How do you write a general move in xiangqi notation?
These answers restate the rules implemented by our open-source engine, which follows the WXF laws for movement, checkmate and both repetition rulings: a side that forces a repetition by perpetual check or perpetual chase loses rather than drawing. The chase half has not been validated against the official casebook. Where an answer refers to a specific position, that position lives on the linked reference page, where the build verifies it before publishing.
Direct answer
A general move is written the same way as any other piece: piece character, starting file, direction (進 advance, 退 retreat, 平 sideways), and a last number. After 進 or 退 it is a count, which is always one, since the general never moves more than a single point at a time; after 平 it is the destination file. So 帥五進一 reads as the general on file five advancing one point.
Why the count is always one here
Unlike a chariot or cannon, which can travel multiple points in a straight line, the general's movement rule limits it to exactly one point per move, so an advance or retreat never shows any count other than one. A sideways move names the destination file instead, the file next to the one it left. This makes general moves some of the easiest notation to read at a glance.
Advisor moves follow the same simple pattern
An advisor's notation looks almost identical, one point per move, but always diagonal, so its notation uses only the advance and retreat symbols since a genuinely sideways diagonal isn't part of how 平 is used for straight-line pieces; the destination file identifies which diagonal point it landed on.
Related questions
Can the general's notation ever show a distance greater than one?
No, that would describe an illegal move, since the general can never move more than one point at a time.
Is there a separate symbol for a check delivered by the general?
No. The base notation has no check symbol for any move, a general's included; annotated sources that do mark check use their own symbols.
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