Xiangqi soldier piece

A disc bearing the soldier character.

Also known as: Bing piece, Zu piece, Pawn piece xiangqi

In Traditional Chinese:: 卒, 兵

CulturalSport & gamesStandard profile

Meanings

The xiangqi soldier, moving one point forward and gaining sideways movement after crossing the river.

Culturally establishedVerified fact
Moves one point forward and may also move sideways once it has crossed the river.
Contexts: History
Culturally establishedVerified fact
Never promotes and never retreats, so a soldier that has crossed the river is at its permanent maximum strength.
Contexts: History

Variants

Related forms that are not treated as separate canonical symbols — see our variant rules.

Red soldier (兵)
Red plays 兵 (bīng) and black plays 卒 (zú). The two characters name the same soldier, which moves and captures identically on either side — the glyph says whose piece it is, not what it does. The two are read differently — bīng against zú — so a spoken move names the side as well as the piece.
Black soldier (卒)
Red plays 兵 (bīng) and black plays 卒 (zú). The two characters name the same soldier, which moves and captures identically on either side — the glyph says whose piece it is, not what it does. The two are read differently — bīng against zú — so a spoken move names the side as well as the piece.

Visual description

A flat circle carrying a single glyph, the two sides using two different glyphs for one piece.

Symmetry: none
Orientation: upright

Confidence

IdentityModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Visual matchModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.

Sources

Xiangqi
Wikipedia · retrieved 2026-08-23
Tertiary reference, cited for the conventional description of a mark, its usual name and where it is encountered. Where an issuing body defines the mark, that body is cited alongside and governs.

Last reviewed 2026-08-26

Help improve this page

Meanings

The xiangqi soldier, moving one point forward and gaining sideways movement after crossing the river.

Culturally establishedVerified fact

Moves one point forward and may also move sideways once it has crossed the river.

Contexts: History

Culturally establishedVerified fact

Never promotes and never retreats, so a soldier that has crossed the river is at its permanent maximum strength.

Contexts: History

Variants

Related forms that are not treated as separate canonical symbols — see our variant rules.

Red soldier (兵)

Red plays 兵 (bīng) and black plays 卒 (zú). The two characters name the same soldier, which moves and captures identically on either side — the glyph says whose piece it is, not what it does. The two are read differently — bīng against zú — so a spoken move names the side as well as the piece.

Black soldier (卒)

Confidence

IdentityModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the identity is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Historical originLow confidence: Low confidence because the historical origin is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far, but early or supporting evidence is limited, but the regional or cultural match to this specific claim is not precise.
Current useModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the current use is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.
Visual matchModerate confidence: Moderate confidence because the visual match is documented in encyclopedic references, but only a single source has been found so far.