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Games yesterday and today
Exhibit gauges impact of traditional Asian games on games people play today
By Dan Craft
dcraft@pantagraph.com
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BLOOMINGTON -- As you rip the wrapping off that spanking new backgammon set you got for Christmas this year, remind yourself of this: You're helping define who we are as a culture.

And you're establishing your role within it.

Whew.

That may seem an unduly weighty thought to entertain as you tear into a gift seemingly designed as pure naked escapism.

But it's true.

Or so says the man behind a decidedly playful new touring exhibit opening Saturday at the McLean County Museum of History in downtown Bloomington and continuing through Jan. 21.

"Asian Games: The Art of Contest" explores the deep Eastern roots of a large bulk of the world's gaming pastimes and traditions.

No, ancient China didn't give us PlayStation 3, or even 1 or 2. And ancient India had nothing to do with Monopoly. But these cultures did help lay down the original sets of rules, many of which remain intact a dozen or more centuries later.

Offering an amalgam of art reproductions, text panels and actual historic games, the exhibit portrays the social functions of various board, card and ball games in Asia, and charts their spread to other regions and cultures.

It also explores such issues as the changing role of games as they were adopted into new cultural contexts; how power, class and gender were reflected in them; intellectual, moral and spiritual associations; and games as competitions and analogues of warfare.

And that's just for starters.

"There is no culture that exists where there isn't some form of game-playing," says Dr. Colin Mackenzie, co-curator of the original exhibit from which this touring edition was culled (his day job is curator of Asian art in the Museum of Art at Middlebury College, Middlebury, Vt.).

"And yet, on the whole, people don't really study them the way they study, say, the history of opera."

For Mackenzie, the history of games trumps the history of opera, and more.

"I would argue that games can be a defining feature of a culture and one of the ways that that culture defines itself."

For example, if you were living in China during the sixth century, your gaming talents could pretty much determine your civilized worth.

It was the dawn of the first true board game of skill, originally christened "weiqi" (pronounced "Wee-chee") and better known in the West by its eventual Japanese name, "Go."

"It's the oldest living board game of strategy in the world," notes Mackenize, "probably dating back to 500 BCE, if not earlier. And it's very simple."

The rules of the game: Two players take turns placing black or white stones on a grid in an attempt to surround their opponent.

"It's played with simple equipment, and the rules are much easier to learn than chess," says Mackenzie. "But actually it's a far more complex game than chess."

Proof: No computer has ever defeated "even a medium Go player."

"I'm a very bad player of Go myself," say Mackenzie, "but I love it ... it's the most beautiful game, one of inexhaustible delight."

In the sixth century, mastering the art and skill of Go became one of China's four basic cultural accomplishments (the other three: music, painting, calligraphy).

Bottom line: "People weren't considered culturally accomplished unless they played the game," says Mackenzie. "It's remarkable that a game could have that same status."

But there was a reason.

"It was definitely a game of strategy that had military connotations and, also, great philosophical connotations. It inspired poems, illustrations and scholars. It was a high status game. No other game has been so central to the elite culture of a society."

By the time the game had spread to Japan, he says, its status was "even higher," becoming closely linked with Zen Buddhism, sacred tea ceremonies and shoguns.

That example of a game's cultural impact is just one of the features of the exhibit.

Though Go hasn't traveled westward in the way of later Asian creations, it helped set the standard for a game's incorporation into the very weft-and-warp of a culture.

Also featured in the exhibit is the global odyssey of backgammon, which most certainly did travel west, where it thrives to this day (see its ranking on chart of current 10 most popular board games).

According to a text panel in the exhibit, the backgammon family of games was the most widely played board game of the pre-modern world.

"One form of backgammon was invented in Persia, then traveled eastward to China and westward to Europe," says Mackenzie. "The idea that games have lives and that they travel is very interesting."

Chess, another major focus of the exhibit, also has its roots in India, where it was hatched in the seventh century as a "war game" under a name ("chaturanga") meaning "having four limbs," which referred to pieces representing chariots, elephants, cavalry and foot soldiers.

When the game spread to Europe the pieces and their cultural symbolism had to be altered (knights, castle turrets, etc.).

Another venerable Indian gaming creation, Snakes and Ladders, is known to Americans today under the name of Chutes & Ladders, simply "because the significance of snakes didn't mean much to urban Americans in the 20th century."

Ultimately, says Mackenzie, "Games are about cultural transmissions."

Those Asian creations that have survived into the 21stst century, like chess, backgammon and pachisi, have done so, he says, because their thematic roots have not disappeared from the cultural environment, even as the technology evolves and alters the aesthetics of the way the games are played.

One such extinct game that Mackenzie has come across, called "liubo," had to do with esoteric matters of the cosmos and links with divination. "Then there came such profound changes in society that it fell out of favor," he says, never to return.

But extinction isn't just an ancient phenomenon.

"Modern games can become crazes that can go out of favor," he notes.

Meanwhile, the advent of the digital age is exerting an impact on game-playing traditions that have yet to be gauged, so relatively recent is its arrival.

"It's a great loss that games are now played digitally," Mackenzie says. "You don't have that personal interaction now. But the future of Internet games is vast and unfathomable and will go on forever."

Even so, he adds, "I'm sure actual board games will never die out. People will come back to discovering that there's nothing like playing a really good board game with a real person facing you."

Through the "Asian Games" exhibit, Mackenize hopes that "people come away with the notion that games are really an indispensable part of culture and human activity -- that they're not trivial, that they're an activity we can't escape, even if we don't play them. They pervade everything, and they're an analogue to our very existence in society."

At a glance



What: "Asian Games: The Art of Contest"

When: Opens Saturday and continues through Jan. 21; regular hours, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday and Wednesday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday (closed Dec. 24 and 25)

Where: McLean County Museum of History, 200 N. Main St., Bloomington

Cost: Regular museum admission (adults, $5; seniors, $4; students, museum members and children 12 and under, free)

Information: (309) 827-0428 or www.McHistory.org



Top games today



Following are the current 10 most popular board and card games, as ranked by the Web site www.boardgames.about.com.:

    Monopoly


    Risk/Risk 2210 AD


    Mah Jongg


    Scrabble


    Beyblades


    Backgammon


    Battleship


    Stratego


    Checkers/Draughts


    Chess




Museum plans series of game-related events



By Dan Craft | dcraft@pantagraph.com

In addition to the touring exhibit "Asian Games: The Art of Contest," there are a number of related events planned for the McLean County Museum in the days ahead.

Here's the schedule:

• Dec. 16 through Jan. 21: A secondary panel exhibit, "Hindu Culture and Dharmic Traditions of India," sponsored by the Hindu Swayamsewak's Bloomington chapter, explores the philosophies, religions, sciences, arts and architecture of one the world's oldest civilizations.

• Dec. 16 through Jan. 21: A first-floor glass case display will feature an array of modern-day Chinese, Indian and Japanese games donated by members of the Organization of Chinese Americans (OCA) and the McLean County India Association (MCIA).

• Dec. 16, 11 a.m.: "Kendo and Iai: The Way of the Sword," a presentation by the Bloomington-Normal Kendo and Iai Club, will feature a demonstration of the art of Japanese fencing, which is rooted in the martial arts traditions of Kendo and Iai. A display of Kendo armor and swords is in the hallway of the museum's first floor.

• Dec. 30, 10 a.m.: Grand Prix Chess Tournament, presented by the Twin City Chess Club, the United States Chess Federation (USCF) and the museum. It's the first Grand Prix tourney event in the area in a decade. Spectators will be admitted free, while participants must be members of the USCF. Advance entries are $20; at the door, they're $25. Those under 20 will be charged a $16 fee. Contact Dennis Bourgerie at (309) 454-3842 for more information.

• Jan. 6, 9 a.m.: "Asian Games: The Art of Spirit and Movement," a free interactive program sponsored by the OCA, MCIA and the museum. Featured will be demonstrations and information on two Asian meditative forms, yoga from India and Tai Chi from China. (Note: wear comfortable clothes.)

• Jan. 9, 7 p.m.: "Asian Games: The Art of Dance," featuring an evening of tea and traditional Asian dance performances from India and China, explanations of the meaning behind moves and costumes and even a lesson or two. Sponsored by the OCA, MCIA and the museum.

• Jan. 14, 2 p.m.: "Asian Culture Camp: Not Just Chinese Checkers," a family-oriented day exploring what kids in Asian countries do for fun. Featured will be origami, kite-making, dancing, games, fortune cookie making and more.

For more information on any of the above events, call the museum at (309) 827-0428.

Take a look
A new touring exhibit at the McLean County Museum of History gauges the impact of Asian cultural traditions on the games people play today. The exhibit offers an amalgam of art reproductions, text panels and actual historic games. It portrays the social functions of various board, card and ball games in Asia, and charts their spread to other regions and cultures. In this reproduction image, courtesans play cards. The exhibit continues through Jan. 21.
Weiqi is the world's oldest board game of strategy.
Painted and lacquered paper make up this game of suited cards.
This ivory cubic dice game dates back to the 19th century.
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