状元筹 Zhuang Yuan Chou -- A Chinese dice game

This post is about a rather charming Chinese gambling game, called 状元筹 Zhuangyuan Chou. A rough translation of the name would be "Scholar's lots",

I had seen images of these tallies some years ago. I was intrigued with these strange objects, each inscribed with the name of a class in the Chinese hierarchy of scholar-bureaucrats. What curious game could be played with these things, I wondered.  One day, ( around Chinese new year in 2013, I think) I went to a Mahjongg shop. After shopping for a while, I inquired about a certain "Zhuangyuan" game. Much to my surprise, the proprietor produced this selfsame set of tallies from a shelf. It was the only set left. Despite the rather steep price of $100, I bought the tallies. This was fortunate. The shop closed down a few years later

The apparatus for this game consists of a set of 63 tallies, or jetons and six dice. We shall first describe the tallies:

The largest tally is labelled 状元, Zhuangyuan (A), and is worth 32 points ( The inscription 三十二注, sanshiliu zhu at the foot of the tally means"32 points" in Chinese）.It is yellow in color, and has an inscription in red. This is the only tally with this value. It plays a special role in the game. 

The next largest tallies are labelled 旁眼, Pangyan (B) and 探花 Tanhua (C) Each is worth 16 points. The former is red, the latter a deep maroon. Like the Zhuangyuan tally, at the feet of these tallies is the inscription 十六注 Shiliu Zhu-- 16 points. 

These are followed by four tallies marked 会元, Huiyuan . (D) In real life, the tallies are a fetching neon green in colour. Unfortunately this colour does not show up well in the scan. Each tally is worth 8 points.

Next in line are eight scarlet tallies, labelled 進士Jinshi(E)   These tallies are worth 4 points each. 

Then there are 16 blue tallies, labelled , 举人,Juren (F)　and worth 2 points each.  

Last in line are 32 white tallies, each labelled  秀才Xiucai (G)  and worth one point each

It should be noted that for each halving in the value of the tally, there is a doubling in the number of tallies. The total value of these 63 tallies is 192. 

***

It is honestly quite hard to explain the significance of the ranks to a non-Chinese audience. You must remember that this game is actually about exams. For over a millennia, the Chinese have had an extremely well-developed (and grueling) system of exams, called the Keju. To say this exam played a significant role in Chinese is somewhat of an understatement. For many, it was the only way to get a job in the civil service, and hence respectable society. The exam has even entered popular myth. Indeed, the Chinese even have a god of exams, Wenchang 文昌. 

To get the rank of highest scholar in the country, 状元 ( Zhuang yuan) was an immense honor, an express ticket into the upper class. Even though the exams were abolished in 1905, till this day, Chinese newspaper reports on more mundane exams ( A-Levels, O-Levels, International baccalaureate) still refer to the top scorers as Zhuangyuan

***

 The rules for this game are based on three sources: C.T. Dobree's The gambling games of Malaya and the Chinese Baidu article on the game. (http://baike.baidu.com/view/360732.html).

The game is simple. Between three to eight persons may play. The only equipment required are six dice, a bowl, and the tallies. At each person's turn, the player drops the six dice into a bowl. He notes the combination of numbers the dice have generated. He then takes tallies from the pool, corresponding to the scores shown in the table below. 

Dice combination.	Take tallies worth.
One 4	1
Two 4s	2
Three 4s	16
Four 4s	32
Five 4s	64
Any Four-of-a-kind, except four 4s	4
A pair of 4s, 5s or 6s	16
The numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6	16
“How Tuck” 巧得= Qiao de *	32
Five-of-a-kind	32
Six-of-a-Kind	192 (GAME)
*A four-of-a-kind; with the remaining two dice adding to the same number as the one repeated. E.G [3,3,3,3,2,1], [6,6,6,6,3,3] [2,2,2,2,1,1]  "How Tuck" is the Cantonese pronunciation of 巧得. In Mandarin it is Qiao De. The term means "Chance gain"

The player then takes the requisite number of tallies from the pool. There are a certain number of niceties regarding the game. 

* When four 4s are scored, the player takes the 32-point tally 状元 and the pair of 16-point tallies  旁眼(B) and 探花(C) from their previous owners

* If a player throws a five-of-a-kind, (other than five 4s) he takes the 32-point tally from its previous owner (if any)

The baidu article agrees with Dobree's description, but adds a few more rules. 

* There is another combination, a pair of 1s, 2, or 3s. The Baidu article tells us that this combination wins you the marker labelled 旁眼. This combination is also nicknamed 大马军-- Big cavalier. 

* A pair of 4s, 5s or 6s wins you the marker labelled 探花. This combination is also nicknamed 小马军-- Little cavalier. 

* If a player throws five 4s,  He  takes the 32-point marker from its previous owner, even if the previous owner has scored a four-of-a-kind. This is in contrast to Dobree's rules, where you win 64 points from such a combination. 

Once all the tallies have been used up, the game ends. The number 192 ( the total value of all the tallies)  is averaged between the number of players. Players who score below  the aforementioned average pay to those who score above average. They pay to the winners the difference between their scores and the average,

***

The inscriptions on the tallies are shown below. The text has been transcribed, Top-to bottom, Right-to left. 

On the Zhuangyuan (A) 狀元/ 四紅巧合獨德五子/五紅奪色六子全

On the Pangyan (B)旁眼/ 大小军馬/分双順淂/ 

On the Tanhua (C) 探花/ 大小军馬/分双順淂

 The author has labored to make sense of the tallies, but could not make any sense from them. The text as engraved seems to be a set of rules for the game, specifying what dice combinations are needed to acquire the tally they are written on.

The text uses a lot of variant characters, so for example 淂 instead of 得(both meaning "To get")  and 収 instead of 收 ("To recieve"). In addition, The third character in the  left-hand row of the Zhuangyuan tally is hard to make out, but based on images of similar tallies online, it is probably奪 

If any reader may decypher the tallies, the author will be most delighted 

***

Below are scans from Dobree's orginial work on the game. Of especual note is the photograph depicting the counters from Dobree's day. Clearly the overall shape of the counters has not changed much in the half century since the book was published. The only major difference is the Zhuangyuan tally, which is made of dark-coloured material 

Tehonbiki

The game of tehonbiki is certanly a most curious one, and one with a very shady reputation in Japan. However, if we are to understand the game ,  we must first explain the perculiar apparatus used in playing it. Two decks of cards are used, the "harifuda" and the "mamefuda".

"Mamefuda" ( 豆札) , "大將軍" ,  48c. ( 6 x 8)  +  blank card

The whole series of Mamefuda, 1-6 ( L to R)

The deck of mamefuda consists of a series of 6 cards, numbered from 1-6 , repeated ( at least in the present example) eight times, to yeild a deck of 48 cards. As the cardstock is pretty thick, when the cards are stacked up, the stack is 7.5 centimeters high. However,  the whole deck of cards isnt used in the game, but only one series of such cards.
 The cards have several curious features. For one, the ce resembles a dragon. This is significant as the oldest japanese cards feature such an animal on the aces. Whilst in most other decks, this animal has been transformed into an unintelligable squiggle, here is remains more or less recogniable. Furthermore, the cards are much, much smaller than the usual Japanese cards. The cards are only 2.5 by 4.5cm. That makes them slightly smaller than a man's thumb. Otherwise, the cards more or less resemble the suit of coins in other japanese decks. For example, the 2s are framed, as well as the central pip of the 5.

The next deck of cards used are the "harifuda"

"Harifuda" (張札) , "大將軍" , 42c. ( 7 x 6)

one series of harifuda. 1 to 6 ( L-R)

This deck also follows the same structure as the mamefuda, comprising of a series of six subjects repeated several times. However, this time, the values of the cards are given by a series of stylized chinese numbers. If you compare the above cards with the chinese numbers from 1 to 6, as below, the connection is clear:

一 二 三 四 五 六

Another curious feature is the red lines that appear on some of the cards. The one has a red line, the 2 and 3 have two and three lines respectivley, the four has none, the five has a red semicircle on the top and bottom edges of the cards, and the six has similar deocration in each of it's corners. I guess that this decoaration functioned as a form of index for the cards

 Here is an old uncut sheet of harifuda. Notice that the odd numbers here are printed in red, and the even numbers black. Also note that the six has the maker's name written on a banner between it's "legs"

Another piece of apparatus used is the memoku, or 目木. Rather confusingly they are also refered to as the "Mefuda". These are blocks of wood with the numbers of the harifuda inscribed on them. They are placed in numerical order before the banker, and are used to indicate his preference

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 My understanding of the rules cheifly comes from Andy Polett's marvellous website
(http://l-pollett.tripod.com/cards70.htm) , and the actions of the propreitor of the cardshop from which I bought the cards from.

 The game of tehonbiki is certanly a most curious game, and can be said to be little more than a game of dice transferred to cards. This fact becomse more obvious when you consider the structure of the deck ( 1 to 6, as per dice) , and the manner in which it is played.
 
 The dealer first takes one series of mamefuda, and shuffles the six cards. He does so hidden from view, either in his pocket or with his hands behind his back, the small size of the mamefuda helping him in the process. Once it has been shuffled, a card is withdrawn , and placed under a piece of cloth. He does not look at its value.
The players now attempt to guess the value of the card that the bank has chosen. The player use the harifuda to indicate which card they bet is the one under the cloth . They do so by arranging the harifuda in various ways, and by these arrangements, the bets are made. The system of betting is too complicated to be shown here in detail, but the pariculars may be found on Mr. Polett's website.
 The bank then makes his own preference, by placing one of the Memoku to the right of the row.
The cloth is then uncovered, and the bets paid out.
 I am also told that the game is indeed in very ill repute, but rather surprisingly, one may find examples of these decks ( or at least the Harifuda) more easily than mekuri decks, or indeed kabufuda. I belive that some of these decks may have been ordered in error, as the spelling of Harifuda and Hanafuda is so close.

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.