What are the small marks and symbols printed on a xiangqi board?
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
Four things are printed on a standard board besides the grid. The small corner-shaped marks show the starting points of the cannons and soldiers. The X in each palace marks the general's nine-point box and the advisor's diagonal moves. The writing in the river is traditional decoration. And many boards print file numbers along the edges for reading notation.
The corner marks are a setup aid
Look closely and you will see little right-angle ticks around fourteen points: on each side, the two cannon points and the five soldier points. They exist purely to help you set up; they have no effect on play. On the outermost files the mark is drawn only on the inner side, because there is no board beyond the edge.
Once you know the setup you stop noticing them, but for a beginner they answer the most common setup question: which rank do the cannons go on? The marked one, two ranks in front of the horses. Full details are on the board setup page.
The X in the palace
Each palace is a 3×3 box of points with two diagonals drawn through it. The box marks the area the general and advisors may never leave; the diagonals are the lines the advisor moves along. The general does not use them. See what the palace is for how this shapes attack and defence.
The river writing and the edge numbers
The characters in the river, most often 楚河 and 漢界, refer to an ancient border and change nothing about the rules; this post explains the phrase. Some boards print other text there, or nothing.
The numbers along the top and bottom edges, where a board has them, label the nine files from each player's right. Red's side is often numbered in Chinese numerals and Black's in Arabic numerals, matching how each side's moves are written. They are the key to reading notation.
Related questions
Does a board without the corner marks still work?
Yes. The marks are a convenience only; the game is identical without them, as long as you place the cannons and soldiers on the right points.
Do the marks mean anything during the game?
No. A piece standing on a marked point has no special status, and nothing in the rules refers to them.
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