Chinese domino cards

[Chinese Domino cards], Anon, 84c. 

紙骨牌，無名，84副

 Now we come to another sort of Domino cards, These cards are made by an anonymous manufacturer, and purchased from a shop in Hubei, China. This particular deck contains 21 subjects. There are 4 copies of each subject, thus 84 cards. 

The most notable feature of the cards is their central character. Rather than histoical figures, we have simple doodles of men, engaged in various martial poses. 

The [6-6] card (First from right) depicts an image of a youth in a red robe, carrying a staff. This figure is the only one printed in two colours, reflecting the card's status as the highest in the pack. 

Meanwhile, the two next highest cards [1,1] and [4,4] (2nd and 3rd from Right) Each contain a Chinese phrase. On the [1,1]is .祝你好运," Wishing you Good Luck"

  On the [4,4] is 恭喜发财,the ubiquitous Chinese New Year Greeting " Gongxi Facai", or in Cantonese, Kung Hei Fat Choy. It literally means "Congratulations; may you prosper"

You may notice that subjects which possess red and black pips, have the figure printed in Red. Those that possess only black pips have the figure printed in black. 

The balds heads of the characters remind one of the Monks of Shaolin Monastery, celebrated for its "Fighting Monks"  Only one of the characters, [on the 4,2] has a sort of heddress. 

恭喜發財/祝你好運

Kung Hei Fat Choy/ Wishing you good luck

The author wishes all his readers a prosperous Chinese New Year

Long cards 5 -- (Double faced Nantong pattern)

[Double faced Nantong Pattern], Rugao city First poker-card factory, 120c+5.
花王紙牌， 如臯市撲克牌一廠120c+5

The following pattern is made by the same maker as Nantong pattern referred to earlier.
The pattern appears to be a double-faced version of the Nantong pattern. I have yet to find any information about this pattern in the literature.

The suit of coins. Looking at the Nantong pattern, it is clear these patterns share a family resemblance. The most notable difference is the size of the printed area. In the standard Nantong pattern, the printed image occupies half the card's area, unlike the present deck. 

The cards are of a "Double ended" design, a feature best seen in the ace and  Bai Hua card. Note the Yin-yang symbol on the card. It appears both as a motif in the centre, as well as a red stamp 

The suit of strings, I apologize that some of the cards (7,5,5 and 3) are displayed upside-down.

On the 8 of strings the maker's name is shown in small characters (hua wang)

The suit of myriads Like the Nantong pattern, the cards' values are displayed using dots. Here the double ended feature is most in evidence. Comparing the cards with those of the standard Nantong pattern reveals a sort of family resemblance, but the cards are not identical. Notably, the pips are the mirror image of those in the Nantong deck.

The Jokers in the deck. Like the other Nantong pattern,  there are five Jokers, each named 福, (Fortune) ,祿(Rank) ,壽, (Longevity) ,喜( Joy) , 財(wealth)   But the jokers in this deck are all named 百塔, and bear the same motif. By contrast, In the single-faced Nantong deck,one of the Jokers (labelled 喜, Joy ) is labelled 小先生-- Little Sir