CAPTURE AND RELEASE AT LU RIVER

Lu River is in Yunnan Province, home of the famous go stones. This title refers to Zhuge Liang's campaign in Annam, and possibly as far as Burma, when he repeatedly captured and released the Burmese general Meng Leng.

At Ningnan there is a river called the Black Water, where there is today said to be an almost inaccessible cave with a rusty-looking bronze sword suspended from the ceiling. Legend has it that it was left there by Zhuge, then prime minister of the ancient kingdom of Sichuan. He lived in the Three Kingdoms era (220-265) and his name is still a byword in China today for brilliant statesmanship.

He led seven expeditions from Chengdu to try to conquer a barbarian (i.e. non-Chinese) tribe in the Xichang area. He captured the chieftain of this tribe seven times, and each time he released him, hoping to win him over by his magnanimity. Six times the chieftain was unmoved and continued his rebellion, but after the seventh time he became wholeheartedly loyal to the Sichuan Chinese.

The moral of the legend in its modern interpretation is that to conquer a people one must conquer their hearts and minds. In the go problem it has a simpler meaning (concentrate only on capture and release - ignore the reference to sixes and sevens), but is just as apposite. White to play. (Gateway to all marvels)

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