It's a commonly known historical fact that the Great San Francisco Earthquake of 1906 precipitated a huge inferno that threatened to engulf the entire city and reduce it to an ashen ruin. If not for the heroic efforts of the Fire Department and many others, everything would have been lost.

As the fire advanced across the city, a line of defense was created at Van Ness Avenue, which was roughly at the midpoint of San Francisco. At the time, Van Ness was the widest street in the city. The Mayor decided they would make their stand against the inferno at this point. Everything along Van Ness had to be immediately eliminated, by dynamite, to create a fire barrier from which the ravaging flames could not pass. The survival of the city depended on the creation of that buffer, and the protection it would afford to the unvanquished parts of the city, in particular, the residential Western Addition.

Sitting on Van Ness was a huge church, Saint Ignatius. With its spires and murals, it was considered the greatest Jesuit church in the world at that time. The priests were given only a few moments in which to gather all the valuables from the church before the city officials dynamited it. They carried out what they could—chalices, consecrated eucharists, and other sacred items. Also a few boxes of irreplaceable papers concerning the church. Many precious items were lost. Once the fire abated, Saint Ignatius was rebuilt at its present location one or two miles to the west.

The papers that had been saved were a mixed lot. The priests really didn't have the time to look at anything—they just carried what they could and hoped Providence would guide them to save what was necessary. While researching these oldest papers of the church for a library exhibit and lecture, I came across the diary of a Father Joseph Kitt. Father Kitt was an Irish priest who was assigned to San Francisco and developed an interest in China. He learned a bit of the language and was soon given permission to travel in China for a while, hopefully to gain friends and converts to the Catholic religion.

His diary, written in the 1870s, tells his story of traveling in southern China and his fascinating adventures. Most of the diary was concerned with the religious practices of the locals. Father Kitt also recounted his meetings with the religious men of that particular area. Having read through most of the diary, my heart leaped when Father Kitt suddenly mentioned chess in his narrative. The city he was visiting was struck with a strange disease, from which many died. No one quite knew the cause of it or what to do about it.

The authorities closed the huge gate at the entrance of the city, allowing no one to enter or exit its boundaries, in order to limit the effects of the plague. Father Kitt wrote that the authorities were in a panic to discover the cause of the disease, in order to possibly stop its further spread. The survival of the city depended on it.

The effects of the disease were "horrible" and added to the "terror and fear" everyone felt. The victim's face was always covered with black splotches, and blood escaped through the pores. According to Father Kitt, the authorities tried to learn as much as they could about the victims. What foods did they eat? Where did they spend their time before contracting the plague? With whom did they come in contact? After extensive investigations, one common thread was discovered which linked all of the earliest victims: they were all members of the local Chinese Chess Club.

They examined the club site for any clues about the disease. But what could they possibly find? Nothing seemed out of the ordinary. But would they really know the face of the plague if they saw it? Father Kitt "prayed for the authorities to find the cause of the disease."

With little discovered and the number of afflicted townspeople growing every day, the town leaders had to do something. The only link to the disease they had discovered was xiangqi, but was that really the problem or only a coincidence? How could xiangqi be responsible for a plague? Was it some kind of virus at the club site? "I'm extremely skeptical about the xiangqi link," Father Kitt wrote in his diary, "but lacking any other clues the Mayor really had no choice but to immediately issue an edict: xiangqi was banned from the city." To limit contamination and the spread of the plague, the club was shut down and all the regular players were rounded up and forced to live in a small building at the far edge of the city. Father Kitt noted that the authorities figured they would all die from the plague shortly, despite protestations from many that they felt just fine and din't deserve this treatment. The sight of a xiangqi piece soon caused great alarm to anyone who came across one unexpectedly. A woman fainted when she was walking home and saw a round, wooden disk at her feet in the street.

The investigation turned to the wood used for the board and pieces. Could the virus be in the wood? The paint on top of the wooden disks was also examined. After cutting up numerous sets and examining the wood and paint, it was decided they wouldn't take any chances. The people must be protected. By order of the Mayor, they would find and burn all xiangqi sets in the city. Father Kitt noted that the Chinese version of chess must have been exceedingly popular in the city, as quite a large pile of pieces and boards was soon assembled at the incineration site. He wrote, "Several workers shoveled the pieces onto the bonfire, which grew so large and bright it could be seen in all corners of the city."

The rage of the plague intensified. The debate on the true cause continued. Perhaps it wasn't the xiangqi pieces or boards that was responsible. One of the city's top officials thought the problem might be the mental activities and processes within the brain necessary for playing xiangqi that triggered the plague in each person. In order to survive, a person must refrain from even thinking about the game, he argued. An official proclamation banned everyone from thinking about xiangqi.

Father Kitt walked through the city grieving at all the dead bodies he encountered. He resolved to say a mass the next day for the sick victims, that they might not die and would recover their health. In his diary, he related a dream he had. In his dream, he was saying mass and at the point when he raises the eucharist in his hands, he looks at it and sees one of the xiangqi Chinese symbols in the round host. The symbol was that of the Guard. Father Kitt noted how this character looked like a person with his arms stretched out sideways. The dream terrified him and he didn't know what the Lord was trying to tell him.

That day, a doctor announced to the Mayor and other officials that he had created an herbal anti-plague drink. He suggested it should be given to all who were sick with the disease, as well as all the xiangqi players in the building at the edge of the city. But for all his good intentions, the man's antidote didn't seem to work. The sick who drank it continued to perish on schedule. Later, the doctor was found dead in his own house.

That night, several men, fearing they would soon catch the plague from the others and die, attempted to scale the giant gate at the front of the city and make their escape. But the sentries at the gate saw their intentions and refused to let them pass. The men were told they might have the plague already and could not take it out of the city. They would infect other areas. They were forbidden from leaving. A fight broke out and one of the would-be escapers was killed. The others fled back to the dark interior of the city.

The next day, Father Kitt said his mass, which was well attended by townspeople, probably hoping the god of the Irish priest could bring them some protection from death. As his Chinese language skills really weren't very good, Father Kitt needed an interpreter with him. Everything he said was immediately repeated in the local dialect by the interpreter who always kept one step behind him. Afterward, Father Kitt could only hope it had done some good. Thinking about the despairing cries of the dying, he wrote, "Take my soul, but let them live."

The townspeople were generally in a state of anguish. No one really knew what to do. How to protect oneself from a plague? They prayed, hoping their gods would spare them from a terrible fate. They tried to eat healthy foods, they boiled their water, and tried not to come into contact with many other people. Most of all, they tried not to think about xiangqi. Many didn't want to leave their houses, and only did so to buy essentials at the market. Many feared their all-too-brief mortal lives would be cut short still further by the plague, which didn't seem to care about their fears and their unfinished plans for their lives. Father Kitt tried to give them hope the only way he knew how, counseling people he met with the help of his interpreter.

Soon it became obvious that the xiangqi players at the edge of the city were no longer dying. Father Kitt visited them and reported that they were in fact quite healthy. He also discovered that they disobeyed official orders to stop thinking about xiangqi entirely, and were instead playing games with each other in their heads. Father Kitt felt sure his mass had done some good.

After several more days, no one in the city died. The plague, which almost defeated the entire city, appeared to have subsided, or simply floated away across the sky to find another suitable city to terrorize. The Mayor soon declared victory over the plague. The city had survived. They could survive anything by pulling together to defeat any enemy that threatened them, he said. The xiangqi players were released from their detention and allowed to return to their homes. The sentries were ordered to open the huge gate at the front of the city, allowing anyone to enter or exit.

Father Kitt was delighted the city had been saved. He bade farewell to his friends and continued on his journey. In his diary, he gave thanks to the Lord for sparing the city after they had endured so many tribulations.

The diary ends with Father Kitt's journey eastward, to a meeting with several important religious men near Guangzhou. On the way, he reached into his coat pocket, and felt something beside his diary. He pulled it out and looked at it. It was a xiangqi piece, a Guard. He couldn't figure out how it got there.

This World Xiangqi League feature story was written by Stephen Leary.

(C) 1997 by Stephen Leary.