Backgammon is one of the most ancient games in recorded human
civilisation, dating back some 5-6000 years ago in Persia.
According
to various legends, the game reached China during the Two Han Dynasties
(ca. 200 B.C. to 200 A.D.) From there on, the game enjoyed an immense
popularity in China for 1400 years, throughout all the Dynasties that
came and went in between.
Backgammon’s popularity in China
was at its height during the Tang Dynasty (ca. 700 A.D.) The game not
only pervaded the royal court and amongst the noble and rich, but it was
also played enthusiastically amongst ordinary folk. One can see the
shadow of backgammon in the volumes of literature from that period.
There were even anecdotes of Empress Wu Zhe Tian playing backgammon with
her Prime Minister Di Ren Jie while discussing state affairs.
Confucius
was recorded as having invited Xiang Tuo to play a game of backgammon in
“The Debates between Confucius and Xiang Tuo”.
Zhou Fang’s
painting “Princess Yang Gui Fei disrupting backgammon”, brings to life
the vivid scene of Princess Yang Gui Fei disrupting a game of backgammon
by releasing her white parrot, causing chaos, seeing that her Emperor
Tang Xuan Zong was losing in a backgammon game against his opponent.
In the Yuan (Mongolian) Dynasty (1271 - 1368 A.D.), backgammon was a
game for the intellectuals and dandies, and poets, lyricists,
scriptwriters have all sung praises of backgammon in their respective
works. In “Jin Pin Mei” (“Plum of the Golden Vase”, a major work in
classic Chinese literature) backgammon appeared frequently and was
clearly a favourite game amongst the fashionable and elites of society
then.
It was during the early years of the Qing Dynasty
(1616 - 1912 A.D.) that backgammon began to disappear in China. Even
then, in “Hong Lou Meng” (“Dreams of the Red Mansion”, another major
work of classic Chinese literature) there remain copious references to
backgammon being played in everyday life at the time. Emperor Qian
Long’s own intricate and lavish backgammon set is on display in the
“Gu Gong” (“Ancient palace”) Museum in Beijing. Today, in 2023, very few people in China know how to play this
game, and most people have not even heard of it.
In May 2023, Macao Backgammon Association Joins World
Backgammon Federation as China Representative!
In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127 - 1279 A.D.), the
book “Pu Shuang” (or “Cataloging backgammon”) by Hong Zun recorded
many different types of backgammon being played with different
rules, number of pieces, the patterns on the board, or table, or
carpet, and the Chinese regional names given to each of these
variants.
Backgammon is one of the most ancient games in recorded human
civilisation, dating back some 5-6000 years ago in Persia.
According
to various legends, the game reached China during the Two Han Dynasties
(ca. 200 B.C. to 200 A.D.) From there on, the game enjoyed an immense
popularity in China for 1400 years, throughout all the Dynasties that
came and went in between.
Backgammon’s popularity in China
was at its height during the Tang Dynasty (ca. 700 A.D.) The game not
only pervaded the royal court and amongst the noble and rich, but it was
also played enthusiastically amongst ordinary folk. One can see the
shadow of backgammon in the volumes of literature from that period.
There were even anecdotes of Empress Wu Zhe Tian playing backgammon with
her Prime Minister Di Ren Jie while discussing state affairs.
Confucius
was recorded as having invited Xiang Tuo to play a game of backgammon in
“The Debates between Confucius and Xiang Tuo”.
Zhou Fang’s
painting “Princess Yang Gui Fei disrupting backgammon”, brings to life
the vivid scene of Princess Yang Gui Fei disrupting a game of backgammon
by releasing her white parrot, causing chaos, seeing that her Emperor
Tang Xuan Zong was losing in a backgammon game against his opponent.
In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127 - 1279 A.D.), the
book “Pu Shuang” (or “Cataloging backgammon”) by Hong Zun recorded
many different types of backgammon being played with different
rules, number of pieces, the patterns on the board, or table, or
carpet, and the Chinese regional names given to each of these
variants.
In the Yuan (Mongolian) Dynasty (1271 - 1368 A.D.), backgammon was a
game for the intellectuals and dandies, and poets, lyricists,
scriptwriters have all sung praises of backgammon in their respective
works. In “Jin Pin Mei” (“Plum of the Golden Vase”, a major work in
classic Chinese literature) backgammon appeared frequently and was
clearly a favourite game amongst the fashionable and elites of society
then.
It was during the early years of the Qing Dynasty
(1616 - 1912 A.D.) that backgammon began to disappear in China. Even
then, in “Hong Lou Meng” (“Dreams of the Red Mansion”, another major
work of classic Chinese literature) there remain copious references to
backgammon being played in everyday life at the time. Emperor Qian
Long’s own intricate and lavish backgammon set is on display in the
“Gu Gong” (“Ancient palace”) Museum in Beijing. Today, in 2023, very few people in China know how to play this
game, and most people have not even heard of it.
Present
In May 2023, Macao Backgammon Association Joins World
Backgammon Federation as China Representative!
Backgammon is one of the most ancient games in recorded human
civilisation, dating back some 5-6000 years ago in Persia.
According
to various legends, the game reached China during the Two Han
Dynasties (ca. 200 B.C. to 200 A.D.) From there on, the game enjoyed
an immense popularity in China for 1400 years, throughout all the
Dynasties that came and went in between.
Backgammon’s
popularity in China was at its height during the Tang Dynasty (ca. 700
A.D.) The game not only pervaded the royal court and amongst the noble
and rich, but it was also played enthusiastically amongst ordinary
folk. One can see the shadow of backgammon in the volumes of
literature from that period. There were even anecdotes of Empress Wu
Zhe Tian playing backgammon with her Prime Minister Di Ren Jie while
discussing state affairs.
Confucius was recorded as having invited Xiang Tuo to play a game of
backgammon in “The Debates between Confucius and Xiang Tuo”. Zhou Fang’s painting “Princess Yang Gui Fei disrupting
backgammon”, brings to life the vivid scene of Princess Yang Gui Fei
disrupting a game of backgammon by releasing her white parrot, causing
chaos, seeing that her Emperor Tang Xuan Zong was losing in a
backgammon game against his opponent.
In the Southern Song Dynasty (1127 - 1279 A.D.), the
book “Pu Shuang” (or “Cataloging backgammon”) by Hong Zun recorded
many different types of backgammon being played with different
rules, number of pieces, the patterns on the board, or table, or
carpet, and the Chinese regional names given to each of these
variants.
In the Yuan (Mongolian) Dynasty (1271 - 1368 A.D.), backgammon was a
game for the intellectuals and dandies, and poets, lyricists,
scriptwriters have all sung praises of backgammon in their respective
works. In “Jin Pin Mei” (“Plum of the Golden Vase”, a major work in
classic Chinese literature) backgammon appeared frequently and was
clearly a favourite game amongst the fashionable and elites of society
then.
It was during the early years of the Qing Dynasty
(1616 - 1912 A.D.) that backgammon began to disappear in China. Even
then, in “Hong Lou Meng” (“Dreams of the Red Mansion”, another major
work of classic Chinese literature) there remain copious references to
backgammon being played in everyday life at the time. Emperor Qian
Long’s own intricate and lavish backgammon set is on display in the
“Gu Gong” (“Ancient palace”) Museum in Beijing. Today, in 2023, very few people in China know how to play this
game, and most people have not even heard of it.
In May 2023, Macao Backgammon Association Joins World
Backgammon Federation as China Representative!
