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原文

我朝善弈显名天下者，昔年待诏老刘宗，今日刘仲甫、杨中隐，以至王琬、孙先、郭范、李百祥辈，人人皆能诵此十三篇，体其常而生其变也。古人谓：“犹盘中走丸，横斜曲直，系于临时，不尽可知。而必可知者，是丸不能出于盘也。”《棋经》，盘也。弈者，丸也。士君子无所用心，则可观焉。

白话文

本朝善于围棋而闻名天下的人，从前有待诏刘宗，如今有刘仲甫、杨中隐，以及王琬、孙先、郭范、李百祥等人，人人都能熟诵这十三篇，把握其中常理，再生发变化。古人说：“如同盘中滚丸，横斜曲直，临时变化，不能尽知；但必定可知的是，丸子终究不能滚出盘外。”《棋经》就是棋盘，棋手就是盘中的丸子。士君子若暂无他事，可以观此而有所悟。

Translation

Among those of our dynasty famed under Heaven for skill at Weiqi, in former days there was Liu Zong of the Academy; in the present day Liu Zhongfu, Yang Zhongyin, and also Wang Wan, Sun Xian, Guo Fan, Li Baixiang, and others. All could recite these Thirteen Chapters, embodying their constants and from them generating change. The ancients said: “It is like a ball rolling in a tray. Whether sideways, slanting, curved, or straight depends on the moment and cannot be wholly known. Yet one thing can certainly be known: the ball cannot roll beyond the tray.” The Classic of Weiqiis the tray. The player is the ball. If the gentleman has no immediate object for his mind, he may contemplate this and learn.