guoshou
Keywords: Culture & History
Since historic Chinese go didn't have institutions, in the way that Japan did in the Edo period, it is less clear-cut who were the strongest players. The title guoshou (国手, literally, national hand; cf. the Korean kuksu) is what we have to go on. The following players were accorded it (provisional list):
- Fan Junfu
- Fang Weijin
- Lin Fuqing
- Shi Yexue
- Wang Xuansuo
- Zhu Yuting
- Zhou Donghou was guoshou.
- Huang Longshi was called guoshou at 16.
- Xu XingYou
- Yao Shusheng was called guoshou at 15.
- Guo Bailing was called daguoshou (great guoshou); with him as guoshou were rated *Wang Hannian, Xu Zaizhong and Zhou Lanyu.
In places in China where go was played quite actively, the guoshou title may only have indicated the acknowledged top-level players.
valerio: I think Fang Weijin is not the correct name; I think the right name is Liang Weijin.