Weiqi Wonders: Conversations about the Game of Go in China

Document Type

Communication

Abstract

This documentary was made to complement the anthropology book Go Nation: Chinese Masculinities and the Game of Weiqi in China (UC Press). https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0520276329/ref=dbs_a_def_rwt_bibl_vppi_i0

Film Description: Weiqi, often referred to as "Go" in English, is arguably the most important game in East Asia, with an estimated thirty million to fifty million players throughout the world. Weiqi is a board game but it is more. It is immersed in more vivid and often contradictory cultural metaphors than any other game in the world. As Chinese politics have changed over the last two millennia, so too has the imagery of the game—from a tool to seek religious enlightenment to military metaphors, one of the noble four arts, one of the condemned “four olds”, nationalism, transnationalism, historical elitism, and futuristic hyper rationality. Anthropologist Marc L. Moskowitz interviews people in China in settings ranging from children's schools to China's elite Beijing University to a park where retired working class men gather to play, from child educators to those reminiscing about their own youth during the Cultural Revolution. What emerges is a fascinating cultural study as people discuss children's education, retirement, China forty years ago and today. We are witness to people's lives, ranging from university students to working class senior citizens, professional players, people who gave up professional careers to become students, and a range of others who all share a love for this extraordinary game. Weiqi Wonders Home Page: https://www.marclmoskowitz.com/documentaries

Weiqi Wonders: Conversations About the Game of Go in China. High-Definition Color. 50 min. Director, Editor, and Cinematographer, Marc L. Moskowitz

Russian translation (May 2020): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc-QQQXkf9w&feature=youtu.be&fbclid=IwAR1jMgilMWkqemlRXPhy6xtEZQa6P_wTW5QBcINmpaEsbCE6lWeItEa4jGk

Rights

© Marc L. Moskowitz, 2012

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