Book of Wei 魏書

Both Lu Ba and Di Mai excelled at the game of Woshuo (Seizing the Spears/Pawns). This is presumably a barbarian (Hu) game, recently introduced to China. It is said that a barbarian (Hu) king had a brother who had committed a crime and was on the verge of being executed. From his prison, the brother invented this game and presented it to the king, intending to signify by this that a piece left alone (gu) easily meets its doom. From the reign of Emperor Shizong onward [500–515 AD], this game enjoyed immense success.