---
title: "Xiangqi vs Shogi (Japanese Chess): The Differences · Xiangqi Master"
description: "Shogi has drops — captured pieces return as your own — plus promotion and a 9×9 board of squares. Xiangqi has none of these and a cannon instead."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/what-is-the-difference-between-xiangqi-and-shogi
updated: 2026-09-22
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# What is the difference between xiangqi and shogi?

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
>
> They are very different games. Shogi has **drops** — captured pieces come back as yours, so material never leaves the board — plus widespread **promotion**, a **9×9 board of squares**, and a king that moves freely. Xiangqi has **no drops, no promotion**, a confined general, a river, and a **cannon**.

## Drops are the biggest divide

Because nothing is ever removed, shogi positions get more complicated as the game goes on and endgames in the xiangqi sense barely exist. Xiangqi simplifies: trades reduce material permanently, which is why its endgame theory is so developed and shogi's is so different in character.

## A naming warning

In Japanese, 将棋 means shogi. Xiangqi is called **シャンチー** or 中国象棋, and calling it 中国将棋 — though people do search that — conflates two genuinely different games.

## Related questions

Is shogi harder than xiangqi?

Shogi's drops make its branching factor far larger. Whether that makes it harder for a human is arguable.

Do they share an ancestor?

Yes, both descend from the same family of Indian and Chinese games, by different routes.

## Related xiangqi resources

Xiangqi vs chess

What carries over from western chess, and what does not

History of xiangqi

When the game was invented, and what is actually documented

Xiangqi questions answered

Every question on this site, in one index

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