because of Chinese [[naming taboo]]s; China's rulers objected to their royal titles being given to game pieces.<ref>''[[A History of Chess]]'', p.120, footnote 3 says that Ssŭ-ma Kuang wrote in ''T'ung-kien nun'' in AD 1084 that [[Emperor Wen of Sui]] (541–604) found at an inn some foreigners playing a board game whose pieces included a piece called "''I pai ti''" = "white emperor"; in anger at this misuse of his title he had everybody at the inn put to death.</ref>{{Dubious|date=October 2012|reason=mistranslation}} Despite this, the general is sometimes called the "king" by English-speaking players, due to their similar functions as [[royal piece]]s.<ref name="ancient">{{cite web |url=https://www.ancientchess.com/page/play-xiangqi.htm |title=How to Play Chinese Chess Xiangqi |website=Ancient Chess}}</ref>

====Advisor====
[[Image:Xiangqi Advisor (Trad).svg|180px|The advisors|left]]
'''Advisors''' (also known as '''guards''' and less commonly as '''assistants''', '''[[Mandarin (bureaucrat)|mandarins]]''', '''ministers''' or '''warriors''') are labelled 士 {{Audio|zh-shi4.ogg|''shì''|help=no}} ("scholar", "gentleman", "[[Non-commissioned officer|officer]]", "guardian") for Black and 仕 {{Audio|zh-shi4.ogg|''shì''|help=no}} ("scholar", "official", "guardian") for Red. Rarely, sets use the character 士 for both colours.

The advisors start on either side of the general. They move and capture one point [[diagonal]]ly and may not leave the palace, which confines them to five points on the board.<ref name="pieces"/> The advisor is probably derived from the mantri in [[chaturanga]], like the queen in Western chess.

There is some controversy about whether "士" really is intended to mean "scholar", "gentleman" which would be "士人", or "guard", "guardian" which would be "衛士" (simplified Chinese: 卫士). One argument for the latter is that their functionality seems to be to guard/protect the general. The common Western translation "advisor" does not reflect this layer of meaning.

====Elephant====
[[Image:Xiangqi Elephant (Trad).svg|180px|The elephants|left]]
'''Elephants''' (or '''bishops''') are labeled {{Lang|zh-hant|象}} ''xiàng'' ("elephant") for Black and 相 ''xiàng'' ("minister") for Red. They are located next to the advisors. These pieces move and capture exactly two points diagonally and may not jump over intervening pieces; the move is described as being like the character 田 ''Tián'' ("field"), in reference to the board's squares.<ref name="pieces"/> Blocking an elephant with a diagonally adjacent piece is known as "blocking the elephant's eye" ({{Lang|zh-hant|塞象眼}}).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.xiangqi.com/articles/xiangqi-chinese-chess-in-wan-bao-quan-shu-part-1 |title=Xiangqi (Chinese Chess) in Wan Bao Quan Shu Part 1 |last=Png |first=Jim |website=xiangqi.com}}</ref>

Elephants may not cross the river to attack the enemy [[#General|general]], and serve as defensive pieces. Because an elephant's movement is restricted to just seven board positions, it can be easily trapped or threatened. The two elephants are often used to defend each other.

The [[Chinese characters]] for "minister" and "elephant" are [[homophone]]s in [[Standard Chinese|Mandarin]] ({{Audio|zh-xiang4.ogg|Listen|help=no}}) and both have alternative meanings as "appearance" or "image". However, in English, both are referred to as elephants, and less commonly as "bishops", due to their similar movements.<ref name="ancient"/>

====Horse====
[[Image:Xiangqi Horse (Trad).svg|180px|left|The horses]]
{{multiple image|total_width = 410|align = right
 |image1 = HorsePieceAgainstHorsePiece.png
 |width1 = 240|height1 = 300 
 |caption1 = The red horse may capture the black horse, but the black horse cannot capture the red horse because its movement is obstructed by another piece.
 |image2 = MovementOfHorsePiece.png
 |width2 = 328|height2 = 328
 |caption2 = Green moves are legal; red ones are illegal because another piece is obstructing the movement of the horse.
}}

'''Horses''' (or '''knights''') are labelled 馬 {{Audio|zh-ma3.ogg|''mǎ''|help=no}} for Black and 傌 ''mǎ'' for Red in sets marked with [[Traditional Chinese characters]] and 马 ''mǎ'' for both Black and Red in sets marked with [[Simplified Chinese characters]]. Some sets use 馬 for both colours. Horses begin the game next to the elephants, on their outside flanks. A horse moves and captures one point orthogonally and then one point diagonally away from its former position, a move which is traditionally described as being like the character 日 ''Rì''.<ref name="pieces"/> The horse does not jump as the knight does in Western chess, and can be blocked by a piece of either colour located one point horizontally or vertically adjacent to it. Blocking a horse is called "[[Hobble (device)|hobbling]] the horse's leg" (蹩馬腿). The diagram on the right illustrates the horse's movement.

Since horses can be blocked, and the path of a horse from one point to another is not the same as the reverse move, it is possible for one player's horse to have an asymmetric attack advantage if an opponent's horse is blocked, as seen in the diagram on the right.

The horse is sometimes called the "knight" by English-speaking players, due to their similar movements.<ref name="ancient"/>

====Chariot====
[[Image:Xiangqi Chariot (Trad).svg|180px|The chariots|left]]
'''Chariots''' (or '''rooks''' or '''cars''') are labelled 車 {{Audio|zh-ju1.ogg|''jū''|help=no}} for Black and 俥 {{Audio|zh-ju1.ogg|''jū''|help=no}} for Red in sets marked with [[Traditional Chinese characters]] and 车 for both Black and Red in sets marked with [[Simplified Chinese characters]]. Some traditional sets use 車 for both colours. In the context of xiangqi, all of these characters are pronounced as {{Audio|zh-ju1.ogg|''jū''|help=no}} (instead of the common pronunciation ''chē''). The chariot moves and captures any distance orthogonally, but may not jump over intervening pieces. The chariots begin the game on the points at the corners of the board. The chariot is often considered to be the strongest piece in the game due to its freedom of movement and lack of restrictions.<ref name="pieces"/>

The chariot is sometimes called the "rook" by English-speaking players, since it moves identically to the rook in Western chess.<ref name="ancient"/> Chinese players (and others) often call this piece a car, since that is one modern meaning of the character 車.

====Cannon====
[[Image:Xiangqi Cannon (Trad).svg|180px|The cannons|left]][[Image:XiangqiCannonJumpToCapture.png|thumb|147px|The long-range threat of the cannon]]
'''Cannons''' are labelled 砲 {{Audio|zh-pao4.ogg|''pào''|help=no}} ("[[catapult]]") for Black and [[Wikt:炮|炮]] ''pào'' ("cannon") for Red. The names are [[homophone]]s, though sometimes 炮 is used for both Red and Black. The 石 ''shí'' [[radical (Chinese characters)|radical]] of 砲 means "stone", and the 火 ''huǒ'' radical of 炮 means "fire". Both colours' pieces are normally referred to as cannons in English. The black piece is sometimes labelled [[Wikt:包|包]] bāo.

Each player has two cannons, which start on the row behind the soldiers, two points in front of the horses. Cannons move like chariots, any distance orthogonally without jumping, but can only capture by jumping a single piece of either colour along the path of attack. The piece over which the cannon jumps is called the 炮臺 (trad.) / 炮台 (simp.) ''pào tái'' ("cannon platform" or "screen"). Any number of unoccupied spaces, including none, may exist between the cannon, screen, and the piece to be captured. Cannons can be exchanged for horses immediately from their starting positions.<ref name="pieces"/>

====Soldier====
[[Image:Xiangqi Soldier (Trad).svg|180px|The soldiers|left]]
'''Soldiers''' (or '''pawns''') are labelled 卒 {{Audio|zh-zu2.ogg|''zú''|help=no}} ("pawn" or "private") for Black and 兵 {{Audio|zh-bing1.ogg|''bīng''|help=no}} ("soldier") for Red. Each side starts with five soldiers. Soldiers begin the game located on every other point one row back from the edge of the river. They move and capture by advancing one point. Once they have crossed the river, they may also move and capture one point horizontally. Soldiers cannot move backward, and therefore cannot retreat; after advancing to the last rank of the board, however, a soldier may still move sideways at the enemy's edge.<ref name="pieces"/> The soldier is sometimes called the "pawn" by English-speaking players, due to the pieces' similar movements.<ref name="ancient"/>