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

Chinese Domino cards- "十五湖"

Chinese domino cards- "十五湖" , "Double fish"- 84c.

 We now come to a Most rare and curious deck- The chinese domino cards, or 十五湖 as they are known in that language. I am informed that the cards are cheifly used by the cantonese, But even then, the use of this cards ( at least in singapore, where I got them) is practically extinct. The keeper of the shop informed me that I was the first person under 50 who had inquired about this deck, and after a long and exhaustive search, finally found them
 But, to proceed. The deck consists of 21 individual cards, each repeated 4 times, making for a total of 84 cards.The 21 cards are based on the 21 possible throws of a pair of dice.

Note the following features-
1- the ones and fours are coloured red.
2- The cards are divided into 2 halves by a small picture. In some cases, this is a pair of fishes (the brand name), but in some cases, we see the name "天生"- presuedly the company's name. Other pictures include swimmers, dogs, and flowers. These other vinigettes reflect the nicknames of the combinations. For example, the 5-5 is known as "the plum-blossom"- on that card, we see a little flower. Likewise, the 1-2, is called "the chicken"( 么雞三), and so has a that animal on it. However, not all the card's nicknmes are featured, and in other cases, pictures have been inserted that bear no relavance to the card's name.