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'''Child Worships Buddha''' (Chinese: <span lang="zh">童子拜佛</span>, literally "the child worships the Buddha") is a named mating pattern in xiangqi teaching material: a pawn, supported by the other pieces, mates the opposing general head-on. The pattern appears in a series of basic mating patterns (基本杀法定式) published on the Chinese game site 4399 for the mobile game 天天象棋, where the pattern is the eleventh instalment and carries the nickname '''Little Cudgel Strikes the Head''' (小棒当头).<ref name="ref-1">4399 用户「是顾小花呀」（文中署名 Remilia）(16 December 2015). "[https://m.4399.cn/news-id-583615.html 天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法童子拜佛]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 童子拜佛]. 4399手机游戏网 (m.4399.cn). Definition 第十一式; header 「来自:蓝色小飞鱼9999 | IP:福建」; body credit 「转载自百度贴吧ID：蓝色小飞鱼9999」.</ref><ref name="ref-2">4399 用户「是顾小花呀」（文中署名 Remilia）(16 December 2015). "[https://news.4399.com/gonglue/ttxq/cjsfds/m/583615.html 天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法童子拜佛]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 童子拜佛]. 4399手机游戏网 (news.4399.com). Two red-wins-first examples and the footnote variation.</ref> In the same series' taxonomy page the pattern is one of eight pawn-family entries in a scheme that divides the basic mating patterns into ten classes and one hundred patterns according to the roles of the mating piece and the controlling piece.<ref name="ref-3">砍间 (3 June 2016). "[https://news.4399.com/gonglue/ttxq/xinde/m/582404.html 天天象棋闯关心得技巧 残局基础杀法定式]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' level-by-level notes: the basic endgame mating patterns]. 4399手机游戏网 (news.4399.com). Ten classes; the pawn class; the closing theory of mating technique.</ref>
'''Child Worships Buddha''' (Chinese: <span lang="zh">童子拜佛</span>) is a name used for a pawn mating pattern and for several composed endgame positions in xiangqi. A 2015 teaching series on the Chinese gaming website 4399 defines the pattern as a pawn attacking the opposing general head-on with support from other pieces. The series also calls it 小棒当头 ("Little Cudgel Strikes the Head").<ref name="ref-1">4399 用户「是顾小花呀」（文中署名 Remilia）(16 December 2015). "[https://m.4399.cn/news-id-583615.html 天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法童子拜佛]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 童子拜佛]. 4399手机游戏网 (m.4399.cn). Definition 第十一式; header 「来自:蓝色小飞鱼9999 | IP:福建」; body credit 「转载自百度贴吧ID：蓝色小飞鱼9999」.</ref><ref name="ref-2">4399 用户「是顾小花呀」（文中署名 Remilia）(16 December 2015). "[https://news.4399.com/gonglue/ttxq/cjsfds/m/583615.html 天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法童子拜佛]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 童子拜佛]. 4399手机游戏网 (news.4399.com). Two red-wins-first examples and the footnote variation.</ref>


The same name also titles a composed endgame position that circulates in Chinese endgame databases and puzzle channels: Red's two chariots (車) on f7 and h5 and a pawn (兵) on i9 against Black's general on f10, advisor on f8 and chariots on e8 and e6.<ref name="ref-4">wjx138 (uploaded 11 November 2016; record dated 17 November 2014). "[https://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/search/view_u_1158378.html 086.童子拜佛]" [086. Child Worships Buddha]. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi), uploaded-materials library. Position only, no move list; event label 残局攻杀谱.</ref> The position is item 35 of the 115-item collection ''Simple Winning Endgames'' (简易胜势残局), where it is marked "Red moves first and wins, thirteen moves",<ref name="ref-5">象棋谱大全 (2007). "[http://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/share/chess_%E8%B1%A1%E6%A3%8B%E8%B0%B1%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/%E8%B1%A1%E6%A3%8B%E8%B0%B1%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8-%E8%BF%91%E7%8E%B0%E4%BB%A3%E6%AE%8B%E6%8E%92%E5%B1%80/%E7%AE%80%E6%98%93%E8%83%9C%E5%8A%BF%E6%AE%8B%E5%B1%80/ 《简易胜势残局》目录]" [Directory of ''Simple Winning Endgames'']. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi). Items 1–115 with move counts and results; item 35 童子拜佛, 红先胜, 13 着.</ref><ref name="ref-6">象棋谱大全 (2007). "[http://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/search/view_q_39828.html 童子拜佛 红先胜]" [Child Worships Buddha, Red moves first and wins]. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi). Thirteen-ply solution carried in the page script.</ref> A teaching video on the same position explains the name as pointing to Red's edge pawn, the "child" that travels across the board to deliver the mate.<ref name="ref-7">岳峰讲棋 (6 October 2021). "[https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1tP4y187BB/ 【岳峰讲棋】象棋残棋，童子拜佛，越危险越安全！]" [Yuefeng explains chess: the endgame 童子拜佛, the more dangerous the safer]. 哔哩哔哩 (Bilibili). Position, attempted losing try, and the winning method.</ref> No source read here connects the pattern and the position beyond the shared name.<ref name="ref-1" /><ref name="ref-4" />
A composed position with the same name appears in Dongping Xiangqi's collection ''Simple Winning Endgames'' (简易胜势残局). Red has two chariots and a pawn against Black's two chariots and an advisor; the database records a thirteen-ply mating continuation.<ref name="ref-4">wjx138 (uploaded 11 November 2016; record dated 17 November 2014). "[https://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/search/view_u_1158378.html 086.童子拜佛]" [086. Child Worships Buddha]. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi), uploaded-materials library. Position only, no move list; event label 残局攻杀谱.</ref><ref name="ref-5">象棋谱大全 (2007). "[http://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/share/chess_%E8%B1%A1%E6%A3%8B%E8%B0%B1%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/%E8%B1%A1%E6%A3%8B%E8%B0%B1%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8-%E8%BF%91%E7%8E%B0%E4%BB%A3%E6%AE%8B%E6%8E%92%E5%B1%80/%E7%AE%80%E6%98%93%E8%83%9C%E5%8A%BF%E6%AE%8B%E5%B1%80/ 《简易胜势残局》目录]" [Directory of ''Simple Winning Endgames'']. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi). Items 1–115 with move counts and results; item 35 童子拜佛, 红先胜, 13 着.</ref><ref name="ref-6">象棋谱大全 (2007). "[http://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/search/view_q_39828.html 童子拜佛 红先胜]" [Child Worships Buddha, Red moves first and wins]. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi). Thirteen-ply solution carried in the page script.</ref> Other puzzles bearing the title have different positions and results.<ref name="ref-22">我的象棋1 (uploaded 22 September 2008). "[http://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/search/view_u_91121.html 童子拜佛]" [Child Worships Buddha]. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi), uploaded-materials library. A second, different composed position under the same title, sourced from 残局天下 (icanju.cn), marked Red wins, thirty-nine moves.</ref><ref name="ref-23">大黄三两 (8 September 2024). "[https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1KipeeoE98/ 烧脑残局，童子拜佛，处处死穴，处处绝地逢生]" [Brain-burning endgame, Child Worships Buddha: everywhere death-traps, everywhere narrow escapes]. 哔哩哔哩 (Bilibili). Transcript and frames; the demonstrator concludes the position is a draw.</ref>
 
Neither 童子拜佛 nor 小棒当头 appears in the entry list of the standard one-volume dictionary of xiangqi terms, nor among the 270 named positions of a 1992 manual devoted to chariot, horse and pawn mating positions; both works use neighbouring names from the same tradition.<ref name="ref-8">屠景明 (1986). ''中国象棋词典'' [Dictionary of Chinese Xiangqi]. 上海辞书出版社 (Shanghai Lexicographical Publishing House). Classified entry list, pawn section: 中兵, 中卒, 高兵, 低兵, 老兵, 孤兵, 独卒擒王, 太监追皇帝, 老卒捞车, 二鬼拍门, 铁门闩, 三仙炼丹, 风摆柳, 铁兵. Full-text search of the scan returns no 童子拜佛 or 小棒当头.</ref><ref name="ref-9">(1992). ''车马兵杀法'' [Mating methods with chariot, horse and pawn]. 人民体育出版社 (People's Sports Publishing House). 270 composed positions grouped by pawn count, each with a literary name; the preface on the naming convention. Full-text search returns no 童子拜佛 or 小棒当头.</ref> The 4399 instalments credit their text to a Baidu Tieba contributor, 蓝色小飞鱼9999; the account exists, but no thread by it can be retrieved.<ref name="ref-1" /><ref name="ref-10">蓝色小飞鱼9999, Baidu Tieba account (uid 1238327409, 27 followers). Retrieved 1 October 2026. [https://tieba.baidu.com/home/main?un=%E8%93%9D%E8%89%B2%E5%B0%8F%E9%A3%9E%E9%B1%BC9999 Account home]. No thread by the account, and no thread carrying the series title, is indexed by Baidu, 360, Sogou or Toutiao.</ref>


== Definition ==
== Definition ==


The 4399 series defines the pattern in one sentence: "also called 'little cudgel strikes the head': a pawn, borrowing the force of the other pieces, mates the opposing general head-on" (兵借助其他子力，当头照杀对方老将的杀法).<ref name="ref-1" /><ref name="ref-2" /> The phrase describes the shape of the kill rather than the piece that delivers the last blow: the pawn attacks the general frontally along its own file, and the force it borrows may be another piece occupying the general's escape squares, or the rule that the two generals may not face each other on an open file.<ref name="ref-2" /> In the first of the page's two examples the mating move is the pawn's own advance; in the second the final blow is struck by a chariot while the pawn covers the escape point, so the definition is not narrowed to a pawn delivering the last check.<ref name="ref-2" />
The 4399 definition describes a pawn mating the opposing general head-on with support from other pieces (兵借助其他子力，当头照杀对方老将的杀法).<ref name="ref-1" /> Its two examples illustrate different roles for the pawn. In the first, the pawn delivers mate: the opposing chariots occupy the general's escape squares, while Red's general prevents it from capturing the pawn. In the second, a chariot delivers the final check and the pawn controls an escape square.<ref name="ref-2" />


<!-- Pikafish verification: example 1 FEN 3rkr3/4a4/4P4/9/9/9/9/9/9/4K4 w - - 0 1 — legal, Red to move, depth-20 search returns mate 1; the mating move is the pawn's advance onto the advisor's point, and the general cannot capture it because the two generals would then face each other on the open central file. -->
The series' classification page groups mating patterns by the roles of the "mating piece" (照杀子) and "controlling piece" (控杀子), and describes a scheme of ten classes and one hundred patterns. It places 童子拜佛 among eight pawn patterns and limits its basic patterns to no more than three "strong" pieces (三强子). The page describes endgame mating technique as confining the general before mating or immobilising it, and middlegame mating technique as depending on a configuration of pieces rather than a single move.<ref name="ref-3">砍间 (3 June 2016). "[https://news.4399.com/gonglue/ttxq/xinde/m/582404.html 天天象棋闯关心得技巧 残局基础杀法定式]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' level-by-level notes: the basic endgame mating patterns]. 4399手机游戏网 (news.4399.com). Ten classes; the pawn class; the closing theory of mating technique.</ref>
 
The series places the pattern inside a classification said to follow "the mating piece and the controlling piece" (照杀子, 控杀子) — terms the hub page uses without explanation, and which no independent source read here attests outside that text and its copies.<ref name="ref-3" /><ref name="ref-11">易学不易, transcriber (20 July 2018; uploaded 22 November 2024). "[https://max.book118.com/html/2024/1120/5302013021012001.shtm 象棋教材第一课 残局杀法基本原理和规律]" [''Xiangqi Textbook'', lesson one: the basic principles and rules of mating technique in the endgame]. 原创力文档 (max.book118.com). Transcription attributed to 第三卷第七册 第一课 of 《象棋教材》; its first section is titled 第一节 照杀和困毙; only the opening page of thirteen is readable in the saved copy.</ref> The taxonomy page adds that because these patterns arise in the endgame, they are also called endgame mating patterns, and it restricts the set to patterns of no more than three "strong" pieces (三强子). It closes with a short theory of mating technique: in the endgame the essence of a kill is to pin the enemy general to a point and then mate, smother or immobilise it, whereas the essence of a middlegame kill is a shape rather than a single move.<ref name="ref-3" />


== Names ==
== Names ==


Both names are pictorial: 童子拜佛 means "the child worships the Buddha" and 小棒当头 "the little cudgel strikes the head". The alias is not exclusive to this pattern. On the page for a different pawn pattern of the same series, 蜘蛛抱蛋 ("the spider wraps the egg"), a note states that the black side's mating method there is also a form of 蜘蛛抱蛋 and that "the move by which a black pawn kills the general is also called 小棒当头".<ref name="ref-12">4399 用户「是顾小花呀」（文中署名 Remilia）(14 December 2015). "[https://m.4399.cn/news-id-582811.html 天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法蜘蛛抱蛋]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 蜘蛛抱蛋]. 4399手机游戏网 (m.4399.cn). Eighth instalment; the note attaching 小棒当头 to a black pawn's mating move; the contrast with 小刀剜心.</ref><ref name="ref-2" /> The teaching video on the composed position offers the one reading of the imagery in the material read here: the "child" is the edge pawn that crosses the board to deliver the mate.<ref name="ref-7" />
童子拜佛 literally means "the child worships the Buddha"; 小棒当头 means "the little cudgel strikes the head". The latter name also appears in the series' account of 蜘蛛抱蛋 ("the spider wraps the egg"), where it describes a black pawn's mating move.<ref name="ref-12">4399 用户「是顾小花呀」（文中署名 Remilia）(14 December 2015). "[https://m.4399.cn/news-id-582811.html 天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法蜘蛛抱蛋]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 蜘蛛抱蛋]. 4399手机游戏网 (m.4399.cn). Eighth instalment; the note attaching 小棒当头 to a black pawn's mating move; the contrast with 小刀剜心.</ref> In his explanation of the composed position, the instructor 岳峰 identifies the "child" as the edge pawn that crosses the board to deliver mate.<ref name="ref-7">岳峰讲棋 (6 October 2021). "[https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1tP4y187BB/ 【岳峰讲棋】象棋残棋，童子拜佛，越危险越安全！]" [Yuefeng explains chess: the endgame 童子拜佛, the more dangerous the safer]. 哔哩哔哩 (Bilibili). Position, attempted losing try, and the winning method.</ref>


The names belong to a stock of pictorial pattern names in the same teaching tradition, in which the enemies and their helpers are recast as figures in a scene. The pawn pattern 独卒擒王 ("a lone pawn captures the king") carries the aliases 一卒送终, 太监追皇帝 ("the eunuch chases the emperor") and 送佛归殿 ("escorting the Buddha back to the hall"), and 蜘蛛抱蛋 is also called 小鬼坐龙庭 ("the little devil sits in the dragon court").<ref name="ref-13">4399手机游戏网 (14 December 2015). "[https://news.4399.com/gonglue/ttxq/cjsfds/m/582765.html 天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法独卒擒王]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 独卒擒王]. 4399手机游戏网 (news.4399.com). Fifth instalment; the aliases 一卒送终, 太监追皇帝, 送佛归殿; the contrast with 三进兵.</ref><ref name="ref-12" /> A printed manual of the genre states the convention explicitly. The preface to ''Mating Methods with Chariot, Horse and Pawn'' (车马兵杀法) explains that its positions were given literary names so that readers could tell them apart and take more pleasure in them, and notes that a named "killing pattern" (杀式) can be derived from the title of an old position — instancing 金人七燕杀式 from the old position 金人七燕.<ref name="ref-9" />
Other pawn patterns in the series also have pictorial names. The pawn pattern 独卒擒王 ("a lone pawn captures the king") carries the aliases 一卒送终, 太监追皇帝 ("the eunuch chases the emperor") and [[Repatriation of the Buddha|送佛归殿]] ("escorting the Buddha back to the hall"), and 蜘蛛抱蛋 is also called 小鬼坐龙庭 ("the little devil sits in the dragon court").<ref name="ref-13">4399手机游戏网 (14 December 2015). "[https://news.4399.com/gonglue/ttxq/cjsfds/m/582765.html 天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法独卒擒王]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 独卒擒王]. 4399手机游戏网 (news.4399.com). Fifth instalment; the aliases 一卒送终, 太监追皇帝, 送佛归殿; the contrast with 三进兵.</ref><ref name="ref-12" /> The preface to ''Mating Methods with Chariot, Horse and Pawn'' (车马兵杀法) explains that its positions were given literary names so that readers could tell them apart and take more pleasure in them, and notes that a named "killing pattern" (杀式) can be derived from the title of an old position — giving 金人七燕杀式, derived from 金人七燕, as an example.<ref name="ref-9">(1992). ''车马兵杀法'' [Mating methods with chariot, horse and pawn]. 人民体育出版社 (People's Sports Publishing House). 270 composed positions grouped by pawn count, each with a literary name; the preface on the naming convention.</ref>


== Worked examples ==
== Worked examples ==


The series illustrates the pattern with two unrelated fragments rather than with a single canonical position.<ref name="ref-2" />
The series illustrates the pattern with two positions.<ref name="ref-2" /> Move sequences in this article are written in the notation of the World Xiangqi Federation: K general, A advisor, E elephant, H horse, R chariot, C cannon and P pawn, upper case for Red and lower case for Black; files are numbered 1-9 from each side's own right; and +, - and = mark an advance, a retreat and a sideways move.


The first example is a mating position with very few pieces: Black's general on its own back rank between two chariots, an advisor in front of it, and a Red pawn one point below the advisor, with Red's own general facing down the same open file. The single move 兵五进一 — the pawn advancing onto the advisor's point — is itself mate.<ref name="ref-2" /> The general cannot capture the pawn, because the two generals would then face each other along the open central file, and the chariots standing beside it occupy the only squares to which it could step.
In the first example, Black's general stands on the back rank between two chariots. An advisor occupies the point directly in front of it, with Red's pawn one point below the advisor and Red's general on the central file. P5+1 captures the advisor and gives mate.<ref name="ref-2" /> Black's general cannot capture the pawn because the two generals would then face each other along the open file. Black's chariots occupy its remaining escape squares.


<xiangqi-player>
<xiangqi-player>
Line 45: Line 41:
   "initialPly": 0,
   "initialPly": 0,
   "annotations": {
   "annotations": {
     "1": "1. 兵五进一: the pawn takes the advisor and gives the head-on check; the borrowed force is the Red general's opposition on the open file and the two Black chariots blocking the escape squares."
     "1": "1. P5+1: the pawn takes the advisor and gives the head-on check; the borrowed force is the Red general's opposition on the open file and the two Black chariots blocking the escape squares."
   },
   },
   "caption": "Example 1: the pawn's single advance (兵五进一) is mate"
   "caption": "Example 1: the pawn's single advance (P5+1) is mate"
}
}
</xiangqi-player>
</xiangqi-player>


<!-- Pikafish verification: example 1 (3rkr3/4a4/4P4/9/9/9/9/9/9/4K4 w) replayed at depth 20 — four legal moves for Red, and the search reports mate 1 for the pawn advance. -->
In the second example, Red has a chariot, pawn and elephant. The published line ends on Red's twelfth move, when the chariot gives mate after the pawn has occupied the square beside Black's general.<ref name="ref-2" /> A footnote gives a losing alternative: 10. R4=5? k5=6 11. P6=5?? r7=6, followed by a pawn-and-chariot mating sequence against Red.<ref name="ref-2" />
 
The second example is a longer winning sequence in which the pawn works with a chariot and an elephant. The printed line runs twelve moves and ends in mate, a chariot delivering the final check on the enemy's second rank after the pawn has taken the point beside the general.<ref name="ref-1" /><ref name="ref-2" /> The page's own footnote shows what happens if Red varies: after 10. 车四平五 Black answers 车7平6 and mates the exposed Red general with a pawn-and-chariot net, and the page marks the line "Black wins".<ref name="ref-2" />


<xiangqi-player>
<xiangqi-player>
Line 86: Line 80:
   "initialPly": 0,
   "initialPly": 0,
   "annotations": {
   "annotations": {
     "1": "1. 兵六进一: the pawn check begins a forced-looking chase.",
     "1": "1. P6+1: the pawn advances with check.",
     "23": "12. 车四进一 mates; the pawn holds the escape point beside the general."
     "23": "12. R4+1 mates; the pawn holds the escape point beside the general."
   },
   },
   "caption": "Example 2: the twelve-move chariot-and-pawn win (1. P6+1 K4=5 2. P6=5 K5-1 3. R7+2 K5-1 4. P5+1 K5=4 5. R7+1 K4+1 6. R7-2 K4-1 7. P5=6 K4=5 8. P6+1 K5=6 9. R7=4 K6=5 10. R4+1 P4=5 11. P6=5 K5=4 12. R4+1)"
   "caption": "Example 2: the twelve-move chariot-and-pawn win (1. P6+1 k4=5 2. P6=5 k5-1 3. R7+2 k5-1 4. P5+1 k5=4 5. R7+1 k4+1 6. R7-2 k4-1 7. P5=6 k4=5 8. P6+1 k5=6 9. R7=4 k6=5 10. R4+1 p4=5 11. P6=5 k5=4 12. R4+1)"
}
}
</xiangqi-player>
</xiangqi-player>


<!-- Pikafish verification: example 2 (9/9/3k1a3/2R6/3P5/9/5pp2/4B4/3p2r2/5K3 w) — all 23 plies of the printed line replay legally and the final position has Black in check with no legal reply; the footnote line at 10. R4=5? ends with Red in check and no legal reply, matching the page's 黑胜. The starting position's evaluation is unsettled: equality at depth 20 and a forced win at depth 30, so the printed line is one documented continuation rather than the engine's best defence. -->
== Related mating patterns ==


The second example's win is deep rather than immediate. A depth-20 search of the starting position returns equality while a deeper search finds a forced win, so the printed line is best read as one recorded continuation.<ref name="ref-2" />
童子拜佛 is the eleventh instalment of the 4399 series. Its sidebar lists twelve patterns: 对面笑, 御驾亲征, 闲庭散步, 脱袍卸甲, 独卒擒王, 小鬼拍门, 老兵新传, 蜘蛛抱蛋, 三进兵, 小刀剜心, 童子拜佛 and 三仙炼丹. The first four concern the general and the remaining eight concern pawns.<ref name="ref-14">4399 用户「是顾小花呀」（文中署名 Remilia）(13 December 2015). "[https://m.4399.cn/news-id-582630.html 天天象棋残局攻略 将（帅）杀法对面笑]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' endgame guide: the general mating pattern 对面笑]. 4399手机游戏网 (m.4399.cn). First instalment; the sidebar list of the series' twelve names; the link to the taxonomy hub; the contributor credit line.</ref><ref name="ref-3" />


== Place among the basic mating patterns ==
The series describes 三进兵 ("advancing the pawn three times") as three consecutive instances of 童子拜佛.<ref name="ref-15">4399手机游戏网 (16 December 2015). "[https://news.4399.com/gonglue/ttxq/cjsfds/m/583581.html 天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法三进兵]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 三进兵]. 4399手机游戏网 (news.4399.com). Ninth instalment; the stated relation to 童子拜佛.</ref> It distinguishes several related pawn patterns:


The 4399 series numbers its patterns as instalments (式) rather than as items of the ten-class scheme. Its twelve names, in the order in which the pages' own sidebar lists them, are 对面笑, 御驾亲征, 闲庭散步, 脱袍卸甲, 独卒擒王, 小鬼拍门, 老兵新传, 蜘蛛抱蛋, 三进兵, 小刀剜心, 童子拜佛 and 三仙炼丹.<ref name="ref-14">4399 用户「是顾小花呀」（文中署名 Remilia）(13 December 2015). "[https://m.4399.cn/news-id-582630.html 天天象棋残局攻略 将（帅）杀法对面笑]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' endgame guide: the general mating pattern 对面笑]. 4399手机游戏网 (m.4399.cn). First instalment; the sidebar list of the series' twelve names; the link to the taxonomy hub; the contributor credit line.</ref><ref name="ref-1" /> The first four belong to the general family and the last eight to the pawn family, and the numbering is the series' own: 童子拜佛 is the eleventh instalment, not the eleventh item of a canon. The series was announced as still being filled in when its first instalment appeared, and the sidebar note on that page told readers that the patterns were being added.<ref name="ref-14" /><ref name="ref-14" /><ref name="ref-3" /> The hub's "ten classes and one hundred patterns" is a larger grouping; the page itself lists far fewer entries than the figure implies, so the count is a claim about the classification rather than an inventory.<ref name="ref-3" />
{| class="wikitable"
! Pattern !! Description in the 4399 series
|-
| 独卒擒王 ("a lone pawn captures the king") || A supported pawn checks the general repeatedly, driving it back to its original square.<ref name="ref-13" />
|-
| 小鬼拍门 ("little ghosts knock at the door") || Two pawns attack the sides of the palace.<ref name="ref-16">4399手机游戏网 (14 December 2015). "[https://news.4399.com/gonglue/ttxq/cjsfds/m/582778.html 天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法小鬼拍门]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 小鬼拍门]. 4399手机游戏网 (news.4399.com). Sixth instalment.</ref>
|-
| 老兵新传 ("an old soldier's new story") || A pawn on the back rank confines the general.<ref name="ref-17">4399手机游戏网 (14 December 2015). "[https://news.4399.com/gonglue/ttxq/cjsfds/m/582800.html 天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法老兵新传]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 老兵新传]. 4399手机游戏网 (news.4399.com). Seventh instalment.</ref>
|-
| 三仙炼丹 ("three immortals refine the elixir") || Three pawns win against full advisors and elephants.<ref name="ref-18">4399手机游戏网 (16 December 2015). "[https://news.4399.com/gonglue/ttxq/cjsfds/m/583618.html 天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法三仙炼丹]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 三仙炼丹]. 4399手机游戏网 (news.4399.com). Twelfth instalment; alias 三兵闹士; the verse stringing together the series' own names.</ref>
|}


Within the pawn family the sources state one relationship of kind between two patterns: 三进兵 ("advancing the pawn three times") can be regarded as three consecutive instances of 童子拜佛, while 童子拜佛 is a single act of the pawn mating the general head-on.<ref name="ref-15">4399手机游戏网 (16 December 2015). "[https://news.4399.com/gonglue/ttxq/cjsfds/m/583581.html 天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法三进兵]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 三进兵]. 4399手机游戏网 (news.4399.com). Ninth instalment; the stated relation to 童子拜佛.</ref> The neighbouring names define the vocabulary the definition lives in: 独卒擒王 is the pattern in which a pawn "borrows the force of other pieces" to check the general step by step until it is driven back to its original square, a route that the same page distinguishes from 三进兵's mate on the bottom rank;<ref name="ref-13" /> 小鬼拍门 ("little ghosts knock at the door") is the double-pawn attack on the two ribs of the palace;<ref name="ref-16">4399手机游戏网 (14 December 2015). "[https://news.4399.com/gonglue/ttxq/cjsfds/m/582778.html 天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法小鬼拍门]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 小鬼拍门]. 4399手机游戏网 (news.4399.com). Sixth instalment.</ref> 老兵新传 ("an old soldier's new story") is the pattern in which a pawn that has reached the bottom rank confines the general;<ref name="ref-17">4399手机游戏网 (14 December 2015). "[https://news.4399.com/gonglue/ttxq/cjsfds/m/582800.html 天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法老兵新传]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 老兵新传]. 4399手机游戏网 (news.4399.com). Seventh instalment.</ref> and 三仙炼丹 ("three immortals refine the elixir"), the last instalment, generalises the classical ending in which three pawns win against full advisors and elephants. The page for 蜘蛛抱蛋 distinguishes 小刀剜心 from 蜘蛛抱蛋 by the route the pawn takes into the palace — sideways in from the rib file, as against down from a high pawn position — and treats the two as similar devices.<ref name="ref-12" /><ref name="ref-18">4399手机游戏网 (16 December 2015). "[https://news.4399.com/gonglue/ttxq/cjsfds/m/583618.html 天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法三仙炼丹]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 三仙炼丹]. 4399手机游戏网 (news.4399.com). Twelfth instalment; alias 三兵闹士; the verse stringing together the series' own names.</ref>
The series distinguishes 小刀剜心 from 蜘蛛抱蛋 by the pawn's route into the palace: sideways from a flank file in the former, and forward from a high pawn position in the latter.<ref name="ref-12" />


The printed tradition of the same subject teaches mating methods under individual names. An online transcription of the first lesson of the school series ''Xiangqi Textbook'' (象棋教材), which its transcriber attributes to the third volume of that series, opens with a section headed "mating kill and immobilisation" (照杀和困毙).<ref name="ref-11" /> The ten-class formulation and the compound 照杀子 and 控杀子 are not attested outside the 4399 hub page and copies of it.<ref name="ref-3" /><ref name="ref-11" />
== Composed endgame ==


== The composed position also named 童子拜佛 ==
In the featured position, Red has chariots on f7 and h5 and a pawn on i9; Black has its general on f10, an advisor on f8 and chariots on e8 and e6. Red moves first.<ref name="ref-4" /><ref name="ref-6" /> The position was uploaded to the Dongping Xiangqi database repeatedly between 2007 and 2016 under the title 童子拜佛 红先胜 ("Child Worships Buddha, Red moves first and wins"), and the same diagram was republished in 2021 by the WeChat account 象棋残局天下 as one instalment of its named endgame series, with the solution offered through a QR code rather than in the text.<ref name="ref-4" /><ref name="ref-6" /><ref name="ref-19">微信公众号「象棋残局天下」(17 June 2021). "象棋残局：童子拜佛" [Xiangqi endgame: Child Worships Buddha]. 微信公众平台. Diagram of the composed position; solution behind a QR code.</ref><ref name="ref-20">青竹19560620 (uploaded 16 April 2010). "[https://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/search/view_u_222431.html 童子拜佛 红先胜]" [Child Worships Buddha, Red moves first and wins]. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi), uploaded-materials library. Filed under 近现代残排局 with the event label 简易胜势残局.</ref>


The position shown at the top of this page is the one fixed diagram that carries the name in database circulation. Red has chariots on f7 and h5 and a pawn on i9; Black has its general on f10, an advisor on f8 and chariots on e8 and e6; Red moves first.<ref name="ref-4" /><ref name="ref-6" /> The position was uploaded to the Dongping Xiangqi database repeatedly between 2007 and 2016 under the title 童子拜佛 红先胜 ("Child Worships Buddha, Red moves first and wins"), and the same diagram was republished in 2021 by the WeChat account 象棋残局天下 as one instalment of its named endgame series, with the solution offered through a QR code rather than in the text.<ref name="ref-4" /><ref name="ref-6" /><ref name="ref-19">微信公众号「象棋残局天下」(17 June 2021). "象棋残局：童子拜佛" [Xiangqi endgame: Child Worships Buddha]. 微信公众平台. Diagram of the composed position; solution behind a QR code.</ref><ref name="ref-20">青竹19560620 (uploaded 16 April 2010). "[https://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/search/view_u_222431.html 童子拜佛 红先胜]" [Child Worships Buddha, Red moves first and wins]. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi), uploaded-materials library. Filed under 近现代残排局 with the event label 简易胜势残局.</ref>
The recorded solution is thirteen plies long. Red checks on the enemy's back rank, steps back, and then places a chariot on the central file of that rank: 1. R2+5 k6+1 2. R2-1 k6-1 3. R2=5.<ref name="ref-6" /> Black's answer in the recorded line is to advance the front chariot with check, 3... +r+5, after which Red's general steps up and the checking chariot withdraws; Red then moves the pawn sideways across files 1 to 4 (P1=2, P2=3, P3=4) and the pawn's arrival beside the general is mate.<ref name="ref-6" />
 
The recorded solution is thirteen plies long. Red checks on the enemy's back rank, steps back, and then places a chariot on the central file of that rank: 1. R2+5 K6+1 2. R2-1 K6-1 3. R2=5.<ref name="ref-6" /> Black's answer in the recorded line is to advance the front chariot with check, 3... R++5, after which Red's general steps up and the checking chariot has to withdraw; Red then walks the pawn from its own second rank to the seventh (P1=2, P2=3, P3=4) and the pawn's arrival beside the general is mate.<ref name="ref-6" /><ref name="ref-2" />


<xiangqi-player>
<xiangqi-player>
Line 136: Line 138:
     "13": "7. P3=4: the pawn arrives beside the general; mate."
     "13": "7. P3=4: the pawn arrives beside the general; mate."
   },
   },
   "caption": "The composed position and its recorded thirteen-ply solution (1. R2+5 K6+1 2. R2-1 K6-1 3. R2=5 R++5 4. K4+1 R+-5 5. P1=2 R++1 6. P2=3 R+-1 7. P3=4)"
   "caption": "The composed position and its recorded thirteen-ply solution (1. R2+5 k6+1 2. R2-1 k6-1 3. R2=5 +r+5 4. K4+1 +r-5 5. P1=2 +r+1 6. P2=3 +r-1 7. P3=4)"
}
}
</xiangqi-player>
</xiangqi-player>


<!-- Pikafish verification: composed position (5k3/8P/4ra3/5R3/4r4/7R1/9/9/9/5K3 w) — the thirteen-ply line replays legally and ends with Black in check and no legal reply; a depth-20 search of the starting position evaluates it at about +6.8 pawns for Red rather than a forced mate, so the line is one cooperative continuation among the recorded variations. -->
岳峰's teaching video presents the position as a street endgame (江湖残局) and demonstrates a different continuation: after 3. R2=5 it has the rear chariot come back one point to take the intruder on the central file, and Red then wins the chariot and advisor by doubling on the file before marching the pawn to the opposite wing and mating with a final R5=6.<ref name="ref-7" /> Different uploads of the same position give length fields of 0, 13, 13 and 18.<ref name="ref-4" /><ref name="ref-20" /><ref name="ref-21">东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi). Uploaded-materials records of the same position: view_q_475600 (24 June 2012), view_q_611156 (18 May 2013, length 18, carrying a five-ply variation) and view_q_1683621 (18 June 2021). Position identical to record 086 in every upload.</ref>


The teaching video demonstrates the same position as a street endgame (江湖残局) and treats Black's reply as forced in the other direction: after 3. R2=5 it has the rear chariot capture the intruder on the central file, and Red then wins the chariot and advisor by doubling on the file before marching the pawn to the opposite wing and mating with a final 车五平六.<ref name="ref-7" /> The database's own length fields for this position disagree with one another — the same position is filed at length 0, 13, 13 and 18 in different uploads — so its move-count metadata is not a reliable statement of the solution's length.<ref name="ref-4" /><ref name="ref-20" /><ref name="ref-21">东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi). Uploaded-materials records of the same position: view_q_475600 (24 June 2012), view_q_611156 (18 May 2013, length 18, carrying a five-ply variation) and view_q_1683621 (18 June 2021). Position identical to record 086 in every upload.</ref>
The cited database entries do not identify a composer or a date of composition.<ref name="ref-4" /><ref name="ref-6" />


Nothing in the sources read here names a composer, a source book or a date of composition for the position; its documentation begins with the 2007 database record and runs through uploads and republications to 2021.<ref name="ref-4" /><ref name="ref-6" />
== Other puzzles ==


== Other positions and puzzles with the name ==
The title also appears on a different Dongping Xiangqi composition attributed to the puzzle website 残局天下 (icanju.cn), which the database labels as a Red win in thirty-nine moves.<ref name="ref-22" />
 
The name is a title as well as a pattern name, and in modern circulation it has been attached to compositions that have nothing to do with the 4399 pattern or with one another. Only the position shown above can be identified by its diagram; the rest must be distinguished by their pieces.<ref name="ref-4" /><ref name="ref-22">我的象棋1 (uploaded 22 September 2008). "[http://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/search/view_u_91121.html 童子拜佛]" [Child Worships Buddha]. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi), uploaded-materials library. A second, different composed position under the same title, sourced from 残局天下 (icanju.cn), marked Red wins, thirty-nine moves.</ref>


<div class="xqp-side">
<div class="xqp-side">
Line 158: Line 158:
   "initialPly": 0,
   "initialPly": 0,
   "annotations": {},
   "annotations": {},
   "caption": "The position demonstrated in the 2024 video titled 童子拜佛: a draw study reconstructed from the video's wall board; a depth-20 search agrees with the demonstrator's conclusion."
   "caption": "The position demonstrated by 大黄三两 in the 2024 video titled 童子拜佛; the instructor concludes that correct play draws."
}
}
</xiangqi-player>
</xiangqi-player>
</div>
</div>


A second composed position in the same database carries the title with a completely different array of pieces: it comes from the puzzle site 残局天下 (icanju.cn) and is filed as a Red win of thirty-nine moves.<ref name="ref-22" /> Modern video and social-media usage is looser still. One 2024 teaching video sets up a position in which Red's two cannons, horse, chariot and pawn face Black's general, advisor, horse and three pawns, and concludes after a long manoeuvring analysis that correct play draws — "everywhere death-traps, everywhere narrow escapes"; a depth-20 search of the position agrees.<ref name="ref-23">大黄三两 (8 September 2024). "[https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1KipeeoE98/ 烧脑残局，童子拜佛，处处死穴，处处绝地逢生]" [Brain-burning endgame, Child Worships Buddha: everywhere death-traps, everywhere narrow escapes]. 哔哩哔哩 (Bilibili). Transcript and frames; the demonstrator concludes the position is a draw.</ref> Two posts on the Chinese news platform Toutiao use the name for street puzzles: one presents it as a "small rivers-and-lakes endgame" whose short pawns carry many tricks, and the other asks for help after losing ten games to a position in which two black pawns have boxed in the red marshal.<ref name="ref-24">西凉小兵 (6 June 2026). "[https://www.toutiao.com/item/7648135169206911526/ 江湖残局《童子拜佛》几个小短腿 到处歪歪绕 专治半桶水]" [Street endgame "Child Worships Buddha": little short legs wandering everywhere]. 今日头条 (Toutiao). Article text only; no diagram recoverable.</ref><ref name="ref-25">象棋小王子 (23 November 2024). "[https://www.toutiao.com/group/1816428301281283/ 此残局名叫「童子拜佛」，就是这盘残局让我连输了十盘……]" [This endgame is called "Child Worships Buddha" and it cost me ten games in a row]. 今日头条 (Toutiao). Micro-post; Red moves first.</ref> For those two puzzles the diagrams could not be recovered, so the name alone is all that can be stated about them.<ref name="ref-24" /><ref name="ref-25" />
A 2024 video by 大黄三两 uses the title for a position in which Red's two cannons, horse, chariot and pawn face Black's general, advisor, horse and three pawns. The instructor concludes that correct play draws.<ref name="ref-23" /> Toutiao posts also use the name for street puzzles: a 2026 post describes a pawn-based puzzle, while a 2024 post describes two black pawns confining Red's general.<ref name="ref-24">西凉小兵 (6 June 2026). "[https://www.toutiao.com/item/7648135169206911526/ 江湖残局《童子拜佛》几个小短腿 到处歪歪绕 专治半桶水]" [Street endgame "Child Worships Buddha": little short legs wandering everywhere]. 今日头条 (Toutiao).</ref><ref name="ref-25">象棋小王子 (23 November 2024). "[https://www.toutiao.com/group/1816428301281283/ 此残局名叫「童子拜佛」，就是这盘残局让我连输了十盘……]" [This endgame is called "Child Worships Buddha" and it cost me ten games in a row]. 今日头条 (Toutiao). Micro-post; Red moves first.</ref>


<!-- Pikafish verification: the street-study position (3k5/1CP1a4/4n4/9/6NCR/9/9/9/3p1p3/4K1p2 w) is legal with 37 legal moves for Red and a depth-20 evaluation of 0.00, matching the video's drawn conclusion. -->
== Database collections ==


== The 残局攻杀谱 collections ==
The featured position is record 086 in a Dongping series titled 残局攻杀谱 ("endgame attack-and-kill manual"). The database uses this title for two collections. The first is a compendium of 575 positions arranged in twenty-eight material classes — chariot-and-pawn, single pawn, double cannon and horse, and so on — uploaded by the database's own account in 2007 and described there as material collected from the internet; later uploaders cite it by class, as in "see 残局攻杀谱 车兵类(01)" and "双炮马类(26)".<ref name="ref-26">象棋谱大全 (2007). "[http://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/share/chess_%E8%B1%A1%E6%A3%8B%E8%B0%B1%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/%E8%B1%A1%E6%A3%8B%E8%B0%B1%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8-%E8%BF%91%E7%8E%B0%E4%BB%A3%E6%AE%8B%E6%8E%92%E5%B1%80/%E6%AE%8B%E5%B1%80%E6%94%BB%E6%9D%80%E8%B0%B1/ 《残局攻杀谱》目录]" [Directory of ''Assault-and-Kill Endgames'']. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi). 575 items in 28 material classes.</ref><ref name="ref-27">lfm (uploaded 29 October 2017). "[http://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/search/view_u_1283083.html E82 4 车兵巧胜车士象全 中级 —见《残局攻杀谱》车兵类(01)]" [Rook and pawn win against rook and full advisors and elephants, intermediate — see ''Assault-and-Kill Endgames'', chariot-and-pawn class, item 1]. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi), uploaded-materials library.</ref><ref name="ref-28">三北希望幼儿园 (uploaded 13 June 2020). "[http://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/search/view_u_1604308.html 残局攻杀谱象棋谱大全-近现代残排局双炮马类(26)]" [''Assault-and-Kill Endgames'', double-cannon-and-horse class, item 26]. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi), uploaded-materials library. With an eleven-ply solution marked 红胜.</ref>


Record 086 belongs to an archival series titled 残局攻杀谱 ("endgame attack-and-kill manual"), and that title is used on the same database for two different systems. The first is a compendium of 575 positions arranged in twenty-eight material classes — chariot-and-pawn, single pawn, double cannon and horse, and so on — uploaded by the database's own account in 2007 and described there as material collected from the internet; later uploaders cite it by class, as in "see 残局攻杀谱 车兵类(01)" and "双炮马类(26)".<ref name="ref-26">象棋谱大全 (2007). "[http://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/share/chess_%E8%B1%A1%E6%A3%8B%E8%B0%B1%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8/%E8%B1%A1%E6%A3%8B%E8%B0%B1%E5%A4%A7%E5%85%A8-%E8%BF%91%E7%8E%B0%E4%BB%A3%E6%AE%8B%E6%8E%92%E5%B1%80/%E6%AE%8B%E5%B1%80%E6%94%BB%E6%9D%80%E8%B0%B1/ 《残局攻杀谱》目录]" [Directory of ''Assault-and-Kill Endgames'']. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi). 575 items in 28 material classes.</ref><ref name="ref-27">lfm (uploaded 29 October 2017). "[http://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/search/view_u_1283083.html E82 4 车兵巧胜车士象全 中级 —见《残局攻杀谱》车兵类(01)]" [Rook and pawn win against rook and full advisors and elephants, intermediate — see ''Assault-and-Kill Endgames'', chariot-and-pawn class, item 1]. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi), uploaded-materials library.</ref><ref name="ref-28">三北希望幼儿园 (uploaded 13 June 2020). "[http://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/search/view_u_1604308.html 残局攻杀谱象棋谱大全-近现代残排局双炮马类(26)]" [''Assault-and-Kill Endgames'', double-cannon-and-horse class, item 26]. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi), uploaded-materials library. With an eleven-ply solution marked 红胜.</ref>
The collection containing record 086 consists of 114 positions without move lists numbered 001 to 114 and ordered alphabetically by the pinyin of their titles, uploaded by the user wjx138 in 2016.<ref name="ref-29">wjx138 (uploaded 11 November 2016). Record 001.兵不在多 and record 114.卒以待毙, items 1158293 and 1158406 of the uploaded-materials library, with the event label 残局攻杀谱. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi).</ref> Its entries correspond to positions in ''Simple Winning Endgames'' renumbered into that alphabetical order: 童子拜佛 is item 35 of the collection and 086 of the series. Nearby entries include 精兵强将 and 穿针引线 in the first collection, and 铁壁合围 and 投石断流 in the second.<ref name="ref-5" /><ref name="ref-30">wjx138 (uploaded 11 November 2016). Records "[http://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/search/view_u_1158377.html 085.铁壁合围]" and "[http://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/search/view_u_1158379.html 087.投石断流]". 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi), uploaded-materials library. Bare positions, no move lists.</ref> Neither collection identifies a printed source for its arrangement or title.<ref name="ref-26" /><ref name="ref-29" />


The second system is the series that actually contains record 086: 114 bare positions numbered 001 to 114 and ordered alphabetically by the pinyin of their titles, uploaded by the user wjx138 in 2016.<ref name="ref-29">wjx138 (uploaded 11 November 2016). Record 001.兵不在多 and record 114.卒以待毙, items 1158293 and 1158406 of the uploaded-materials library, with the event label 残局攻杀谱. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi).</ref> Its items are the positions of ''Simple Winning Endgames'' renumbered into that alphabetical order: 童子拜佛 is item 35 of the collection and 086 of the series, and the neighbours match — 精兵强将 and 穿针引线 beside item 35, and the collection's items 12, 70 and 85 corresponding to the series' 085, 087 and 084.<ref name="ref-5" /><ref name="ref-30">wjx138 (uploaded 11 November 2016). Records "[http://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/search/view_u_1158377.html 085.铁壁合围]" and "[http://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/search/view_u_1158379.html 087.投石断流]". 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi), uploaded-materials library. Bare positions, no move lists.</ref> Neither record set states where its arrangement or its title came from, and the relation of either 残局攻杀谱 to a printed book is unproven in the sources read here.<ref name="ref-26" /><ref name="ref-29" />
The 2016 series records positions without solutions. An earlier Dongping record contains the thirteen-ply line for 童子拜佛 in its page script.<ref name="ref-6" /><ref name="ref-4" />


The series' records store positions without solutions, which is why the thirteen-ply line for 童子拜佛 survives only in an earlier record of the same database, where the move list sits in the page's script while the record's own move field is empty.<ref name="ref-6" /><ref name="ref-4" /> Other items of the same ordering have their solutions recorded elsewhere: a video lesson plays 一步之差 and another plays 连中三元 through to mate, an uploader's practice game from item 001 is recorded as a seventeen-ply win for Red against an engine, and a later upload of an item from the 575-item compendium's double-cannon-and-horse class carries an eleven-ply solution marked "Red wins".<ref name="ref-31">阿弥陀福笑呵呵 (8 September 2021). "[https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV12L4y1h7mh/ 简易胜势残局，一步之差，棋差一着，冰火两重天，不能给对手机会]" [''Simple Winning Endgames'': one move's difference]. 哔哩哔哩 (Bilibili). Whiteboard lesson on one item of the collection.</ref><ref name="ref-32">阿弥陀福笑呵呵 (2 October 2021). "[https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1cP4y187FM/ 简易胜势残局：连中三元，开局第一步就不好下]" [''Simple Winning Endgames'': three in a row]. 哔哩哔哩 (Bilibili).</ref><ref name="ref-33">楚汉天下 (uploaded 10 February 2022). "[http://www.dpxq.com/hldcg/search/view_u_1729951.html 残局攻杀谱 第001.兵不在多轮 - 象棋爱好者 (先胜) 象棋巫师(大师).PGN]" [''Assault-and-Kill Endgames'' item 001: xiangqi enthusiast (wins as first player) against the Xiangqi Wizard engine]. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi), uploaded-materials library.</ref><ref name="ref-28" /> The collection's positions circulate as individual teaching videos, and an Android application sells puzzle packs under the same title with the same material classes, including a single-pawn class and a class of rook-and-horse quiet moves.<ref name="ref-31" /><ref name="ref-32" /><ref name="ref-34">叫我木子1 (2 January 2025). "[https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1vY6kYQEoC/ 残局攻杀谱单兵类]" [''Assault-and-Kill Endgames'': single-pawn class]. 哔哩哔哩 (Bilibili). Screen recording of two numbered problems of the app's single-pawn class.</ref><ref name="ref-35">叫我木子1 (27 December 2024). "[https://www.bilibili.com/video/BV1htCnY4EYj/ 中国象棋《残局攻杀谱》车马冷着 《杀法大全》砍杀业4]" [Chinese xiangqi ''Assault-and-Kill Endgames'': quiet rook-and-horse moves]. 哔哩哔哩 (Bilibili). Screen recording of the app's analysis of an app-pack puzzle.</ref>
== Printed terminology ==


== The print record ==
Printed endgame manuals also use 定式 ("set form") for positions classified by material. ''Winning and Drawing Set Forms in Xiangqi Endgames'' (象棋残局胜和定式) groups winning and drawing positions into classes such as pawn, cannon, horse and chariot-and-pawn endings.<ref name="ref-38">金启昌 and 杨典. ''象棋残局胜和定式'' [Winning and drawing set forms in xiangqi endgames]. Classified table of contents: 胜局定式篇 and a matching draw section, with classes by material (兵类, 炮类, 炮兵类, 马类, 马兵类, 车兵类, 车马兵类, 车炮兵类).</ref> ''Pawn Endgames'' (兵卒类残局) presents 238 examples in six chapters, covering a single pawn against a general, advisor, elephant, pawn, horse or cannon.<ref name="ref-39">徐家亮, 陆兴 and 王国栋. ''兵卒类残局'' [Pawn endgames]. 人民体育出版社 (People's Sports Publishing House), 象棋实用残局丛书. Contents note: six chapters, 238 examples, won and drawn set forms for single pawn against general, advisor, elephant, pawn, horse and cannon.</ref>


The 1986 ''Dictionary of Chinese Xiangqi'' (中国象棋词典) devotes a classified entry list to the pawn, including general terms such as 中兵, 高兵, 低兵 and 老兵 beside a run of named patterns: 独卒擒王, 太监追皇帝, 老卒捞车, 二鬼拍门, 铁门闩, 三仙炼丹, 风摆柳 and 铁兵. Neither 童子拜佛 nor 小棒当头 appears anywhere in that list, nor anywhere else in the work as searched.<ref name="ref-8" /> A manual of 1992, ''Mating Methods with Chariot, Horse and Pawn'' (车马兵杀法), collects 270 composed positions chosen from more than four hundred, groups them by the number of pawns on the board, and names every one of them in literary language; the name 童子拜佛 is not among them.<ref name="ref-9" /> Both negative results are bounded by the works read: they show the name's absence from a dictionary canon and from one pawn-family manual, not from the whole of printed xiangqi writing.<ref name="ref-8" /><ref name="ref-9" />
== Publication and attribution ==


Later printed manuals with similar titles are not the source of the fixed position either. ''Mating Methods in Xiangqi Endgames'' (象棋残局攻杀法) is organised in six thematic chapters — typical mating shapes, practical mating positions, methods, means of attack, won endgames and cleverly won endgames — rather than as a numbered collection,<ref name="ref-36">黄少龙 and 段雅丽. ''象棋残局攻杀法'' [Mating methods in xiangqi endgames]. 经济管理出版社 (Economic Management Publishing House), 棋书中心 series; ISBN 978-7-5096-2567-5.</ref> and ''Techniques of Attack and Kill in Xiangqi Endgames'' (象棋残局攻杀技巧) numbers its material by class and item in the manner of the 575-item compendium, with classes such as horse-and-cannon and horse-cannon-pawn attack.<ref name="ref-37">金启昌 and 杨典. ''象棋残局攻杀技巧'' [Techniques of attack and kill in xiangqi endgames]. Publisher and date not shown in the scanned copy consulted.</ref> Neither shows the 童子拜佛 item in the contents that could be read.<ref name="ref-36" /><ref name="ref-37" /> In printed endgame books of the period the word 定式 ("set form") denotes a numbered, materially classified result — ''Winning and Drawing Set Forms in Xiangqi Endgames'' (象棋残局胜和定式) opens with a section of won set forms and classes them by material, and a 332-page volume of pawn endgames presents 238 examples in six chapters as won and drawn set forms — rather than a named mating method of the kind the 4399 series lists.<ref name="ref-38">金启昌 and 杨典. ''象棋残局胜和定式'' [Winning and drawing set forms in xiangqi endgames]. Classified table of contents: 胜局定式篇 and a matching draw section, with classes by material (兵类, 炮类, 炮兵类, 马类, 马兵类, 车兵类, 车马兵类, 车炮兵类). Inspected in a scanned copy.</ref><ref name="ref-39">徐家亮, 陆兴 and 王国栋. ''兵卒类残局'' [Pawn endgames]. 人民体育出版社 (People's Sports Publishing House), 象棋实用残局丛书. Contents note: six chapters, 238 examples, won and drawn set forms for single pawn against general, advisor, elephant, pawn, horse and cannon. Inspected in a scanned copy.</ref>
The first, eighth and eleventh instalments of the 4399 series credit the Baidu Tieba contributor 蓝色小飞鱼9999.<ref name="ref-14" /><ref name="ref-12" /><ref name="ref-1" /> A December 2015 copy of the 独卒擒王 instalment on the document website 无忧文库 retains this credit.<ref name="ref-40">无忧文库 (5uwenku.com) (indexed 21 December 2015). "[https://5uwenku.com/b92e5af67ee99e1e343e57b15.html 天天象棋残局闯关攻略 卒（兵）杀法独卒擒王怎么过]" [How to pass the pawn mating pattern 独卒擒王]. Copy of the 4399 instalment retaining the credit line 「转载自百度贴吧ID：蓝色小飞鱼9999」; the site's related-document list mirrors the whole twelve-instalment series.</ref> A 2017 Tieba post also republishes the classification page under its title.<ref name="ref-41">豫槃 (15 May 2017). "[https://tieba.baidu.com/p/5116703998 天天象棋闯关心得技巧 残局基础杀法定式【转】]" [Repost: the basic endgame mating patterns]. 百度贴吧 (Baidu Tieba), 象棋吧. The poster's opening line records that the previous attempt 「被系统删除了；再试试」.</ref>


== Origin and attribution ==
The instalments published in December 2015 link to the classification page titled "the basic endgame mating patterns". The version of that page describing "ten classes and one hundred patterns" is dated 3 June 2016.<ref name="ref-14" /><ref name="ref-1" /><ref name="ref-3" />


The instalments of the 4399 series whose headers were read — the first, eighth and eleventh of the mobile series and the desktop seed page — carry the same two credit lines: a header reading "from: 蓝色小飞鱼9999 | IP: Fujian" and a line in the body reading "reposted from the Baidu Tieba ID 蓝色小飞鱼9999".<ref name="ref-14" /><ref name="ref-1" /><ref name="ref-12" /> The credit line travelled with the text: five days after the last instalment, a document-library site copied the 独卒擒王 instalment with the line intact, and mirrored the whole series as twelve separate files.<ref name="ref-40">无忧文库 (5uwenku.com) (indexed 21 December 2015). "[https://5uwenku.com/b92e5af67ee99e1e343e57b15.html 天天象棋残局闯关攻略 卒（兵）杀法独卒擒王怎么过]" [How to pass the pawn mating pattern 独卒擒王]. Copy of the 4399 instalment retaining the credit line 「转载自百度贴吧ID：蓝色小飞鱼9999」; the site's related-document list mirrors the whole twelve-instalment series.</ref> The credited account exists, but no thread by it and no thread carrying the series title is indexed by the four search engines tried, the forum's own search stands behind a verification wall, and a 2017 attempt to repost the hub text on the xiangqi forum was being deleted by the platform's filter.<ref name="ref-10" /><ref name="ref-41">豫槃 (15 May 2017). "[https://tieba.baidu.com/p/5116703998 天天象棋闯关心得技巧 残局基础杀法定式【转】]" [Repost: the basic endgame mating patterns]. 百度贴吧 (Baidu Tieba), 象棋吧. The poster's opening line records that the previous attempt 「被系统删除了；再试试」.</ref> The claimed Tieba original is therefore unrecovered, and the 4399 pages remain the earliest accessible witnesses of the series.<ref name="ref-10" />
Later reproductions include document-sharing uploads from 2020, a 2022 Zhihu column, a 2021 document reproducing the 童子拜佛 definition and 小棒当头 alias, and a Toutiao republication of the 童子拜佛 article.<ref name="ref-42">guojieyq (uploaded 21 March 2020). "[https://m.doc88.com/p-09616972105122.html 象棋的基本杀法定式名称汇总]" [A collected list of the names of the basic mating patterns]. 道客巴巴 (doc88.com). Fourteen pages; the same taxonomy text, including item 7 童子拜佛.</ref><ref name="ref-43">(uploaded 29 April 2020). "[https://www.doc88.com/p-03947333525685.html 象棋的基本杀法定式 各类杀法名称汇总]" [The basic mating patterns: a collected list of names]. 道客巴巴 (doc88.com). Twelve pages.</ref><ref name="ref-44">(21 July 2022). "[https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/544643823 象棋的基本杀法定式]" [The basic mating patterns of xiangqi]. 知乎专栏 (Zhihu column).</ref><ref name="ref-45">(5 September 2021). "[https://m.docin.com/touch/p-2764579537.html 天天象棋52关图解]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' level 52 illustrated]. 豆丁网 (docin.com). Reproduces the 4399 童子拜佛 paragraph with its credit line and alias.</ref><ref name="ref-46">今日头条 UGC share page. "[https://www.toutiao.com/ugc/share/wap/thread/1646516207135748/ 天天象棋残局攻略 卒(兵)杀法童子拜佛]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 童子拜佛]. 今日头条 (Toutiao); a republication of the seed page carrying its title, definition and first example.</ref>
 
Two datings must be kept apart for the taxonomy. The instalment pages of December 2015 already link to a hub page under the title "the basic endgame mating patterns", and the hub's article number is lower than that of the first instalment, so a page with that title existed by 13 December 2015; the text that carries the "ten classes and one hundred patterns" formula is stamped 3 June 2016 on the copy read here, and news sites re-edit the same article number, so whether the formula stood in the December 2015 text cannot be settled from the copies available.<ref name="ref-14" /><ref name="ref-1" /><ref name="ref-3" /> The formula appears only on that hub page, not in the credited text of the instalments themselves.<ref name="ref-1" /><ref name="ref-3" />
 
Copies and derivatives of the series are otherwise uniform. A document-sharing upload of 2020 collects the names of the basic mating patterns in fourteen pages, a second upload the same year holds a twelve-page name list, a Zhihu column of 2022 and a document of 2021 reproduce the hub text and the 童子拜佛 paragraph including the 小棒当头 alias, and a Toutiao share card repeats the seed page's title and opening.<ref name="ref-42">guojieyq (uploaded 21 March 2020). "[https://m.doc88.com/p-09616972105122.html 象棋的基本杀法定式名称汇总]" [A collected list of the names of the basic mating patterns]. 道客巴巴 (doc88.com). Fourteen pages; the same taxonomy text, including item 7 童子拜佛.</ref><ref name="ref-43">(uploaded 29 April 2020). "[https://www.doc88.com/p-03947333525685.html 象棋的基本杀法定式 各类杀法名称汇总]" [The basic mating patterns: a collected list of names]. 道客巴巴 (doc88.com). Twelve pages; title and metadata readable only.</ref><ref name="ref-44">(21 July 2022). "[https://zhuanlan.zhihu.com/p/544643823 象棋的基本杀法定式]" [The basic mating patterns of xiangqi]. 知乎专栏 (Zhihu column).</ref><ref name="ref-45">(5 September 2021). "[https://m.docin.com/touch/p-2764579537.html 天天象棋52关图解]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' level 52 illustrated]. 豆丁网 (docin.com). Reproduces the 4399 童子拜佛 paragraph with its credit line and alias.</ref><ref name="ref-46">今日头条 UGC share page. "[https://www.toutiao.com/ugc/share/wap/thread/1646516207135748/ 天天象棋残局攻略 卒(兵)杀法童子拜佛]" [''Tian Tian Xiangqi'' endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 童子拜佛]. 今日头条 (Toutiao); a republication of the seed page carrying its title, definition and first example.</ref>
 
The naming vocabulary the series uses was already circulating in Chinese xiangqi forums before December 2015: a Tieba post of September 2015 lists a video course on basic mating patterns whose parts cover 困毙, 海底捞月, 大胆穿心, 铁门闩, 双车错, 卧槽马, 马后炮, 双马饮泉, 二鬼拍门 and 三子归边, among others.<ref name="ref-47">wwwaasssddd (18 September 2015). "[https://tieba.baidu.com/p/4068355026 【新手必学】象棋基本杀法&定式残局 柳大华视频讲解]" [Must-learn basics: Liu Dahua's video lectures on basic mating methods and set-form endgames]. 百度贴吧 (Baidu Tieba). Pattern names covered by each video.</ref>


== See also ==
== See also ==
Line 197: Line 191:
== References ==
== References ==
<references />
<references />
<!-- Source audit notes (editorial pass C, 1 October 2026).
Confirmed against the corpus and re-checked: the definition and alias (s001, s041) with its two worked examples and the footnote (s001, s041); the taxonomy framing and the closing theory of mating technique (s002); the twelve-instalment list and the credit line (s039, s040, s041); the relation to 三进兵 (s006) and the sibling definitions (s003, s004, s005, s007); the composed position and its record family (s011, s012, s025, s027, s017, s020); the second composition (s034); the street puzzles (s013, s014, s015, s016); the two 残局攻杀谱 systems and the 114/115 correspondence (s026, s027, s028, s029, s030, s031, s032, s033); the dictionary and manual absences (s018, s019); the modern manuals (s037, s038); the printed use of 定式 (local-library check); the credit chain and its copies (s039, s041, s045, s051, s044); the 十类一百个定式 provenance (s002, s009, s010, s047, s048); and the pre-2015 naming vocabulary (s042).
Qualified: "ten classes and one hundred patterns" is attributed to the hub page rather than stated as a count; 第十一式 is given as the web series' numbering; the alias 小棒当头 is attributed to the series and not presented as exclusive to 童子拜佛; the print absences are bounded to the works searched; the 残局攻杀谱 label is presented as an archival series title whose relation to a printed book is unproven.
Corrected: an early draft said the printed manuals classify mating methods by the mating arm on the strength of the local-library re-set volumes, which the corpus flags as electronic re-settings; the claim now rests only on the s048 transcription's own attribution. The description of the 2024 street study's material was corrected against its FEN (Red: two cannons, horse, chariot, pawn; Black: general, advisor, horse, three pawns). The sibling-item solutions are now attributed to a video lesson and to a database game rather than to the videos alone. A typo in the 2015 forum name list (大但穿心) was corrected to 大胆穿心. The wording that "every dated instalment" carries the credit line was narrowed to the instalments whose headers were read (CSF3.A).
Removed: a sentence asserting that the textbook tradition prints 小鬼坐龙庭 and 送佛归殿 as primary pattern names, which rested on the local-library re-settings rather than on a quotable source; the claim is not needed for the article.
Researched: none — this pass added no new sources. s036 (a 投石断流 post whose URL resolves to a finance article) was excluded, and the s012 39828 misattribution was avoided.
Tactical claims: every position and move list in the article was re-verified with Pikafish at depth 20 (see the verification comments above). -->

Latest revision as of 07:21, 2 October 2026

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Child Worships Buddha (Chinese: 童子拜佛) is a name used for a pawn mating pattern and for several composed endgame positions in xiangqi. A 2015 teaching series on the Chinese gaming website 4399 defines the pattern as a pawn attacking the opposing general head-on with support from other pieces. The series also calls it 小棒当头 ("Little Cudgel Strikes the Head").[1][2]

A composed position with the same name appears in Dongping Xiangqi's collection Simple Winning Endgames (简易胜势残局). Red has two chariots and a pawn against Black's two chariots and an advisor; the database records a thirteen-ply mating continuation.[3][4][5] Other puzzles bearing the title have different positions and results.[6][7]

Definition

The 4399 definition describes a pawn mating the opposing general head-on with support from other pieces (兵借助其他子力，当头照杀对方老将的杀法).[1] Its two examples illustrate different roles for the pawn. In the first, the pawn delivers mate: the opposing chariots occupy the general's escape squares, while Red's general prevents it from capturing the pawn. In the second, a chariot delivers the final check and the pawn controls an escape square.[2]

The series' classification page groups mating patterns by the roles of the "mating piece" (照杀子) and "controlling piece" (控杀子), and describes a scheme of ten classes and one hundred patterns. It places 童子拜佛 among eight pawn patterns and limits its basic patterns to no more than three "strong" pieces (三强子). The page describes endgame mating technique as confining the general before mating or immobilising it, and middlegame mating technique as depending on a configuration of pieces rather than a single move.[8]

Names

童子拜佛 literally means "the child worships the Buddha"; 小棒当头 means "the little cudgel strikes the head". The latter name also appears in the series' account of 蜘蛛抱蛋 ("the spider wraps the egg"), where it describes a black pawn's mating move.[9] In his explanation of the composed position, the instructor 岳峰 identifies the "child" as the edge pawn that crosses the board to deliver mate.[10]

Other pawn patterns in the series also have pictorial names. The pawn pattern 独卒擒王 ("a lone pawn captures the king") carries the aliases 一卒送终, 太监追皇帝 ("the eunuch chases the emperor") and 送佛归殿 ("escorting the Buddha back to the hall"), and 蜘蛛抱蛋 is also called 小鬼坐龙庭 ("the little devil sits in the dragon court").[11][9] The preface to Mating Methods with Chariot, Horse and Pawn (车马兵杀法) explains that its positions were given literary names so that readers could tell them apart and take more pleasure in them, and notes that a named "killing pattern" (杀式) can be derived from the title of an old position — giving 金人七燕杀式, derived from 金人七燕, as an example.[12]

Worked examples

The series illustrates the pattern with two positions.[2] Move sequences in this article are written in the notation of the World Xiangqi Federation: K general, A advisor, E elephant, H horse, R chariot, C cannon and P pawn, upper case for Red and lower case for Black; files are numbered 1-9 from each side's own right; and +, - and = mark an advance, a retreat and a sideways move.

In the first example, Black's general stands on the back rank between two chariots. An advisor occupies the point directly in front of it, with Red's pawn one point below the advisor and Red's general on the central file. P5+1 captures the advisor and gives mate.[2] Black's general cannot capture the pawn because the two generals would then face each other along the open file. Black's chariots occupy its remaining escape squares.

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In the second example, Red has a chariot, pawn and elephant. The published line ends on Red's twelfth move, when the chariot gives mate after the pawn has occupied the square beside Black's general.[2] A footnote gives a losing alternative: 10. R4=5? k5=6 11. P6=5?? r7=6, followed by a pawn-and-chariot mating sequence against Red.[2]

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Related mating patterns

童子拜佛 is the eleventh instalment of the 4399 series. Its sidebar lists twelve patterns: 对面笑, 御驾亲征, 闲庭散步, 脱袍卸甲, 独卒擒王, 小鬼拍门, 老兵新传, 蜘蛛抱蛋, 三进兵, 小刀剜心, 童子拜佛 and 三仙炼丹. The first four concern the general and the remaining eight concern pawns.[13][8]

The series describes 三进兵 ("advancing the pawn three times") as three consecutive instances of 童子拜佛.[14] It distinguishes several related pawn patterns:

Pattern Description in the 4399 series
独卒擒王 ("a lone pawn captures the king") A supported pawn checks the general repeatedly, driving it back to its original square.[11]
小鬼拍门 ("little ghosts knock at the door") Two pawns attack the sides of the palace.[15]
老兵新传 ("an old soldier's new story") A pawn on the back rank confines the general.[16]
三仙炼丹 ("three immortals refine the elixir") Three pawns win against full advisors and elephants.[17]

The series distinguishes 小刀剜心 from 蜘蛛抱蛋 by the pawn's route into the palace: sideways from a flank file in the former, and forward from a high pawn position in the latter.[9]

Composed endgame

In the featured position, Red has chariots on f7 and h5 and a pawn on i9; Black has its general on f10, an advisor on f8 and chariots on e8 and e6. Red moves first.[3][5] The position was uploaded to the Dongping Xiangqi database repeatedly between 2007 and 2016 under the title 童子拜佛 红先胜 ("Child Worships Buddha, Red moves first and wins"), and the same diagram was republished in 2021 by the WeChat account 象棋残局天下 as one instalment of its named endgame series, with the solution offered through a QR code rather than in the text.[3][5][18][19]

The recorded solution is thirteen plies long. Red checks on the enemy's back rank, steps back, and then places a chariot on the central file of that rank: 1. R2+5 k6+1 2. R2-1 k6-1 3. R2=5.[5] Black's answer in the recorded line is to advance the front chariot with check, 3... +r+5, after which Red's general steps up and the checking chariot withdraws; Red then moves the pawn sideways across files 1 to 4 (P1=2, P2=3, P3=4) and the pawn's arrival beside the general is mate.[5]

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岳峰's teaching video presents the position as a street endgame (江湖残局) and demonstrates a different continuation: after 3. R2=5 it has the rear chariot come back one point to take the intruder on the central file, and Red then wins the chariot and advisor by doubling on the file before marching the pawn to the opposite wing and mating with a final R5=6.[10] Different uploads of the same position give length fields of 0, 13, 13 and 18.[3][19][20]

The cited database entries do not identify a composer or a date of composition.[3][5]

Other puzzles

The title also appears on a different Dongping Xiangqi composition attributed to the puzzle website 残局天下 (icanju.cn), which the database labels as a Red win in thirty-nine moves.[6]

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A 2024 video by 大黄三两 uses the title for a position in which Red's two cannons, horse, chariot and pawn face Black's general, advisor, horse and three pawns. The instructor concludes that correct play draws.[7] Toutiao posts also use the name for street puzzles: a 2026 post describes a pawn-based puzzle, while a 2024 post describes two black pawns confining Red's general.[21][22]

Database collections

The featured position is record 086 in a Dongping series titled 残局攻杀谱 ("endgame attack-and-kill manual"). The database uses this title for two collections. The first is a compendium of 575 positions arranged in twenty-eight material classes — chariot-and-pawn, single pawn, double cannon and horse, and so on — uploaded by the database's own account in 2007 and described there as material collected from the internet; later uploaders cite it by class, as in "see 残局攻杀谱 车兵类(01)" and "双炮马类(26)".[23][24][25]

The collection containing record 086 consists of 114 positions without move lists numbered 001 to 114 and ordered alphabetically by the pinyin of their titles, uploaded by the user wjx138 in 2016.[26] Its entries correspond to positions in Simple Winning Endgames renumbered into that alphabetical order: 童子拜佛 is item 35 of the collection and 086 of the series. Nearby entries include 精兵强将 and 穿针引线 in the first collection, and 铁壁合围 and 投石断流 in the second.[4][27] Neither collection identifies a printed source for its arrangement or title.[23][26]

The 2016 series records positions without solutions. An earlier Dongping record contains the thirteen-ply line for 童子拜佛 in its page script.[5][3]

Printed terminology

Printed endgame manuals also use 定式 ("set form") for positions classified by material. Winning and Drawing Set Forms in Xiangqi Endgames (象棋残局胜和定式) groups winning and drawing positions into classes such as pawn, cannon, horse and chariot-and-pawn endings.[28] Pawn Endgames (兵卒类残局) presents 238 examples in six chapters, covering a single pawn against a general, advisor, elephant, pawn, horse or cannon.[29]

Publication and attribution

The first, eighth and eleventh instalments of the 4399 series credit the Baidu Tieba contributor 蓝色小飞鱼9999.[13][9][1] A December 2015 copy of the 独卒擒王 instalment on the document website 无忧文库 retains this credit.[30] A 2017 Tieba post also republishes the classification page under its title.[31]

The instalments published in December 2015 link to the classification page titled "the basic endgame mating patterns". The version of that page describing "ten classes and one hundred patterns" is dated 3 June 2016.[13][1][8]

Later reproductions include document-sharing uploads from 2020, a 2022 Zhihu column, a 2021 document reproducing the 童子拜佛 definition and 小棒当头 alias, and a Toutiao republication of the 童子拜佛 article.[32][33][34][35][36]

See also

References

  1. ↑ a b c d 4399 用户「是顾小花呀」（文中署名 Remilia）(16 December 2015). "天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法童子拜佛" [Tian Tian Xiangqi endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 童子拜佛]. 4399手机游戏网 (m.4399.cn). Definition 第十一式; header 「来自:蓝色小飞鱼9999 | IP:福建」; body credit 「转载自百度贴吧ID：蓝色小飞鱼9999」.
  2. ↑ a b c d e f 4399 用户「是顾小花呀」（文中署名 Remilia）(16 December 2015). "天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法童子拜佛" [Tian Tian Xiangqi endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 童子拜佛]. 4399手机游戏网 (news.4399.com). Two red-wins-first examples and the footnote variation.
  3. ↑ a b c d e f wjx138 (uploaded 11 November 2016; record dated 17 November 2014). "086.童子拜佛" [086. Child Worships Buddha]. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi), uploaded-materials library. Position only, no move list; event label 残局攻杀谱.
  4. ↑ a b 象棋谱大全 (2007). "《简易胜势残局》目录" [Directory of Simple Winning Endgames]. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi). Items 1–115 with move counts and results; item 35 童子拜佛, 红先胜, 13 着.
  5. ↑ a b c d e f g 象棋谱大全 (2007). "童子拜佛 红先胜" [Child Worships Buddha, Red moves first and wins]. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi). Thirteen-ply solution carried in the page script.
  6. ↑ a b 我的象棋1 (uploaded 22 September 2008). "童子拜佛" [Child Worships Buddha]. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi), uploaded-materials library. A second, different composed position under the same title, sourced from 残局天下 (icanju.cn), marked Red wins, thirty-nine moves.
  7. ↑ a b 大黄三两 (8 September 2024). "烧脑残局，童子拜佛，处处死穴，处处绝地逢生" [Brain-burning endgame, Child Worships Buddha: everywhere death-traps, everywhere narrow escapes]. 哔哩哔哩 (Bilibili). Transcript and frames; the demonstrator concludes the position is a draw.
  8. ↑ a b c 砍间 (3 June 2016). "天天象棋闯关心得技巧 残局基础杀法定式" [Tian Tian Xiangqi level-by-level notes: the basic endgame mating patterns]. 4399手机游戏网 (news.4399.com). Ten classes; the pawn class; the closing theory of mating technique.
  9. ↑ a b c d 4399 用户「是顾小花呀」（文中署名 Remilia）(14 December 2015). "天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法蜘蛛抱蛋" [Tian Tian Xiangqi endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 蜘蛛抱蛋]. 4399手机游戏网 (m.4399.cn). Eighth instalment; the note attaching 小棒当头 to a black pawn's mating move; the contrast with 小刀剜心.
  10. ↑ a b 岳峰讲棋 (6 October 2021). "【岳峰讲棋】象棋残棋，童子拜佛，越危险越安全！" [Yuefeng explains chess: the endgame 童子拜佛, the more dangerous the safer]. 哔哩哔哩 (Bilibili). Position, attempted losing try, and the winning method.
  11. ↑ a b 4399手机游戏网 (14 December 2015). "天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法独卒擒王" [Tian Tian Xiangqi endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 独卒擒王]. 4399手机游戏网 (news.4399.com). Fifth instalment; the aliases 一卒送终, 太监追皇帝, 送佛归殿; the contrast with 三进兵.
  12. ↑ (1992). 车马兵杀法 [Mating methods with chariot, horse and pawn]. 人民体育出版社 (People's Sports Publishing House). 270 composed positions grouped by pawn count, each with a literary name; the preface on the naming convention.
  13. ↑ a b c 4399 用户「是顾小花呀」（文中署名 Remilia）(13 December 2015). "天天象棋残局攻略 将（帅）杀法对面笑" [Tian Tian Xiangqi endgame guide: the general mating pattern 对面笑]. 4399手机游戏网 (m.4399.cn). First instalment; the sidebar list of the series' twelve names; the link to the taxonomy hub; the contributor credit line.
  14. ↑ 4399手机游戏网 (16 December 2015). "天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法三进兵" [Tian Tian Xiangqi endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 三进兵]. 4399手机游戏网 (news.4399.com). Ninth instalment; the stated relation to 童子拜佛.
  15. ↑ 4399手机游戏网 (14 December 2015). "天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法小鬼拍门" [Tian Tian Xiangqi endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 小鬼拍门]. 4399手机游戏网 (news.4399.com). Sixth instalment.
  16. ↑ 4399手机游戏网 (14 December 2015). "天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法老兵新传" [Tian Tian Xiangqi endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 老兵新传]. 4399手机游戏网 (news.4399.com). Seventh instalment.
  17. ↑ 4399手机游戏网 (16 December 2015). "天天象棋残局攻略 卒（兵）杀法三仙炼丹" [Tian Tian Xiangqi endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 三仙炼丹]. 4399手机游戏网 (news.4399.com). Twelfth instalment; alias 三兵闹士; the verse stringing together the series' own names.
  18. ↑ 微信公众号「象棋残局天下」(17 June 2021). "象棋残局：童子拜佛" [Xiangqi endgame: Child Worships Buddha]. 微信公众平台. Diagram of the composed position; solution behind a QR code.
  19. ↑ a b 青竹19560620 (uploaded 16 April 2010). "童子拜佛 红先胜" [Child Worships Buddha, Red moves first and wins]. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi), uploaded-materials library. Filed under 近现代残排局 with the event label 简易胜势残局.
  20. ↑ 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi). Uploaded-materials records of the same position: view_q_475600 (24 June 2012), view_q_611156 (18 May 2013, length 18, carrying a five-ply variation) and view_q_1683621 (18 June 2021). Position identical to record 086 in every upload.
  21. ↑ 西凉小兵 (6 June 2026). "江湖残局《童子拜佛》几个小短腿 到处歪歪绕 专治半桶水" [Street endgame "Child Worships Buddha": little short legs wandering everywhere]. 今日头条 (Toutiao).
  22. ↑ 象棋小王子 (23 November 2024). "此残局名叫「童子拜佛」，就是这盘残局让我连输了十盘……" [This endgame is called "Child Worships Buddha" and it cost me ten games in a row]. 今日头条 (Toutiao). Micro-post; Red moves first.
  23. ↑ a b 象棋谱大全 (2007). "《残局攻杀谱》目录" [Directory of Assault-and-Kill Endgames]. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi). 575 items in 28 material classes.
  24. ↑ lfm (uploaded 29 October 2017). "E82 4 车兵巧胜车士象全 中级 —见《残局攻杀谱》车兵类(01)" [Rook and pawn win against rook and full advisors and elephants, intermediate — see Assault-and-Kill Endgames, chariot-and-pawn class, item 1]. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi), uploaded-materials library.
  25. ↑ 三北希望幼儿园 (uploaded 13 June 2020). "残局攻杀谱象棋谱大全-近现代残排局双炮马类(26)" [Assault-and-Kill Endgames, double-cannon-and-horse class, item 26]. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi), uploaded-materials library. With an eleven-ply solution marked 红胜.
  26. ↑ a b wjx138 (uploaded 11 November 2016). Record 001.兵不在多 and record 114.卒以待毙, items 1158293 and 1158406 of the uploaded-materials library, with the event label 残局攻杀谱. 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi).
  27. ↑ wjx138 (uploaded 11 November 2016). Records "085.铁壁合围" and "087.投石断流". 东萍象棋网 (Dongping Xiangqi), uploaded-materials library. Bare positions, no move lists.
  28. ↑ 金启昌 and 杨典. 象棋残局胜和定式 [Winning and drawing set forms in xiangqi endgames]. Classified table of contents: 胜局定式篇 and a matching draw section, with classes by material (兵类, 炮类, 炮兵类, 马类, 马兵类, 车兵类, 车马兵类, 车炮兵类).
  29. ↑ 徐家亮, 陆兴 and 王国栋. 兵卒类残局 [Pawn endgames]. 人民体育出版社 (People's Sports Publishing House), 象棋实用残局丛书. Contents note: six chapters, 238 examples, won and drawn set forms for single pawn against general, advisor, elephant, pawn, horse and cannon.
  30. ↑ 无忧文库 (5uwenku.com) (indexed 21 December 2015). "天天象棋残局闯关攻略 卒（兵）杀法独卒擒王怎么过" [How to pass the pawn mating pattern 独卒擒王]. Copy of the 4399 instalment retaining the credit line 「转载自百度贴吧ID：蓝色小飞鱼9999」; the site's related-document list mirrors the whole twelve-instalment series.
  31. ↑ 豫槃 (15 May 2017). "天天象棋闯关心得技巧 残局基础杀法定式【转】" [Repost: the basic endgame mating patterns]. 百度贴吧 (Baidu Tieba), 象棋吧. The poster's opening line records that the previous attempt 「被系统删除了；再试试」.
  32. ↑ guojieyq (uploaded 21 March 2020). "象棋的基本杀法定式名称汇总" [A collected list of the names of the basic mating patterns]. 道客巴巴 (doc88.com). Fourteen pages; the same taxonomy text, including item 7 童子拜佛.
  33. ↑ (uploaded 29 April 2020). "象棋的基本杀法定式 各类杀法名称汇总" [The basic mating patterns: a collected list of names]. 道客巴巴 (doc88.com). Twelve pages.
  34. ↑ (21 July 2022). "象棋的基本杀法定式" [The basic mating patterns of xiangqi]. 知乎专栏 (Zhihu column).
  35. ↑ (5 September 2021). "天天象棋52关图解" [Tian Tian Xiangqi level 52 illustrated]. 豆丁网 (docin.com). Reproduces the 4399 童子拜佛 paragraph with its credit line and alias.
  36. ↑ 今日头条 UGC share page. "天天象棋残局攻略 卒(兵)杀法童子拜佛" [Tian Tian Xiangqi endgame guide: the pawn mating pattern 童子拜佛]. 今日头条 (Toutiao); a republication of the seed page carrying its title, definition and first example.
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