The Invention of Playing Cards in China and Their Arrival in Europe

The Invention of Playing Cards in China and Their Arrival in Europe PDF Author: John Oxenham Goodman
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781539507024
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 54

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Book Description
This book contains 37 coloured illustrations and takes us through the history of playing cards from their invention in China to their appearance in Europe in the 13th Century. It describes how the development of paper playing cards was made possible by the Chinese invention of paper in 105 AD and how wood block printing simplified the manufacture of cards. Then paper money was introduced in the 11th Century followed by the use of monetary denominations for the 4 suits of cards. There are colour illustrations of Ming Dynasty bank notes showing their similarity to early playing cards. Then we are taken to the 13th Century when Marco Polo and other Italian merchants travelled to China on the Silk Road and saw people playing card games. They took the new invention back to Europe but, because they could neither speak nor read Chinese well, they misinterpreted many of its features. Kings, queens, knights and pages appeared on European cards instead of the Chinese images of strings of coins and popular outlaws who rebelled against the government of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). The Chinese idea of money cards largely disappeared in Europe with the suit of coins in Tarot and Italian cards being the sole survivor. Meanwhile in China one of the 4 suits was abandoned and solid blocks in the form of Mahjong tiles appeared in 1864, but the paper cards from which they were derived continue in use today. Colour pictures of early Chinese cards and bank notes as well as early Mahjong tiles are accompanied by explanations which help the reader understand the history of playing cards. Links of 16th Century Ma Diao cards to the Tarot suits and to the 5 Chinese and ancient Greek elements are shown in charts and tables. The Chinese names of the Major Arcana are also listed with astrological connections.

The Invention of Playing Cards in China and Their Arrival in Europe

The Invention of Playing Cards in China and Their Arrival in Europe PDF Author: John Oxenham Goodman
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781539507024
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 54

Get Book Here

Book Description
This book contains 37 coloured illustrations and takes us through the history of playing cards from their invention in China to their appearance in Europe in the 13th Century. It describes how the development of paper playing cards was made possible by the Chinese invention of paper in 105 AD and how wood block printing simplified the manufacture of cards. Then paper money was introduced in the 11th Century followed by the use of monetary denominations for the 4 suits of cards. There are colour illustrations of Ming Dynasty bank notes showing their similarity to early playing cards. Then we are taken to the 13th Century when Marco Polo and other Italian merchants travelled to China on the Silk Road and saw people playing card games. They took the new invention back to Europe but, because they could neither speak nor read Chinese well, they misinterpreted many of its features. Kings, queens, knights and pages appeared on European cards instead of the Chinese images of strings of coins and popular outlaws who rebelled against the government of the Northern Song Dynasty (960-1127). The Chinese idea of money cards largely disappeared in Europe with the suit of coins in Tarot and Italian cards being the sole survivor. Meanwhile in China one of the 4 suits was abandoned and solid blocks in the form of Mahjong tiles appeared in 1864, but the paper cards from which they were derived continue in use today. Colour pictures of early Chinese cards and bank notes as well as early Mahjong tiles are accompanied by explanations which help the reader understand the history of playing cards. Links of 16th Century Ma Diao cards to the Tarot suits and to the 5 Chinese and ancient Greek elements are shown in charts and tables. The Chinese names of the Major Arcana are also listed with astrological connections.

Facts and Speculations on the Origin and History of Playing Cards

Facts and Speculations on the Origin and History of Playing Cards PDF Author: William Andrew Chatto
Publisher: London : J.R. Smith
ISBN:
Category : Sports & Recreation
Languages : en
Pages : 424

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Book Description


Playing Cards and Their Story

Playing Cards and Their Story PDF Author: George Beal
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Card games
Languages : en
Pages : 128

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Book Description
"Playing cards have a very long history. They are known to have existed from early times in China and an encyclopedia gives year 1120 AD as the date of their invention. It is likely that playing cards appeared in Europe in the late fourteenth century and their variety of design is correspondingly great. George Beal has collected hundreds of examples and explains their origins and details with a full text and thirty-seven plates and ninety additional illustrations. Eight of the plates are in color."--Dust jacket.

A History of Playing Cards and a Bibliography of Cards and Gaming

A History of Playing Cards and a Bibliography of Cards and Gaming PDF Author: Catherine Perry Hargrave
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781258455422
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 518

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Book Description


A Cultural History of Tarot

A Cultural History of Tarot PDF Author: Helen Farley
Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
ISBN: 0857711822
Category : Religion
Languages : en
Pages : 286

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Book Description
The enigmatic and richly illustrative tarot deck reveals a host of strange and iconic mages, such as The Tower, The Wheel of Fortune, The Hanged Man and The Fool: over which loom the terrifying figures of Death and The Devil. The 21 numbered playing cards of tarot have always exerted strong fascination, way beyond their original purpose, and the multiple resonances of the deck are ubiquitous. From T S Eliot and his 'wicked pack of cards' in "The Waste Land" to the psychic divination of Solitaire in Ian Fleming's "Live and Let Die"; and from the satanic novels of Dennis Wheatley to the deck's adoption by New Age practitioners, the cards have in modern times become inseparably connected to the occult. They are now viewed as arguably the foremost medium of prophesying and foretelling. Yet, as the author shows, originally the tarot were used as recreational playing cards by the Italian nobility in the Renaissance. It was only much later, in the 18th and 19th centuries, that the deck became associated with esotericism before evolving finally into a diagnostic tool for mind, body and spirit. This is the first book to explore the remarkably varied ways in which tarot has influenced culture. Tracing the changing patterns of the deck's use, from game to mysterious oracular device, Helen Farley examines tarot's emergence in 15th century Milan and discusses its later associations with astrology, kabbalah and the Age of Aquarius.

The History of Playing Cards

The History of Playing Cards PDF Author: Edward Samuel Taylor
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Card games
Languages : en
Pages : 652

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Book Description


A History of Playing Cards

A History of Playing Cards PDF Author: Roger Tilley
Publisher: Clarkson Potter
ISBN:
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 200

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Book Description


Fortune Stars, Immortals and Dragon Sons

Fortune Stars, Immortals and Dragon Sons PDF Author: John Oxenham Goodman
Publisher: Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
ISBN: 9781973812500
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 164

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Book Description
I recently employed Chinese symbolism in producing five newly designed packs of cards. Images of all of the cards were published by Amazon, introducing new concepts in the design of playing cards. Now I have progressed further in designing three more card packs largely inspired by Chinese culture. The first game in this book, Fortune Stars, is based on my drawings of the Five Stars of Good Fortune, Lu Xing the Star of Emolument and High Salaries, Fu Xing the Star of Good Fortune, Shou Xing the Star of Longevity, Xi Shen the God of Happiness and Cai Shen the God of Wealth. I have emphasized the relationship of these five with the Five Elements of ancient Chinese Daoism in their Generating Arrangement which in turn can be related to the five ancient Greek Elements (including Ether or Spirit). The alignment of these concepts goes further and includes the five seasons, directions, and mountains of Daoism as well as the Five Great Ancient Capitals of China. The Four Great Heavenly Kings found in most Chinese temples and the Earth God plus the five legendary emperors of ancient China are additional groups of five forming suits in this new card pack. Then the five Chinese planets known in antiquity, together with the five Western planets, are aligned with the five animals of the Fortune Stars and their five symbols of prosperity. Finally the five auspicious animals, including the mythical qi lin, golden money toad and dragon tortoise, contribute to this new concept in playing cards making 14 suits in all, with 5 cards in each displaying vivid images of Chinese culture. The next pack of cards in this book, Immortals, is devoted to the Eight Immortals of Daoism together with their Eight Ritual Implements. These are then related to the Eight Auspicious Buddhist Treasures as well as the Eight Trigrams (or Ba Gua) of Earlier Heaven and Later Heaven and the Eight Martial Arts Trigrams. They make 6 suits of eight cards in a colourful game, shining light on deeply held Chinese beliefs of a thousand years ago, many of which continue to sustain credence today. The third pack of cards, Dragon Sons, has five suits with nine cards in each. One suit contains images of the Nine Sons of the Dragon, many of which are still visible as sculptures on rooftops and in doorways of ancient buildings. A second suit displays images of the Nine Great Emperors representing the Nine Northern Dipper Stars. The third and fourth suits are devoted to the Nine Chinese Imperial Civil and Military Rank insignia. These large, colourful, rank badges, measuring about 10 or 11 inches square, covered the chest of senior Chinese civil and military personnel up to 1911 when the Qing Dynasty was overthrown. They may interest collectors of military insignia and students of the armed forces and uniforms of the old imperial powers. Then a fifth suit displays the Chinese single-digit numbers 1 to 9 which are found on mah-jong tiles. Those who have previously purchased The Invention of Playing Cards in China, their Arrival in Europe and their Role in the Development of Mahjong or New Concepts in Playing Cards and Tarot: Five Newly Designed Packs of Cards with Chinese Symbolism, may like to include this new volume in their collection.

The Oxford Guide to Card Games

The Oxford Guide to Card Games PDF Author: David Parlett
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN:
Category : Games & Activities
Languages : en
Pages : 420

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Book Description
Imported from the Mamluks of Egypt, card games first hit Europe around 1371 and within ten years had spread from Spain and Italy to France and Germany. By 1420, German and Swiss cardmakers were producing packs by the thousands (first by stencil, later by metal engraving) marked with a bewildering array of suits, including hounds, bears, parrots, roses, helmets, banners, and bells. Games proliferated as well, and by 1534, Rabelais could name 35 different card games in Chapter 22 of Gargantua. Today, of course, there are thousands of games, from the universally popular Poker and Contract Bridge, to national manias such as Swiss Jass, German Skat, and French Belote. This is a historical guide to cards in Europe and America. This is not primarily a book of rules or hints on how to play better, but a survey of where the games originated, how they have developed over time, and what their rituals and etiquette tell us about the people who play them.

Researches Into the History of Playing Cards

Researches Into the History of Playing Cards PDF Author: Samuel Weller Singer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Card games
Languages : en
Pages : 450

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Book Description
Investigaciones acerca de la historia de las cartas de juego, con ilustraciones del origen de la impresiĆ³n y el grabado en madera.