#History

A Song-era book entitled 除紅譜 Manual for Excluding Reds which is attributed to one Zhū Hé (朱河)According to the Preface, a descendent of Zhū Guāngtíng, a famous politician of the Song dynasty. contains the standard rules for the game. There was a later minor expansion to this text called the 除紅譜序 Preface to the Manual for Excluding Reds which was authored in 1368 by 杨维桢 Yáng Wéizhēn (1296–1370).

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The instructional text forms part of the 說郛 Shuōfú collectionSee ⁨除紅譜⁩ [Chú Hóng Pǔ] for a 1646 edition. and can subsequently be found included as part of it in the Qing-era 四庫全書 Sìkù Quánshū imperial book collection. It also appears in 茅一相 Máo Yīxiāng’s Ming-era continuation of the 欣賞編/欣赏续 Compilation of Enjoyable Texts, in some editions with Yáng’s preface and in others without.

For reference purposes, an example reproduction of this book can be found in ⁨叢書集成續編⁩ [Complete Collection of Books, Continued] (p. 609–20) and the transcribed text of the Sìkù Quánshū version can be seen on WikiSource.

The game is related to another Chinese dice game about horse racing called Dǎ Mǎ; many of the dice rolls have the same names. The difference is that Chú Hóng is played only for money or points, not to move a piece around the board.

#Play

Any number can play this game, which requires four normal dice. Each player in turn rolls the dice. There are three possible outcomes: an instant win, an instant penalty, or 賽色 sài sè ‘dice competition’ where the player wins or loses according to the previous player’s roll.

The rewards are given in terms of 帖 tiē which here has a meaning of a stake (determined before playing the game) which is won or lost to a central pot. Alcoholic drinks or sexual favours could also be used as stakes, and this is mentioned in the original instructions.

My version of the rules is as follows:My only source for the method of play is [C], so this description might be somewhat inaccurate; I read neither modern nor middle Chinese! I know for certain that the introductory section of the book is not properly included here. on a player’s turn they roll all four dice, and repeat this until they roll at least one or another of the special scoring combinations. If it is an instant win or loss they take or pay that many stakes to the central pool. If the result is a ‘dice competition’ then they compare the number (sum of the three other dice) to the previous ‘dice competition’ result. If their roll is higher they win 2 stakes, if equal then they win 1 stake, and if lesser, they pay 1 stake.

Firstly, there are special outcomes for rolling quadruples, ‘red’ triples, or two pairs:

Group	Roll	Name	Translation	Outcome
Quads		滿園春		Win 6×
		混江龍		Win 5×
		碧牡丹
		雁行兒
		拍板兒
		滿盆星
Triple		花心動		Win 5×
		蝶戀花		Win 4×
		紅衫兒
		錦上花
		銷金帳
+Pair		紅葉兒	Red Leaves	Win 3×
Special		節節髙	Successively Higher	Win 3×
Two Pairs	,	素葉兒	Plain Leaves	Win 2×

If only one was rolled, the outcome is based upon the sum of the other three dice; this is how the name of the game is derived, as the ‘red’ is excluded from the calculation. If the sum is above 12 it is a winning roll; if below 9 it is a losing roll:

Sum	Roll	Name	Translation	Outcome
18		得勝令	Chant of Victory	Win 5×
17		皂羅袍	Silky Robe	Win 3×
16		雪兒梅	Snow Plum	Win 1×
15		永團圓	Eternal Reunion
15		皂[雕/鵰]旗
14		穿花鳯	Wearing-Flowers Phoenix
14		鐵道冠
13		點絳唇		Win 2×
13		鳯歸雲
13		埜雞頸	Pheasant Neck	Win 3×
12		十二時	12 o’clock	Win 4×
12		鷓鴣天		賽色
12		巫山一段雲
11		鵲踏枝
11		梅梢月
11		画眉不盡?
10		夾十兒	Squeezed 10
10		撮十兒	Pinched 10
10		落梅花
9		女冠子
9		一剪梅
9		鎖南枝
9		柳葉兒	Willow Leaves	Lose 4×
8		鎖頂八	Lock Top 8	Lose 3×
8		睜眼八	Open Eyes 8	Lose 2×
8		[雁/鴈]兒八	Wild Goose 8
7		川七兒	River 7	Lose 1×
7		白七兒	Staring 7
7		夾七兒	Squeezed 7
6		要孩兒	Wanting a Child	Lose 3×
6		粉蝶兒	White Butterfly	Lose 1×
5		五供養	5 Offerings
5		葫蘆兒	Gourd
4		咬牙四	Gnashing Teeth 4	Lose 3×
3		快活三	Cheerful 3	Lose 5×

#References

1. ⁨Elvin⁩, ⁨Mark⁩ (2010). ‘⁨Personal Luck: Why Premodern China—Probably—Did Not Develop Probabilistic Thinking⁩’. Pages 400–468 in ⁨Concepts of Nature: A Chinese-European Cross-Cultural Perspective⁩, edited by ⁨Hans Ulrich Vogel⁩ and ⁨Günter Dux⁩; ⁨Conceptual History and Chinese Linguistics⁩ volume 1. ⁨Brill⁩. ISBN: 978-90-04-18751-1.

2. ⁨Chan⁩, ⁨Chi Chuen⁩, ⁨William Wai Lim Li⁩, and ⁨Amy Sau Lam Chiu⁩ (2019). ⁨The Psychology of Chinese Gambling: A Cultural and Historical Perspective⁩. ⁨Springer⁩: Singapore. ISBN: 978-981-13-3486-3.

3. ⁨於⁩, ⁨左⁩ [⁨Yú Zuǒ⁩] (2019). ‘⁨喝酒時想玩簡單的酒令？試試這一種宋代遊戲⁩’. ⁨每日頭條⁩.

4. ⁨朱⁩, ⁨河⁩ [⁨Zhū Hé⁩] (1646). ⁨除紅譜⁩ [Chú Hóng Pǔ]; ⁨說郛⁩ [Shuōfú] volume 104, series editor$ ⁨陶珽⁩ [⁨Táo Tǐng⁩].

5. ⁨新文豐出版⁩ (publisher) (1989). ⁨叢書集成續編⁩ [Complete Collection of Books, Continued] volume 102. ⁨新文豐出版⁩: Taiwan.

6. ⁨Li⁩, ⁨En⁩ (2015). ⁨Betting on Empire: A Socio-Cultural History of Gambling in Late-Qing China⁩. PhD thesis, ⁨Washington University⁩: St. Louis, MO, USA.

7. ⁨Lo⁩, ⁨Andrew⁩ (2000). ‘⁨The Game of Leaves: An Inquiry into the Origin of Chinese Playing Cards⁩’. ⁨Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London⁩ vol. 63 (3): pages 389–406.