What is 仙人指路 (the Pawn Opening)?
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
仙人指路 — "the immortal points the way" — is 兵七進一, advancing a soldier one point, usually on the third or seventh file. It opens a route for a horse, takes a point away from the enemy horse, and commits to no plan at all. It is the most flexible first move in xiangqi.
A waiting move with a purpose
Red keeps every system available and asks Black to declare first. Whatever Black chooses, Red picks something that suits it — the exact opposite of the Central Cannon approach of committing immediately and playing for the initiative.
The one cost
A soldier never moves backwards. The move is small but permanent, and the point in front of your own horse is now occupied by your own soldier until it advances again. Push one and you have a flexible waiting move; push three and you have weaknesses.
Related questions
Which soldier should I advance?
The third or seventh file — those are the ones that free a horse. The central soldier early weakens the point in front of your own general.
Is it as good as the Central Cannon?
Fully sound and played at every level. It gives up the immediate initiative for flexibility.
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