自古博弈并稱，全是屬于賭的一類，而且只是比“飽食終日無所用心”略勝一籌而已。不過弈雖小術，亦可以觀人，相傳有慢性人，見對方走當頭炮，便左思右想，不知是跳左邊的馬好，還是跳右邊的馬好，想了半個鐘頭而遲遲不決，急得對方拱手認輸。是有這樣的慢性人，每一著都要考慮，而且是加慢的考慮，我常想這種人如加入龜兔競賽，也必定可以獲勝。也有性急的人，下棋如賽跑，劈劈拍拍，草草了事，這仍就是飽食終日無所用心的一貫作風。下棋不能無爭，爭的范圍有大有小，有斤斤計較而因小失大者，有不拘小節而眼觀全局者，有短兵相接作生死斗者，有各自為戰而旗鼓相當者，有趕盡殺絕一步不讓者，有好勇斗狠同歸于盡者，有一面下棋一面誚罵者，但最不幸的是爭的范圍超出了棋盤，而拳足交加。有下象棋者，久而無聲響，排闥視之闃不見人，原來他們是在門后角里扭做一團，一個人騎在另一個人的身上，在他的口里挖車呢。被挖者不敢出聲，出聲則口張，口張則車被挖回，挖回則必悔棋，悔棋則不得勝，這種認真的態度憨得可愛。我曾見過二人手談，起先是坐著，神情瀟灑，望之如神仙中人。俄而棋勢吃緊，兩人都站起來了，劍拔弩張，如斗鵪鶉，最后到了生死關頭，兩個人跳到桌上去了。

　　Bo （gaming） and Yi （playing chess） have long been mentioned in the same breath （in Chinese）, for they have some features in common――both belong to gambling and are regarded as just slightly better than "being sated with food and idling all day long". Playing chess, indeed, is not a significant skill, yet we can study a man through his moves on the chessboard. It is believed that there once lived a slow-going man, who, after his opponent had moved the cannon to the center, dithered for half an hour about whether to move the left horse or the right one, making his opponent choose to give up rather than wait any longer. Such people do exist: they never make a move unless they have thought it over again and again. It seems to me that they would surely win the tortoise-hare race if they took part in it. On the other hand, there are also impetuous people around us, who are always impatient and make hasty moves in chess playing, just like they are in a race. That is also the consistent way of those who eat all day long without exerting their minds. In a game, no one wants to be beaten; quite to the contrary, everybody wants to win. However, what to contend for and how to scramble is quite different from one person to another――calculating people try to save a little only to lose a lot, sagacious ones give up a little for a lot, intrepid ones fight to the bitter end in hand-to-hand combat, even-stevens each go their own ways, ruthless ones do not budge an inch, and competitive and unyielding ones each seek to beat their opponents only to end in common ruin. There are also people who keep uttering foul and novel terms as they play. What is worst, we can even find people who develop their scrambling in chess into a fierce fight. Once there were two players, whose long silence made some man of curiosity open the door to see what the matter was. In the extreme quietness neither was seen at first, later they were found grappling with each other one over the other behind the door. The one who got the upper hand was trying to dig his chariot out from the other's mouth, so the latter was unable to make any noise, for he would have to open his mouth if he tried to, and, if he opened his mouth, the chariot would be taken out. And the chariot being taken back, his opponent would certainly make a retraction, which would cause him difficulty in winning the game. Such a serious attitude of the two is charmingly naive. I myself once happened to see two men locked in a game of chess, both seated quietly with a peaceful expression like supernatural beings until the situation became critical, at which point both of them stood up with an aggressive look. And later when the decisive moment came, the two even jumped up onto the table!

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