---
title: "How Many Pieces Are in Xiangqi? All 32, Listed · Xiangqi Master"
description: "Xiangqi has 32 pieces, 16 per side: one general, two advisors, two elephants, two horses, two chariots, two cannons and five soldiers."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/how-many-pieces-in-xiangqi
updated: 2026-09-22
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# How many pieces are there in xiangqi?

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
>
> **32 pieces, 16 each.** Per side: one general, two advisors, two elephants, two horses, two chariots, two cannons, and **five** soldiers. The five soldiers are the count that surprises people — chess has eight pawns, and they are not arranged the same way.

## The full list

- **1 general** (帥 red / 將 black) — confined to the palace
- **2 advisors** (仕 / 士) — confined to the palace
- **2 elephants** (相 / 象) — never cross the river
- **2 horses** (傌 / 馬) — blockable, never jump
- **2 chariots** (俥 / 車) — the strongest pieces
- **2 cannons** (炮 / 砲) — capture by jumping a screen
- **5 soldiers** (兵 / 卒) — on alternating files, with gaps

## Why the two sides use different characters

Red and black write several pieces with different characters that are pronounced the same: 帥/將, 仕/士, 相/象, 傌/馬, 俥/車, 炮/砲. It is a convention for telling the sides apart at a glance, not a difference in how they move.

## Related questions

Why five soldiers and not eight?

They sit on the 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th files with gaps between them, on the rank just behind the river. The gaps are why cannons have such open lines at the start.

How many points are on the board?

90. Nine files by ten ranks, and pieces occupy the intersections rather than the spaces.

## Related xiangqi resources

Board setup

The board, the river, the palace, and where the 32 pieces go

What the pieces are worth

And the three times the numbers stop being true

Chess in Chinese

The words for the game and every piece

## Try it on a real board

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