On Tuesday this week, Google’s Artificial Intelligence program AlphaGo completed a feat many thought would be safe for decades into the future; it beat human Go champion Lee Sedol in the complex, centuries-old game of strategy and won a US$1 million prize.
While AlphaGo may have taken down the strongest Go player on Earth, it may yet just lack that special something possessed by one Go player from 600 hundred years ago, one who beat the first Ming emperor and took home a lake and a pavilion as the prize.
Mochou Lake park (莫愁湖公园), where the city’s annual dragon-boat race takes place during the Duanwu Festival is a well-known tourist attraction in Nanjing.
A soothing lake view, classic Chinese pavilions and romantic legends join forces in this watery complex. The park and lake were named after a legendary female figure; Mochou (meaning “do not worry”), while there exists\ differing stories behind the myth. In one, the Liang Dynasty widow is said to have committed suicide in this lake to resist an undesirable marriage offer. In another, she turned herself into the lake in order to flow to the Yangtze and ultimately join her husband fighting a war in distant parts. A two-metre tall white marble statue was erected in the park to commemorate this steadfast lady.
Perhaps though the most eye-catching feature of the park is the Shengqi Pavilion (胜棋楼). It is a two-storied structure with its first floor housing wax figures of 17 emperors of the Ming Dynasty and paintings created by famous artists. On the second floor the most conspicuous sight is of a picture depicting two ancient Chinese men engrossed in the game of Go.
These two men are Zhu Yuanzhang, the founder and first emperor of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and his favourite General, Xu Da, who assisted him in overthrowing the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty and establishing his own.
Chinese folklore tells that the emperor and the general played the game regularly by Mochou Lake, and although the general was a great player, he knew Zhu’s temper too well and always lost intentionally so as not to offend him.
Before long, the Emperor discovered the general’s habit and ordered him to play as normal. From morning to noon they played and still it was a dead heat.
In the end, the general won the game but while playing he also with great skill formed the characters “万岁” (Wan Sui; “long life to the emperor”) out of the stone pieces. This feat impressed the emperor so much that he instantly gave both Shengqi (“winning the game”) Pavilion along with Mochou Lake to his loyal general. In subsequent dynasties, this garden was extended several times and many other pavilions were added.
However, the poor Xu did not enjoy his prize for long. According to legend, Zhu was paranoid of an rumoured coup led by his general. The Emperor sent Xu a goose dish, knowing he was very sick at the time and allergic to goose. The loyal and devoted general Xu Da had no choice but to eat it and died.
Although experts nowadays say it is almost impossible to form “Wan-Sui” without being caught by the opponent, it is something AlphaGo would not be able to do; the “je ne sais quoi” or “Character” that for Artificial Intelligence remains thankfully still a very long way into the future.
