---
title: "Why Xiangqi Notation Is Not Coordinate-Based · Xiangqi Master"
description: "Xiangqi notation is descriptive: it names the piece, its file and how it moves. Coordinate systems exist but are not the convention."
url: https://xiangqimaster.com/blog/why-is-the-notation-not-based-on-coordinates
updated: 2026-09-22
source: Xiangqi Master (https://xiangqimaster.com)
license: CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
---

# Why doesn't xiangqi notation use coordinates like chess?

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
>
> Because the traditional system is **descriptive** rather than coordinate-based — it says what the piece does, not which point it lands on in absolute terms. Coordinate schemes for xiangqi do exist and are used internally by software, but the notation people read and write describes the move from the mover's perspective.

## The advantage of describing

It matches how a player thinks and speaks. "Cannon to the middle" is a plan; "cannon to e3" is a coordinate. Descriptive notation also survives the board being rotated, which matters when two players sit on opposite sides and each reads from their own right.

## The disadvantage

The same physical file has two numbers, and a move means different things depending on who played it. Chess abandoned descriptive notation for exactly this reason. Xiangqi kept it, so a reader has to track whose move it is — which is why Red and Black conventionally use different numerals.

## Related questions

Do engines use coordinates?

Internally yes, usually a simple 9×10 index or a UCI-style coordinate string. The display layer converts.

Is descriptive notation harder to learn?

Slightly, because of the two-perspective file numbering. Everything else is simpler than algebraic.

## Related xiangqi resources

Reading notation

炮二平五 and C2=5 — the same move, two ways

Analyse your games

Take any position apart with engine support

Xiangqi glossary

Every term, with the Chinese and the WXF spelling

## Try it on a real board

Reading an answer is one thing; playing it is another. Free, instant, and nothing to install.