The Girl Who Played Go

The Girl Who Played Go by Shan Sa is the first English translated work from this author. It is the coming of age story of a sixteen-year-old girl growing up in a rural Manchurian town in the 1930s. While the Japanese military is invading her village, the young girl is in the midst of her own sexual awakening and becomes inadvertently involved in a love triangle with two local boys. In an attempt to distract herself from the romantic drama, she takes up the game of Go, playing with those she meets in the local square. In an effort to escape the onslaught of adulthood, she stumbles into a game in which the stakes are much higher than she was anticipating.

As the novel unfolds, two storylines run simultaneously; the first centers on the protagonist, who is finding her feet in the realm of romance. This is set against the backdrop of the Japanese occupation of her Manchurian village before the Japanese invade China. The Chinese girl seems to be relatively unaware of the growing political tensions, dismissing them as a matter for older people to be concerned about.

At school, she finds herself caught up in a love triangle with two boys. Being young and inexperienced, she is at a loss as to how to deal with the awkwardness of the situation. Both of the boys are described as radicals who have a stake in the escalating hostilities that surround them. She attempts to manage the situation as best she can without hurting either of the boys. At the same time, she watches the women around her struggling with their own romantic entanglements, leaving her with a bitter taste in her mouth and a yearning for the simpler days of her youth.



She starts spending her days in the middle of the town plaza, known as the Square of a Thousand Winds. Here she meets local people and they play Go. She becomes renowned for her skills, quickly rising to the highest rung as the reigning champion. No one is a match for her, until one day, when she encounters a stranger who challenges her to a game. Unbeknownst to her, he is a Japanese military soldier in disguise, which heightens the stakes of the story.

The Japanese soldier is originally drawn to the Chinese girl for her skill, seeking some competition. He is arrogant at first and does not believe that this girl poses a challenge to him. They play together just about every day, and every day he grows more in awe of her abilities. The girl happily plays the Japanese soldier, unaware of his origins and the fact that he is part of the garrison forces, and when he is not playing Go, he is marching, performing drills and occasionally taking part in the torturing of Chinese rebels.

The soldier has been sent to the Square of a Thousand Winds by a superior officer who wants him to infiltrate the group of older men that spend time there, believing them to be conspiring against the occupational forces. Though he secretly believes the mission to be a wild goose chase and a total waste of time, he finds enjoyment in playing Go against the Chinese girl who quickly captivates his interest.



What begins as a friendly sense of rivalry quickly escalates to a strong attraction on both sides. Ultimately, this keeps them both coming back to the square, playing Go as a means of distracting themselves from the world that is falling apart around them. The game provides a convenient excuse for them to spend time with one another; the Japanese soldier is even willing to concede victory and sacrifice his own ego for the girl.

Meanwhile, the girl is dealing with her own personal crisis as she realizes that she is pregnant. The Japanese soldier aids in the arrest and torture of two young rebels—Min and Jing, the girl’s lovers, one of whom is presumably the father of her unborn child. In the end, she makes the decision to abort the baby.

All the while, the girl and the Japanese soldier continue to meet for their daily game of Go, oblivious to the degree with which they have become entwined in one another’s lives.



Eventually, Jing is freed and he talks the girl into running away to Peking with him. She agrees to his plan, leaving the Japanese soldier and their games of Go behind, but soon after their arrival, Japanese soldiers overrun the city and she is taken captive. She is being held as a prisoner by the Japanese and is about to be raped when the officer she knew from her hometown recognizes her. Confessing his love to her, he kills both her and himself as a means of escaping the impossible situation, allowing them to be together in the afterlife.