Mandarin Mandarin or The Mandarin may refer to: Language * Mandarin Chinese, branch of Chinese originally spoken in northern parts of the country ** Standard Chinese or Modern Standard Mandarin, the official language of China ** Taiwanese Mandarin, Stand ...

(

Hokkien The Hokkien () variety of Chinese is a Southern Min language native to and originating from the Minnan region, where it is widely spoken in the south-eastern part of Fujian in southeastern mainland China. It is one of the national languages ...

, also known in

) is a Chinese

dice game Dice games are games that use or incorporate one or more dice as their sole or central component, usually as a random device In computing, a hardware random number generator (HRNG) or true random number generator (TRNG) is a device that gener ...

traditionally played as part of the celebration of the

Mid-Autumn Festival The Mid-Autumn Festival (Chinese language, Chinese: / ), also known as the Moon Festival or Mooncake Festival, is a traditional festival celebrated in Chinese culture. Similar holidays are celebrated in Japan (), Korea (), Vietnam (), and othe ...

. It is traditionally played with six

dice Dice (singular die or dice) are small, throwable objects with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. They are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, role-playing ...

and a china bowl. The game dates back to the 1600s when it is said to have been invented by the Chinese general

Koxinga Zheng Chenggong, Prince of Yanping (; 27 August 1624 – 23 June 1662), better known internationally as Koxinga (), was a Ming loyalist general who resisted the Qing conquest of China in the 17th century, fighting them on China's southeastern ...

of the

Southern Ming The Southern Ming (), also known as the Later Ming (), officially the Great Ming (), was an imperial dynasty of China and a series of rump states of the Ming dynasty that came into existence following the Jiashen Incident of 1644. Shun forc ...

, along with his lower officer Hong Xu. Zheng was stationed with his troops in

Amoy Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...

planning the

Siege of Fort Zeelandia The siege of Fort Zeelandia () of 1661–1662 ended the Dutch East India Company's rule over Taiwan and began the Kingdom of Tungning's rule over the island. Prelude From 1623 to 1624 the Dutch had been at war with Ming China over the Pescado ...

to take

Dutch Formosa The island of Taiwan, also commonly known as ''Formosa'', was partly under colonial rule by the Dutch Republic from 1624 to 1662 and from 1664 to 1668. In the context of the Age of Discovery, the Dutch East India Company established its presenc ...

, which had been occupied by the

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

since 1624. The game was an attempt to boost the morale of

's homesick troops during the Mid-Autumn Festival. The game became popular in

(now

Xiamen Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong' ...

) and is considered a

folk game This is a list of games that used to be played by children, some of which are still being played today. Traditional children's games do not include commercial products such as board games but do include games which require props such as hopscotch ...

. The Hokkien Chinese name ''Po̍ah-piáⁿ'' translates as "gambling for cakes", and the game traditionally has 63 different sized

mooncakes A mooncake () is a Chinese bakery product traditionally eaten during the Mid-Autumn Festival (中秋節). The festival is about lunar appreciation and Moon watching, and mooncakes are regarded as a delicacy. Mooncakes are offered between f ...

as prizes for the winning players: 32 of the smallest cake, half as many of the next largest, and so on ending with a single large ''Chiōng-gôan'' cake. In modern times, the game's instructions are often printed on mooncake packaging, although the game is also played with prizes of daily necessities, household appliances or money. In the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

, the game is known as ''"Pua Tiong Chiu"'' (

) among the

Chinese Filipino Chinese Filipinos; tl, Tsinoy, / Tsinong Pilipino, ; Hokkien in the Philippines, Philippine Hokkien , Mandarin Chinese in the Philippines, Mandarin (also known as Filipino Chinese in the Philippines) are Filipinos of Chinese descent, mo ...

community, where the prizes are often usually money and/or appliances for adults and sometimes toys and food for children or sometimes mooncakes known in

Rules

The game requires six dice and a wide mouthed bowl. The first player is assigned and rolls the dice and wins a specific prize depending on the dice combination. The dice are then passed to the next person, and the process is repeated until there are no prizes left. A throw is declared invalid if at least one of the dice lands outside the bowl. Moon_Cakes

If a player makes an ultimate throw, they receive all of the other mooncakes designated for 6th to 1st place, even those which were already awarded. This rule can be omitted to ensure all players receive a prize. Sometimes, the 3rd and 4th place are switched by game organizers.

Rituals

Some players believe in rituals when playing the game that they believe will give them good luck. Reported practices includes throwing the dice with one or two hands, or exclaiming "''Chiong Wan''!"

References

{{dice games Hokkien culture Chinese-Filipino culture Dice games Xiamen