chinese games with dice and dominoes. stewart cui.ix

CHINESE GAMES WITH DICE AND DOMINOES.

STEWART CUI.IX,

Director oftheMuseumofArchceoloffijaudPala'ontoloqy, UniversityofFe7insylvaiiia.

489

CHINESE GAMES WITH DICE AND DOMINOES.

By Stewart Culin.

"Theearthhath^V)ubhles,as thewaterhas,andthese are ofthem."

This paper,*ofwhichapreliminary study

was

printed in 1889,tisthe

firstof aserieson Chinese games, tobe continued

by

similaraccounts ofplaying cards

and

chess. Ithasbeenconsiderably extended,through recentstudiesin connection especially with thecollection gathered

by

the authorin the AnthropologicalBuildingin Chicago,

and

thatinthe National

Museum.

_|

The games

described are chieflythose of the Chinese laborers in America,alimitationfound as acceptable asit is necessary,sinceeven

among

thesepeople,

who

all

came

fromacomparatively smallarea,there existvariations in themethods of gambling, _{as well as} in the termi- nology of their games.

The

latteris

made up

largelyofslang and col- loquialwords

and

presents

many

difficulties.

The

gamblersare usually

men

ofthe

most

ignorantclass,

and

thosemostfamiliarwith the

games

are oftenthe least abletofurnish correct Chinesetranscriptions ofthe termsemployed inthem, sothatthe task of interpretation would have been extremelydifficult butfor the assistance received from Chinese

and

Japanesescholars.§

'Thispaperliasbeenprt-paredatthe request of theauthoritiesof the U.S.National Museum,to illustrateaportion ofitsextensivecollectionofgames.

tChineseGames-withDice. | ByStewartCulin.

—

Read beforeTheOrientalClub of Philadelphia. |March14,1889. | Philadelphia. | 1889. 8^. pp. 1-21.

tThis collection,though the author modestlyrefrains from mentioningthe fact, owesmuchofitscompletenesstoMr.Culin'sowngenerouscontributions.

G.

Bkowx

Goode.

§TheChinesewordsprintedinitalicsare transliteratedaccordingtoDr. Williams'

"Tonic Dictionary of theChineseLanguage inthe Cauton Dialect,"Canton,1856.

Dr.Hepburn's Japanese-EnglishDictionary hasbeenfollowedforJapanese,andthe Koreanwords,in the absence of anynative standard of orthogra])hy,and for the purposeofconvenientreference,have beenmadetoaccordwiththatadmirable work, theDictionnaireCoreen-Fran^aia, Yokohama, 1880.

491

492 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM,

1893.

Fig.1.

CHINESEDICE.

GAMES WITH DICE.

Chinese dice* are small cubesof bone

marked

on each side with incised spotsfrom 1 to (5 in number, ^(fig-.1) which are arranged in the

same manner

as theS])otson

modern European

dice, aswell as those of Greece

and Eomeof

classical antiquity;! the " six"

and

"one," "five"

and

"two,"

and

"four"

and

"three" beingon oppositesides.

The

"four"

and "one"

spotson Chinesediceare paintedred,

and

the

"six," "five," "three,"

and "two"

are painted black.

The "one"

is

always

much

larger

and more

deeplyincisedthan the other spots, possibly to compensate for its op])osite, the ^"six."

The

origin of the cus-

tom

of

painting the

"fours" redis accountedfor, accordingto the

Wa Kan

san sai dzu e,|

by

the following story:

An emperor ofthe Ming dynasty(A. D. 1368-1643) played at suqorokn with his queen. Hewas ahnost defeated byher,but had one wayof winning throughthe diceturning"fours." He cried and threw thedice,and theycameashedesired,

whereupon he was exceedingly glad,and ordered that the "fours" thereafter be paintedred, inremembranceofhiswinning.

A

^similarstory

was

related to

me

as acominon tradition

among

the Cantonese,

by

anintelligent Chinese,

who

gavethe emperor's

name

as

Ld

Ling Wong^\

who

reigned under the title of

Chung

Tsung (A. D.

*The common namefor dice amongthe Cantonese isshiktsz', composed ofshilc,

"colors,"andtsz\ " seed,""_dice."

InMedhurst'sEnglishandChineseDictionary, Shanghai, 1847,three othernames

fordicearegiven: ^t'antsz'composedoft'au, writtenwitha charactercompounded of the radicals, kivat, "bone,"andshii, "aweapon," "tostrike,"and the auxiliary

tsz'; sJietuigInk, "doublesixes," fromwhatisregardedasthe highest throw with2 dice,and htkch'ik, literally"sixcarnation." The last name maybeconsideredas acompoundoftheterms for themost important throws: "six" and carnation or red; the"four,"to which,as will beseen, an especial signiticance isattached, as wellasthe"one,"thelowestthrow withadie,being paintedred. InJapanesedice arecalledsai,awordwrittenwithaChinesecharacter,ts'oi, "variegated,""lucky."

tAbouttheonlydotted cubical dicewhichdepartfromthisarrangementarethose of the ancient Etruscans,whichareregardedashavingthe"one" andthe"three,"

"two"and"four,"and"five"and "six"opposite, asystem whichdoesnot appear, accordingtothewriter'sobservation, tohave beenconstant.

t"Japanese Chinese Three Powers' (Heaven, Earth, Man) picture collection."

Osaka,1714; vol. 17, fol.4.

^Whenceavulgar name for dice among the Cantonese,hot lb,composedofhot,

"tocallout loud,"andlb,forLbLing Wong.

ModernIndian dice areusuallymarkedwithblackandred spots. Inthe Mahab- harata(iv, 1,25)referenceismadeto"dice,dotted black and red." (Prof.E. W.

Hopkins,J. A. O.S.,vol. _13, p. 123.)

CHINESE GAMES WITH

DICE

AND DOMINOES. 493

684, 701-710). Mr. HerbertA. Giles* tells

me

that this storyismen- tioned

by

aChinese author,but ^I

am

inclined to regard theaccountas fanciful,

and

think thatitis probable that the color of the ^''fours"

was

derived,withthedicethemselves,fromIndia.

Severalsizesof dice areused

by

the Chinese, varying from a cube

01 two-tenthsto oneof seven-tenths of an inch. Difterent sizes are employedin differentgames, according to custom.

Dice areusuallythrown

by hand

intoa porcelain bowl, the jdayers throwing around in turn from right to left,

and accompanying

their effortswithcriesof lot!

"come

^!"

The

Chineselaborers in theUnited States play several

games

with

dice, butthey are not a popular

mode

of gambling,

and

are generally neglected for fan fan,

and

Chinesedominoes.

sz' 'ng luk.

The

best

known

of these

games

iscalledsz^ ''ng lul\ "_{four, five,} six,"

commonly

contracted to sing lul;

and

is played with 3 dice of the largestsize.

The

throws in it in the order of their rank are: ''Tliree alikefrom three "sixes^" down, called teat

A

" Four,five, six,"called sing Jul-or chiinfd.^

Two

alike,the

odd

die countingfrom ^"six^"

down

to ace, the last throw being called yaf fat,

"ace

negative." One, two, three, called

mo

lung,

"dancing

dragon," or she tsai, "little snake."

The

first player is determined, on throwing around, to be the one

who

throws the highest

number

of red spots.

The

other players lay theirwagers, usuallyin

sums

di\asibleby3,beforethem.

The

firstplayer throwsuntilhe

makes

oneoftheabove mentioned casts. Ifhe throws sing litJc("four, five, six"); 3 alike; or 2 alike, "six"high, eachof the players at once

pay him

the full

amount

of their stakes; but if he throws

mo

lung or yat fat, he pays

them

the full

amount

of their stakes. Ifhe throws 2 alike, "five," "four," "three," or

"two"

high, the next player on his left throws. If the latter

makes

a ^higher

cast,the first player

must pay

him, but ifa lower cast, he

must pay

the first player.

The amounts

thus paid are usually proportionate to the difference between the throws with the

odd

die. If it is 4 or 3,the full amount; if 2, two-thirds, or_{if 1,} one-third of the stakes

must

be^paid.

The

third playerthrowsin the

same

way,

and

the

game

is continued untilthefirstplayerisout-thrown.

*Chinesedicearetheexact counterpart of our ownexcept that the aceandfour are colored red; the ace because the combination of black and white would be unluckyandthe"four" becausethisnumberonce turnedupinresponsetothecall of anEmperorof theT'angdynasty,whoparticularlywanteda"four"towin him thejiarfie. (StrangestoriesfromaChineseStudio, Vol, ii,p.145.)

tWaimeans "toinclose,"andis atermthatisalsoemployedinChinesegamesof chessandcards.

tLiterally, "strungflowers."

494 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM,

^1893.

KON MIN YEUNG.

Kon min

yeung, "pursuing sheep,"isplayedwith 6dice of thelarg- est size. Itis a

game

played ^{for small stakes, usually for}something toeat,

and

is seldomresorted to

by

professional gamblers.

In it the player throws until hegets 3 alike,

when

the

sum

of the spots onthe otherdice is counted.

The

throws in the order of their rank are: Six "sixes," called tdi

min

yeung, " large sheep." Six "fives," "fours,"^'•threes," "twos," or

"ones,"called min yeung Jcung, ^{^^}yauis.^^ Three alike and "six, six, five,"called

wm

^y<?MM5'M(/, "ewes." Three alike

and

the otherthrows thanthe above. Theseare designated

by

the

number

representing the

sum

of the throws with the 3

odd

dice.

The

throws, tdi

min

yeung

and min

yeung Jcung, take all the stakes.

If minyeungnd, or

any

othercast of 3 alike, is made, thenextplayer throwsuntil he gets 3alike,

when

he pays if his throw is lower, or is

paid ifit ishigher, asin sing luk.

The

throw of 3 "fours" is called ivong i^ang fui, concerning the origin of which

name

the following storyisrelated

:

A

^boyami^girl werebetrothed bytheir parents. The girl's father died,and the familyhaving been reducedtopoverty,herbrother sold thegirl tobecomeaprosti- tute. This she resented, and anxious to lind her betrothed,whose face she well remembeied,shecausedittobeadvertised that shewouldyieldherself totheman whocouldthrow3^''fours"withthedice. Many,attractedbyher beauty,triedand

failed, untilherhusband,

Wong

p'ang-fiii,Avhohadobtainedthe rankofkdiiin,or seniorwrangleratthe provincialexamination, presented himself. Forhimshe sub- stituted loadeddice,withwhichhe threw3"fours,"whereupon she disclosed her- self,andtheywere happilyunited.

chIk

t'in KAU.

ChdTifinI'liu, "throwing heaven

and

nine,"isplayed with2dice. In

this

game

the 21 throwsthatcan be

made

with2 dice receive different names,

and

are divided into

two

series, or suits, called man,"civil,"

and

mo,"military."

The

11 mail throws, in the order of their rank, are figured on the right of Platei.

They

are:

" Doublesix,"calledfin, "heaven."

"Doubleone,"calledti, "earth."

" Doublefour,"called yan, "man."

"_{One, three}" calledtvo,*"harmony."

"Doublefive,"called miii, "plum(dower)."t

*Thi8 throw is called by somengo,a " goose," aname,like those ofthethrows that follow it in this series, evidently derived froma fancied resemblanceof the spotsonthedice.

tThe5spotisalso calledbythenameofmitmeor "plum(flower)," inJapan. In Koreathesame name,mai-hoa, "plumflower,"isgivento thesequence ^"five,one;"

"five,two;" "five,three;" "five, four;" "five, five;" "five, six^"in the gameof Ho-hpai,withdominoes.

ReportofNationalMirsEira,1893.— Culin. Plate I.

^

• • ••

• • •

A.

• • • •

/v

:•: B

E •• > ^{^}

•

CHINESE GAMES WITH

DICE

AND DOMINOES. 495

"Doublethree," calledch^e'unysdm, ^'"longthrees."

"Doubletwo," called^j;a'»tang, "bench."

"Five, six,"called^/«'fan, ^''tiger'shead."

"_{Four,six,"called} htuigfanshap, "redheadten."

" One,six," called kbke'ukts'at, "long leg seveu."

" One,five,"calledhungch'ui luk, "red malletsix."

The

10

mo

throws inthe orderof their rank arefiguredon theleft

of Plate I.

They

are:

" Five, four," and ^"six,three," calledkau, " nines."

"Five,three,"and ^"six,two,"calledpat, ' eights."

•'Five,two,"and "four, three,"calledts'at, "sevens."

"Four,two," called luk, " six."

"Three,two,"and "four,one," called'ng, " fives."

"One, two,"calledsdm, "three," orsrfw kai, "threefinal."

The

first player determined, the other players laytheir wagers on thetable.

The

first player then throws

and

hiscast determines the suit,whether

wmw

ormo, forthat round, i^o other throws count and

1

^

^I

• • ^{1^1} •

• •

• • • •! • •

• • • • • •

Fig.2.

PATCHA BOARD: CHINA.

the players throw again, if necessary, until they

make

a cast of the suitled. If thefirst player throws the highest pairof either series, thatisthe "double six^"of theman, or oneof the ^''nines^'' of the mo, eachplayer atoncepays him, butif heleadsthe lowest of either suit, tliat is, the "five, oue,"or ^{'^}one, two,"he pays

them

the

amount

of their stakes.

Ifhethrows

any

otherpairthan thehighest or lowestof either suit the secondplayer throws,

and

is paid his stakes, if he throws higher,

by

the firstplayer, orpays

him

if he throws lower.

The game

is con- tinued until the first playeris outthiown.

when

he is succeeded

by

the secondplayer,

and

theothers lay their wagersas before.

PAT

CHA.

Peltchd, "grasping eight,"is played with 8 dice, preferably of the smallestsize. In this

game

the banker is provided with a diagram

(fig.2)

numbered

or dotted, liliethe G faces of a die,

upon

which the

496 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM,

1893.

Fig.3.

CHINESE TEETOTUM.

(Fromspecimeninthe museumof theUniversity ofPennsylvania.

)

players place their stakes. It bears the iegeud ^jat fung, " unlike,"

which expresses the desire of the bankeras to the

manner

in which the dicesliall fall.

A

^{playerthrows8 dice. If at least3 fall like the}

number

beton, the

gamekeeper

pays

him

8 times, orifG or

more

are like the

number

bet on, 16 times the

amount

of his stakes. In

any

other event, the player loses.

A

similarly

marked

^tablet is used in playingwith the chh'me, or teetotum (fig, 3). This implement is

made

with G dotted sides.

The

players lay their stakes

upon

the

numbers

on the tablet,

and

wia 4 times the

amount

of their stakesif theone played on turns uppermost, or lose, if another

number

comes up.

The

ch^e

me

is said to have its sides decorated sometimes with pictures of fish

and

animals instead of

numbers

or spots,

and

the diagram, which is called the c/i'J

me

p^di, or the ^• "tablet for the teetotum," is then similarly inscribed (flg. 3).*

CHONG UN

CH'AU.

CJiong ihicWaii is a

game

played with tallies, ch'au, the highest of which is calledehong iin, the

name

given the 02)timi(s atthe examina- tions forthedegreeof Hanliu,

whence

I

have

styled it

"The Game

of theChief of theLiterati." (pi. 3.)

Two

or

more

persons

may

^play,using 6 dice

and

63

bamboo

tallies.

The

latter receivethe followingnames:

First.

One

piece aboutG inches in length, called chong iin, the tirst of theHanlin doctors. This counts as 32.

Second,

Two

shorterpieces called j^omjngdn, second of the Hanlin, f

dm

fa, third of the Hanlin.

Each

count as 16.

Third.

Four

shorter pieces called ui iin, the First of the tsun sz\ or literarygraduatesof the third degree.

Each

count as 8.

Fourth. Eight shorterpieces called tsun zs\ literarygraduates ofthe thirddegree.

Each

count as 4.

*A similar game from Mauila, PhilippiueIslamls,in the United States National

Museum (Plate _2), consistsof a cardboard with 6 equal divisious, with numbers, representedby disks of colored paper,from 1to 6; ahexagon-shapedtop withnum- bersfrom 1 to6, anda saucerinwhichtospin it. Itisdescribed bythe collector, Hon.Alex.R. Webb,UnitedStates Consul, underthenameofprinola, asa popular gameinthemarket^placeswiththenativewomen. " Betsareplacedon the spotson the board, thetopisspunrapidlyinthesaucer, andthewinnersare paiddoublethe amount oftheir bets. Only one numbercan win, of course the onecorresponding tothatwhichturnsup whenthe top stops turning, and thechances are therefore quite largelyinfavor ofthedealer." Thenameisevidently thePortuguesepirinola, but thegameisprobablyofChineseorIndianorigin. InIndia a 6-sided teetotum, chuK-ree,identicalwiththeChinese, isused, and isturnedlikeatopona woodenor chinaplate. "Thestakes areplacedonaboard with6 partitions, and thegameis

decided on thesettlingof thediewith a particular number uppermost. The play ofthisgameis allowed only during the Diwali festival,when gambling issanc- tioned as a religious observance," (Ms,catalogue of Indian games and toys pro- curedfortheChicagoexhibition. ProvincialMuseum, Lucknow, India.)

ReportofNational Museum,1893—Culin,

Plate 2.

<

ReportofNationalMuseum,1893—Culm. Plate 3.

Tallies for "Chong un chau."

Cat.No.\mm. U.S.N.M. KwangtuiifT, China.

CHINESE GAMES WITH

DICE

AND DOMINOES. 497

Fifth. Sixteen shorter pieces called Jcil yan, graduatesof the second degree.

Each

countas 2.

Sixth. Thirty-two shorter pieces called sau ts^oi, graduates of the

firstdegree.

Each

count as1.

The

first, second,

and

third classes bear rude jDictures

and

names, but the others are usually distinguishedonly

by

theirsize.

Two

or

more

personscan play.

The

playersthrowinturnfromright to left,

and

after throwing each draws the tallies he is entitled to according to the appended table. If the tally called for

by

a throw has been drawn, its value

maybe made up

from theremainingones;

but thewinnerof the chongiln

must

surrenderitwithout compensation

if another player

makes

a higher throw thanthat

by

which he

won

it.

The

one

who

counts highest becomesthe winner.

The game

is said to be played

by women and

^children,

and

isnot playedb}' theChinese laborers inthe eastern United States, although theyaregenerally acquainted withit.

A

^{set of implements forthis}

^game

from Johore in the collection of His Highness the Sultan at the Columbian Exposition

was

similar to that above described,

and was

evidently of ChineseAvorkmanship.

It

was

catalogued under the

name

chong tcan chiani {chong iinch^au), the tallies beingcalled huah-buahbertulis.

The

throws in chong iln ch^au, inthe order of theirrank, are:

6 "fours." 6 "fives." 6 "twos."

6 "sixes." 6"threes." 6"ones."

These throws arecalled ts'un shik,

and

takeall the tallies:

5"fours"ami 1 "six," or 1 "five,"or 1"three,"or 1 "two,"or 1"one."

.5"sixes"and 1 "four,"or 1"five," or 1"three," or 1"two,"or 1"one."

5"fives"and 1"four," or 1"six," or 1 "three,"or 1 "two,"or 1"one."

5"threes"and 1 "four,"or 1 "six,"or 1 "five," or 1 "two,"or 1"one."

5"twos" and 1"four,"or 1"six,"or 1 "five,"or 1"three,"or 1 "one."

5"ones"and 1 "four," or 1 "six,"or 1 "five,"or 1 "three,"or 1 "two."

4"fours"and 1"three"and 1"one."

4"fours"and 1 "twos."

4"sixes"and 1"four" and 1"two."

4 "sixes"and 1"five" and 1"one."

4 "sixes"and 2 "threes."

4 "fives"and 1"four" and 1 "one."

4 "fives"and 1"three" and 1 "two."

4 "threes"and 1"two"and 1 "one."

4"twos" and 2"ones."

4 "fours"and 2 "sixes."

4 "fours" and 1 "six" and 1 "five."

4 "fours" and 2 "fives."

4"fours"and 1 "six"and 1 "three,"or 1"six" and 1 "two."

4 "fours"and1 "five"and1"three," or1"six"and1 "two."

4" fours^"and1"five" and1 " two," or1"_{five "} andI" one."

4"fours" and2 "threes," or1"three" and 1"two."

4"fours^"and1"two"and1 "one,"or2 "ones."

Each

oftheabove throwscounts asthirty-two,

and

takes the chongun.

H. Mis. 184, pt. 2 32

498 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM,

1893.

2 "fours,"2"tiveS;"'and2 "sixes."' 2"ones,"2 "twos,"aud2"threes."

3"fours"and3 "sixes," or"fives,"or "threes," or " twos,"or" ones."

3"_sixes"and3 "fives,"or "threes,"or"twos," or"_ones."

3"fives"and3 "threes," or"twos,"or"ones."

3"threes" and3"twos"or "ones."

A

sequence from"one" to"six."

Each

^count as 10,

and

takeseither tbe j)ongngnn or film fa. Three

"fours" with

any

combination except those mentioned count as8,

and

take oneof the ili iin.

Four

" sixes,"4 ^"fives,"4 " threes," 4 " twos,"

or4 "ones,"with

any

combination of 2 dice except those ah-eadymen- tionedcount as4,

and

takeoneof the tsim sz\

Two

"fours"count as 2

and

take oneof the ^{l:ii yan.}

One

"four" counts as 1,

and

takes one oftile .vr(7( f.s'oi.

flflflOQQOQ

OQOQOflOQ

QQQQQOaQ QQOSQQSa

CHINESEBACKGAMMON.

(FromDeLmlisOrienlalibus. 1694,)

The

Chinese

game

similar to

backgammon,

which that accomplished scholar, Dr.

Thomas Hyde,

described in his

work

on Oriental

games

under the

name

of Chinensium Nerdiludium (

The Nerd Game

of the Chinese)^*isnot played

by

the Chinese laborers in America,nor do

any

Ihave

met

appear to be acquainted with it(fig. 4.)

According to Dr.

Hyde,

it is called

by

Chinese goan Ki,which he translates as erectns ludus, or erectorum Indus, but which might be rendered as "thebottle

game

^" or "bottlechess" go<ni {tsnn),

meaning

avase or bottle,

aud Ki

(A:'r) being a generic

name

for

games

played with

men

as^chess.

This game is played withdiceandsmall upright ^pillars,from whichthenameis derived. Theboardisdivided into eight equal parts by^{transverse lines,}and the pieces,which are from2 to 3incheshighand numberIGoneach^side,are arranged uponitwhentheplaying commences,asseeninthefigure.

Thepiecesaremovedlinebyline,accordingtothethrows withthe^dice,fromthe placesonthelefttotheeighth placeontheright,and from thenceascending'to the

*DeLudisOrientalibus. Oxford,1694,p. 65.

CHINESE GAMES WITH

DICE

AND DOMINOES. 499

oppositesideandbacktothe startingjilace, theplayerwhofirstgetsall his pieces therewinningthegame.

Two

dice arethrown,andthe piecesaremovedtothe placeswhichthennmlterof thethrowsdirects. Onemaymovewhateverpieceorpiecesonechooses, according tothenumber,eitherpieceswhich have beenmovedbefore orthosewhichhavenot yetbeenmoved. If,instead of uprightpieces,oneplayswithsmallflatdiscs,which

isalsopermitted,theymaybeplacedsidebysideor piled on top ofeach other, as seemsmostconvenient.

A

throwof 2"ones"causes a piecetobesetaside anddeliveredujias lost, or, if thegameisplayedformoney,itlosestheplayer the tenth part ofhis stakes. Who-

everthrows"twos^'or " threes^"beginsmovingtothesecondorthird lines,andso on. Ifdoublets are thrown,one maymove to the place correspondingtothe half uximber ofsuch doublets; and this

maybe

done bymoving1piece once to such halfnumber,or 2piecesatthesame timetothe placecorrespondingwith such whole number,forin thiscaseeither1or 2pieces togethermaybemoved. If"five "and

"six," which make 11,are thrown, one may move 1 piece to the fifth place and anothertothe eleventh, or else move 2 pieces at thesame timeto the tenth line or place, and then 1 of them tothe next line,which is the eleventii. And thus withresi>ect tootherthrows: If single (as"two^"and" four"), forthesinglenum- bers move as manyplaces,but ifjoined(as "five"and"six"),then otherwise,as alreadystated.

The game

of

backgammon,

played

upon

aboard of24 stations simi- larto the boards in

common

use in Spain at the present day, exists along the entire eastern coastof Asia, from

Korea

tothe

Malay

Penin- sula.

SSANG-RYOUK.

In

Korea

the

game

of

backgammon

is

known

as ssang-ryouk (Ohi^lese slu'umj Jul), doable sixes. It is played with

wooden

pins or

men

(fig. 5),calledmal(Chinese md), ^''horses,"

upon

ahollowedboard,«san^- ryouk-lipan* accordingto the throws with twodice.

The

throwsreceivethe following names:

1-1, syo-syo(Chinesesiusiii), "smallest."

1-2, tjoui-hko(Chineseshiipi),"ratnose.^' 1-3,syosdm(ChinesesUlsdm), "smalland three."

1-4,putk8(i(Chinesejja'/tsz'), "whiteandfour."

1-5,|jfliA; i(Chinesepdk'ng), " white andfive."

1-6,pdikryoiik(Chinesej>a'A;luk), "whiteaiul six."

2-2, tjoun-a(Chinesetsuna), "superiortwo."

*Hpan,the^ordusedfor"board^"inssana-ryouk, aswellasKorean chessandother Korean games,iswritten withtheChinese charactermeaning"an order,""rank,"

whichtheCantonesecallkuk. Themenareabout 31inchesinheight. I^ifteenare employed on eachside,onesetbeingpainted redandtheotherleftthe naturalcolor of thewood. Theyareusuallymadeofboxwood, but somesofterwoodisemjjloyed forthecheapersets.

Dice are called inKorean//]/0M-.9rt-«(Chinesec/u* sftrf, " vermillion," df_),andare identical inevery respect withthose of China. TheonlyotherKoreangames with dicethan ssang-ryoukwith which Iamacquainted areas follows: One which

my

informanttellsmehasnoparticularname, but which mightbecalledtjyou-sa-d-nol-ki Threeor fourboyssitaround,and oneputs apeanutorpinenuton thefloorandthe dieis thrown,thenut going totheone throwingthe highest. Theother, consists in the substitution ofacubicaldie forthefour stavesusedintheprevailingKorean gameofnymit-nol-ki.

500 REPORT OF

NATIONAF.

MUSEUM,

1893.

2-3,a8am (Chineseasdm), "twoundthree."

2-4,asd(Chiueseli sz'),"twoandfour."

2-5, loan-a (Chinesekiin a), " sovereigntwo."

2-6,arijouk(Chinese aInk), "twoandsix."

3-3, tjyang-sam (ChinesecV4imgsdm), " longthree."

3-4,samsd(Chinesesdmsz'),"threeandi'oiir."

3-5,samo(Chinesesdm'«</), "threeandfive."

3-6,samryouk (Chinesesdmluk)," threeandsix."

4-4, ijoun-hong(Chinesetsunhung), "superiorred."

4-5, sd (Chiuese^sz''ng), "fourandfive."

4-6, sd rijouk(Chinese^{s^' luk),} "fourandsix."

5-5, tjoun-o(Chinesetsun'ng), "superiorfive."

.5-6, rifoiik(Chinese'ng luk), "fiveandsix."

6-6,tjoun-riionlx (Cliinesei-iiinInk) "superiorsix."

KOREANPIECE FOli

BACKGAMMON.

SSANGRYOfK (BACKGAMMON) BOARD; KOREA.

A

diagramof the board, net as at the coimneucement of the game,

is

shown

in tig. C.

The

board liasmortised sides, which extend abont2inches abovethe surface.

The

divisionsoneitherside,calledjja^(Chinesef ^in,"helds"), are simply outlinedinblack.

The

larger ones in the middleare not countedinmoving,

and

areusedto throwthe dicein.

The

firstplayer

is determined

by

the highestthrow with 1 die.

The

pieces are

moved

aroundaccordingtothe throws, as inthe English

game

of

backgam- mon;

butitiscustomaryto

move

² pieces

when

doublets are thrown,

and

doublets do not entitle the player to another throw, nor to

any

additionalcount thanifthedicewere dissimilar.

A

^player

may

takeanopponent's piece,which

must

beagainentered, asin the English game. This is called tjap-ta,'^to catch."

When

a playergets allhis

men

around into his

home

place hebears

them

off

accordingto his subsequentthrows. •

CHINESE GAMES WITH

DICE

AND

DOMINOES.

SAKA.

501

In Siain the

game

of

backgammon

is

known

as salca,

and

isplayed

upon

a board, representedin tig. 7,with2dice.* Sixteen discs of ivory,

Fiff.7.

SAKA (liACKGAMMON) BOABD: SIA5I.

like draftsmen, are used on each side, one set being white

and

the other, red.

The

small compartments on either side of the boardare

Fig.^8.

KRABOK:CYLINDER FBOM WHICH ^DICK AKETHROWN.

(SiameseBackgammon.)

said tobe^intendedfor cowries (/>/«), which areused as counters.

The

pieces are entered, according to the throws, in theright

hand

side of the board opposite the player, aiid are

moved

around, as in our game, to the side directly opposite,

where

they are thrown off.

A

^{player does not take}

his opponent'spieces.

The

dice arenot thrown directlywith the hand, but are loaded into a tube {Iraholc) of ivory, about 3 inches in length (tig. 8), called l-rahok

saM, and

shot obliquely through another cylinderof ivory,2^ incheshigh

(tig. 9), called by the

same

name, placed

upon

the board. These implements correspond with the

Roman

fritiUus or dicebox,

and

the pyrgus, the latter

being defiuedas ''a little

wooden

tower on the side of a

gaming

board, hollow.

and

having steps inside, through wiiich the dice were thrown

upon

the board.

t

Fig.9.

CYLINDER INTOWHICH^DICE ARE THROWN.

*Dice are called inSiameselokhat. Theyare ideuticalwiththoseofChina.

tAndrews'sLatin-Englisb Lcxieou.

502 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM,

1893.

TAEAL.

A backgammou

board from Joliore, exhibited

by

His Highness the Sultauiu thecollection of

games

at the Columbian Exposition under the

name

of tabal.,is represented in fig. 10. Itis playedwith 2 dice, cladu, those exhibited being

marked

in black

and

red, like those of

Fig.10.

TABAL (BACKGAMMON) BOARD:JOHORE, MALAYPENINSULA.

(FnimsperimenintheMuseumoftheUniversityoiPennsylvania.'

China.

The name

of thegame,tabal,isdoubtlessfrom the I'ortuguese tabola orSpanish tabla,

and

^dathtfrom the PortugueseorSpanishdodo, '•a die."

SUGOROKU.

The game

described

by

r>r.

Hyde

agrees in

some

respects witli the Japanese

game

of sugorol-u, as illustrated in native encyclopedias.

In tig. 11, rei)roduced from the

Kum mo

dzu e iais ei* the board is

Fij;.11.

SUGOROKU BOARD:JAPAN.

represented as being divided intoVI parts

by

longitudinallines, wliich are broken in the middle

by

an open space similar to the ho Mi,or

"dividingriver," of theChinese chessboard. Accordingto the

same work

the 12compartments,called inJapanese me, or "eyes," symbolize

tlie12 months,

and

the black

and

whitestones,with whichthe

game

is

played,

day and

night.

*"VeryComplete Collection of Pictures to Teach tlie Uueulightened." Kiyoto, 1789, vol.4,part8,tol.5.

CHINESE GAMES WITH DICE AND

DOMINOES.

503 The moves

are

made

according to the throwsof the dice, the

name

being derivedfromthatofthe highest throw,suf/oroJcu(Chinese,s/imwp

luJc),or '-double sixes."*

tSugorolcuappears to beof great antiquityin Japan.

The Wa Kan

sdn sat statesthatit isrecorded in the Japanese

Annals

that sugoroku

was

forbidden inthe timeof Jito

Tenno

^(A, D.G87-C02),

and

thatit is

probable thatit

was

^playedin

Japan

beforethe

game

of<7ot

was

brought to thatcountry.

The same

encyclopedia, in thecareful

manner

usual in such works,

makes

a

number

of citationsfromChinese authors with reference totheorigin of thegame. Itsaysit is recorded in the

Suh

sz' ch'it that Ts'ao Chih§ of

Wei

invented svgoroliu^

and

used 2dice forit, butat the

end

ofthe

Tang

dynasty (A.D. 618-013),the

number

ofdice

was

increased to 6.

Itiswritten intheWii tsah tsu that sugorolu is a

game

that

was

originallyplayedin

Hu

(Japanese, Ko), the country of theTartars. It relatesthatthe

King

of

Hu had

a brother

who was

put to deatlifora crime.

While

in prison he

made

the

game

of sugoroku

and

sent itto his father,writingwithit afewwordsin orderto

make known how men

are'oppressed

by

others

when

they aresingle

and

weak.

The Ngau

^lui yau states that sugoraku

came

Irom theT'ien Chuh,

''India.''

The name

of stigorolu is applied at the jiresent

day

in

Japan

to various

games

played

upon

boards or diagrams, inwhich the

moves

are

made by

throwing dice.||

Of

these there are

many

kinds,

among

*Sugorokuisalsocalledrokiisai,aswillbeseenfromthenamesappendedtofig.11.

tChess,bywhiclitlie gameof 360men,halfblack and half white,called bythe Chinesetvai k'i ismeant.

JIamnnable to identify either this or the two followingworks quoted in the

Wa

Kansansai.

^Ts'aoChih(A.D. 192-232)was the third son of the great usurper, Ts'auTs'au,

whooverthrewtheHan dynasty. Hewas distinguished byprecocious talentand poetical genius, and devoted himselfwhollyto literary diversions*. (The Chinese Reader'sManual, No.759.)

IIThe name isalso appliedtoat leastonesimple dicegameinwhichno boardor diagramisused. Mr. Kajiwarainforms me tliat in theProvince ofAomori,acom- mon gamewith2dice is called ichi-san suyoroku; so called from the name of the highestthrow, ieliisan, "one, three."

Japanese dice atthe present dayusuallyhave their 6 faces markedwith black dots. Those used by gamblers are said to be larger than the kind employedin popular amusements. The dice games are said to vary in dift'erent parts of the Empire. Japanesesailorsin

New

YorkCity play agamewith2dice called

cM

han,

"evenandodd." Theythrow2diceundera cup. The even throws are calledcho andthe odd han. The players,two or morein number,betontheevenoroddby

callingoutandlayingtheirwagersbeforethemwhilethecup remainsinverted over thedice. Theyuse foreignplayingcards cutlengthwisein stripsandtied inbundles of 10ascounters,instead of money; acustomthatthey sayhasitsoriginintheuse of thenarrow Japanese playingcards, orbambootalliesathome for this purpose.

The same game, under^the same name, calledbytheChinese dieumj pun, isknown

totheCantoneselaborersintheUnitedStatesasacommongameinChina.