How to read xiangqi notation
Every position, move and legality claim on this page is verified programmatically against our open rules engine, which implements the WXF laws and is tested against the official 110-diagram repetition casebook.
Direct answer
Xiangqi notation names four things: the piece, the file it stands on, a direction, and a target. 炮二平五 and its WXF spelling C2=5 are the same move — cannon on file 2, moving sideways, to file 5. The one thing that catches out every beginner is that each side numbers the files from its own right-hand edge, so Red's file 2 and Black's file 2 are at opposite sides of the board.
Two spellings of one system
You will meet xiangqi moves written two ways. They are not two notations — they are the same system in different glyphs, and once you can read one you can read the other by substitution.
| Chinese (中文縱線格式) | WXF | |
|---|---|---|
| The move above | 炮二平五 | C2=5 |
| Piece | 炮 cannon | C |
| Files | 一二三四五六七八九 (Red), 1–9 (Black) | 1–9, both sides |
| Advance | 進 | + |
| Retreat | 退 | − |
| Traverse | 平 | = |
Chinese notation writes Red's file numbers with the character numerals 一–九 and Black's with Arabic 1–9, which is a useful accident: the digits alone tell you whose move it is. WXF uses Arabic for both, so nothing in the string says which side moved — you have to know whose turn it was.
Files are counted from your own right
This is the rule that makes notation confusing, and it is worth getting straight before anything else.
Each player numbers the nine files from their own right-hand edge. The players sit opposite each other, so the two numbering schemes run in opposite directions. Red's file 1 and Black's file 1 are on opposite sides of the board.
The clearest demonstration is two horse moves that are mirror images of each other:
| Move | Chinese | WXF | Which horse |
|---|---|---|---|
| Red's queenside horse | 傌八進七 | H8+7 | The horse on Red's file 8 |
| Black's kingside horse | 馬8進7 | H8+7 | The horse on Black's file 8 |
Look at the WXF column: H8+7 and H8+7 are the same string, and they describe two different horses on opposite sides of the board. Nothing in the notation distinguishes them. Only knowing whose turn it is does. In the Chinese spelling the numerals give it away — 傌八進七 uses 八 and 馬8進7 uses 8 — which is why Chinese notation is, for once, the less ambiguous of the two.
The three directions
The middle character is always one of three, and it is relative to the mover — "advance" means toward the opponent, whichever side you are.
- 進 /
+— advance, toward the enemy back rank. - 退 /
−— retreat, back toward your own. - 平 /
=— traverse, sideways along a rank, with no change of rank at all.
Because Red advances up the board and Black down it, 進 means opposite physical directions for the two sides. It is a claim about the game, not about the diagram.
The last token means two different things
This is the part that is genuinely irregular, and it is where most self-taught readers go wrong. The final number is either a destination file or a number of steps, depending on the piece and the direction.
| When | The last token is | Example |
|---|---|---|
Any sideways move (平 / =) | the destination file | 俥九平六 R9=6 |
| Chariot, cannon, soldier or general moving forward or back | the number of steps | 俥九進一 R9+1 |
| Horse, elephant or advisor | always the destination file | 相三進五 E3+5 |
The reason is that the first group moves in straight lines, so a step count is unambiguous, while the second group moves diagonally and a step count would not say which diagonal. Compare these two chariot moves — same piece, same file, and the last token counts rank changes rather than naming a rank:
| Chinese | WXF | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| 俥九進一 | R9+1 | The chariot advances one point |
| 俥九進二 | R9+2 | The same chariot advances two |
When two identical pieces share a file
If you have two chariots on the same file, "chariot on file 5" names neither of them. The notation replaces the file number with a position marker instead:
- 前 /
+— the front one, nearer the opponent. - 後 /
−— the back one. - 中 — the middle one, when three soldiers share a file.
Note the marker comes before the piece name, where the file number would have come after it:
| Chinese | WXF | Which cannon |
|---|---|---|
| 前炮進一 | +C+1 | The advanced cannon of the two, moving up one |
| 後炮進一 | -C+1 | The rear cannon, moving up one |
Advisors and elephants never take these markers. Two of either on one file always sit two ranks apart, so one reaches a shared destination by advancing and the other by retreating — the direction already tells them apart, and a marker would be redundant.
A worked example
The first three moves of the most common opening in xiangqi, in both spellings. Step through it and read each move against the board.
Xiangqi position. Red: soldier a3, soldier c3, soldier e3, soldier g3, soldier i3, cannon b2, cannon h2, chariot a0, horse b0, elephant c0, advisor d0, general e0, advisor f0, elephant g0, horse h0, chariot i0. Black: chariot a9, horse b9, elephant c9, advisor d9, general e9, advisor f9, elephant g9, horse h9, chariot i9, cannon b7, cannon h7, soldier a6, soldier c6, soldier e6, soldier g6, soldier i6. Red to move.
Quick reference
| Piece | Red | Black | WXF |
|---|---|---|---|
| General | 帥 | 將 | K |
| Advisor | 仕 | 士 | A |
| Elephant | 相 | 象 | E |
| Horse | 傌 | 馬 | H |
| Chariot | 俥 | 車 | R |
| Cannon | 炮 | 砲 | C |
| Soldier | 兵 | 卒 | P |
You will also see 马, 车 and 进 — simplified forms of 馬, 車 and 進. They mean exactly the same thing, and our board accepts either when you type a move.
A third system, ICCS, writes moves as plain coordinates — H2-E2 for the move this page opened with. It is what engines and databases use, because it needs no knowledge of the position to read. It is also the one system nobody speaks out loud.
Common mistakes
Counting files from the same edge for both players.
Each side counts from its own right. The commonest symptom is reading a Black move onto a mirrored file and wondering why the position makes no sense.
Reading the last number as a rank.
For a chariot, cannon, soldier or general moving forward or back it is a step count. 俥九進二 moves two points, it does not move to rank 2.
Expecting a step count from a horse.
Horses, elephants and advisors always name the destination file, because a step count could not say which diagonal they took.
Writing the position marker after the piece.
It goes first: 前炮進一, not 炮前. The file number is the one that comes second.
Related questions
How do you read xiangqi notation?
Read it as four parts: piece, file, direction, target. 炮二平五 (WXF C2=5) is "cannon, on file 2, traverse, to file 5". The only irregular part is the last token, which is a destination file for sideways and diagonal moves but a number of steps for a chariot, cannon, soldier or general moving straight forward or back.
What does 炮二平五 mean?
It is the Central Cannon, the most common first move in xiangqi: the cannon on Red's file 2 moves sideways to file 5, the central file, where it points straight down the board at the enemy general. In WXF the same move is written C2=5. See the Central Cannon opening.
Why do Red and Black number the files differently?
Because each player counts from their own right-hand edge, and they sit facing each other. It means notation is written from the mover's point of view rather than from the board's, so the same file has two numbers depending on who is describing it. Every xiangqi notation system does this, including WXF.
What is the difference between WXF and Chinese notation?
Only the glyphs. WXF substitutes Latin letters for the piece characters, Arabic digits for the Chinese numerals, and + − = for 進 退 平. The grammar, the file numbering and the step-count rule are identical. WXF is slightly more ambiguous in one respect: because both sides use Arabic digits, the string alone does not tell you whose move it was.
What does 前 mean in xiangqi notation?
"Front". It replaces the file number when two identical pieces stand on the same file, and names the one nearer the opponent — 前炮進一 is the more advanced of two cannons. 後炮進一 is the other one. In WXF these are written +C+1 and -C+1.
Is xiangqi notation the same as chess algebraic notation?
No. Algebraic notation names the destination square absolutely (Nf3), so it reads the same for both players. Xiangqi notation names the piece's origin file and a direction from the mover's own point of view, and often does not name the destination at all. See xiangqi vs chess for the other differences.
