"The Tang dynasty chess layout objectively did not fit with the aesthetic psychology of Song people," avers Zhang Ru'an. "Thus the Northern Song undertook major changes in Tang dynasty xiangxi, adding the nine-hall palace and the river boundary." Today descendants of Tang dynasty chess live on only abroad. Chinese society has ultimately chosen Northern Song chess, which seems to be more purely representative of the Chinese nation.
宋朝建立了專制的中央集權國家，「唐代象戲的格局，客觀上已不符合宋人的審美心理，於是北宋便對唐代象戲進行了大刀闊斧的改革，加進了九宮、河界」，張如安認為，唐代象棋只能絢爛於異域，中國社會最終選擇了帶有強烈國粹色彩的北宋象棋。