This is a picture of Shen Bao Chen's (沈葆禎) house/yard.  Near the fountain on the right, is where his wife (Shen/林普晴, Lin Pu Ching, 2nd daughter of Lin Tse Hsu) wrote the letter (with her blood as ink) summoning help to defend the city (Guangxi, Giangxi) during the Taiping rebellion.

A copy of this letter was carved into a stone monument on top of the mountain in Fukien.  I understand this monument has gone missing recently.

A copy of the blood letter copied by Shen Zhu She  (沈祖湜, father of Taiwan's ambassador Shen Lyu-shun 沈吕巡) was given to my mother and father (Margaret & Steve) for their wedding in 1961.

His calligraphy was so good that his handwriting is found on the Republic of China (Taiwan) currency.

Shen Bao Chen Hall (City Hall of Taipei, Taiwan)

Chang Family portrait, Beijing 1914

This is a picture taken in the backyard of the family home in Beijing, circa 1914.  (Thanks to Bernie for getting this picture restored and scanned!)

• My grandfather (張翰才,Chang Han-tsai) is the taller of the two boys in the middle (Left Hand Side, LHS).
• His father, my great-grandfather (張孝吉, Chang Shiao Zhi) is standing on far LHS.
• (Next to him is his sister (張舒文, Chang Shu-wen), who is the mother of Wu Qingyuan (吳清源, Go Saigen), see blog of his story).
• His father, my great-great-grandfather (張元奇, Chang Yuan-chyi) is seated on the RHS.

Chang Yuan-chyi (1858-1922) was born and raised in a poor family.  They did tailoring for a living.  One day, a fire broke out and destroyed much of their work and their house.

Chang Yuan-chyi was sent to tell one of our customers, the Doans.  After he explained about the fire and the damage, Mrs. Doan was very sympathetic and impressed with him.  She not only told him not to worry, she also gave him rice and money to make sure the family had food to eat.  

The next day, the family went to thank the Doans.  Mrs. Doan did not want re-payment but offered that Chang Yuan-chyi should be a study partner to her son.  Chang Yuan-chyi's parents said thanks but we need him to work in order to support the family.  Whereupon Mrs. Doan offered to pay the family to have Chang Yuan-chyi study with her son.

Our Chang Yuan-chyi made the most of this opportunity.  He studied hard, with his new friend.  Both succeeded.  Chang Yuan-chyi became a government officer, which was a dream for many, during the life and times of Imperial China.

More stories about 張元奇, Chang Yuan-chyi (thanks Aunt Irene: 
http://www.360doc.cn/article/9543986_219510366.html
http://pmgs.kongfz.com/item_pic_97017/

http://mbook.kongfz.com/173035/543746708/
https://zh.m.wikipedia.org/zh-hant/张元奇

Wu Qingyuan, the "Michael Jordan of Go"

I'm learning about our great uncle Wu Qingyuan, also known as Go Seigen, the famous master of the game Go.

• News of his passing 2014 December:  http://www.scmp.com/news/china/article/1653238/legendary-go-grandmaster-wu-qingyuan-dies-100
• Movie:  The Go Master:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQevhZwJRmA (English subtitle), 2006.
• Movie: An Unfinished Chess Game, 1982.

     There are many resources that chronicle his life and accomplishments.  Including:

• https://www.revolvy.com/main/index.php?s=Wu%20Qingyuan&item_type=topic / also Wikipedia
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Go_Seigen

    What I've found interesting was when I started to dig into some of the games played.  He was not just exceptional for his abilities to play Go, he was the exception among the exceptions.  He not only played among the elite players, he dominated the elite players of his time.

    In this video replaying a historical game, the commentator actually called Go Seigen the "Michael Jordan of Go!" and that he was an 11-dan Go player in a 9-dan world.  Nick Sibicky Go Lecture #89 - Go Seigen https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ME0SQK_5BNY

This lecture reviews and comments on the sequence of a game played March 1953 between Go Seigen and Fujisawa Kuranosuke (a.k.a. Hosai).  FK and GS were both 9 dan for this, the 6^th match of the 10 match Jubango.  GS had already taken 4 of the first 5 matches.  

Great discussion about overall game and the players:

·         0:04:40   Nick S. refers to Go Seigen as an 11-dan playing in a 9-dan world.

·         1:25: – 1:27:  Discussion on players’ time usage during the game and Go Seigen’s flow during play (quick efficient play).  Also time usage discussion @21:35. Fujisawa had used up all his basic time (13 hours.. for this 3 day game), while Go Seigen had only used some 7 hours of his time.

·         1:25:29   Nick S. called GS the “Michael Jordan of Go”!

(I’m thinking there’s parallel with Go Seigen and Jesse Owens; GS going to Japan and dominating a game so proudly held by the Japanese?)

A picture from Wu Qing Yuan's visit to Taiwan 1953.  He's seated front and center, with his mother, next to him (his left, our right), then his wife Nakahara Kazuko, then a fellow Go player, followed by his manager, and his two sisters.