What happens if you lose both cannons in xiangqi?
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
Nothing automatic. The game continues normally, you simply have one fewer tool. Cannons contribute a unique kind of pressure, threats through screens rather than along open lines, and losing both means your remaining pieces have to generate threats without that trick, which is harder but far from hopeless.
What you still have
Chariots and horses are perfectly capable of winning without cannon support; most basic checkmates use no cannon at all. What you lose is the specific tactical vocabulary of screens, hollow cannons and discovered checks off a cannon's line.
Adjusting your plan
Without cannons, open files matter even more, since your chariots are now doing more of the attacking work alone, and horse outposts near the enemy palace become more valuable because there is no cannon battery to lean on instead.
Related questions
Is a chariot-and-horse attack weaker than one with a cannon?
Not inherently weaker, just different. Many strong attacks use no cannon at all.
Does losing both cannons early usually mean losing the game?
No, though it is often a sign the position has gone poorly, since cannons are rarely given away for nothing.
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