During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, Go reached its peak. Xu Xingyou is in charge of the Guoziqi Academy and oversees the affairs of the chess world. There are also four major chess academies including Jiangnan Chess Academy, Jingshi Chess Academy, Qiantang Chess Academy, and Xi'an Chess Academy, which play a decisive role in the chess world. There are countless large and small dojos in various places, collecting chess materials from all over the world. But under the prosperous times, there are also crises hidden. It is difficult for the central government to maintain the salary of professional chess players; top chess players are content with the status quo and lack motivation to compete; Xu Xingyou, Zhou Donghou, Cheng Lanru, Liang Weijin and other famous players in the chess world are gradually getting older. In order to compete for succession rights, various overt and covert struggles are quietly taking place. Gu Mobai was originally a young disciple at Longmen Dojo. Through his unremitting efforts, he showed his prominence and met friends such as Ji Xinxue and Shi Xiangxia. He became an important figure in promoting changes in the chess world.
