How should Black meet the Elephant Opening (飛相局)?
These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws and is regression-tested against the official 110-diagram repetition casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it against the engine before publishing.
Direct answer
Take the initiative with a central cannon, or mirror the elephant move if you prefer a quiet game. 飛相局 gives up nothing concrete on move one, so Black is not answering a threat the way Black must against the Central Cannon. That freedom is the whole point of the choice: pick the kind of middlegame you want rather than the one forced on you.
Playing for the initiative
Since Red has spent a move defending rather than attacking, a central cannon of your own puts Black slightly ahead on active development. This is the sharper option and rewards a player who already knows what a Central Cannon is threatening, because you are effectively playing it with an extra tempo in hand.
Playing to equalise
Mirroring the elephant move, or developing a soldier and a horse without committing to an attack, keeps the position balanced and pushes the decision further into the middlegame. This suits a player who would rather outplay an opponent slowly than calculate sharp lines early.
Related questions
Is 飛相局 dangerous for Black?
No. It is a solid, unforcing move, and Black has no less freedom than usual on move two.
Should I avoid theory entirely against it?
You can. Because Red has committed to little, general opening principles carry you a long way here.
.