Playing Card Deck

"Stick cards" or Gun Pai 棍牌. This type of deck contains money cards with three suits: 1-9 of cash, 1-9 of strings (of cash) and 1-9 of myriads (of strings) (wan), and five additonal jokers, the Five Blessings: 福 (good fortune), 祿 (promotion), 壽 (long life), 財 (wealth), 喜 (joy). There are three extra court cards, the white flower, the Old Thousand, and the Wang Ying card. The white flower card has 迁選監造 (manufactured and inspected by Jian) at the bottom. The Old Thousand card has 万千 Wan Qian at the top and 天下太平 (peace under heaven) on a coin at the bottom. The Wang Ying 王英 card has a portrait of Wang Ying with the characters 仁記 (Ren brand) at the top. The 1 of cash has 曾家 (Zeng family) at the top and 祥雲齋 at the bottom. Backs black. Faces printed in black on white within rectangular border. Some cards with pink, green, gray and yellow coloring of images. Some cards with red spatters over face of card. All have the character 曾 Zeng on the face which is the maker's name. Tied with red string.116 rectangular playing cards (9 missing).

From Culin publication: "From Kiu Kiang. Four packets of thirty and five jokers - the Five Blessings. Described on wrapper as ts'in, kun, sok, 'cash, rouleaux, and strings.' Black backs, clipped corners; index marks for suits and pips. Maker's name, Tsang, on every card; his shop sign on Ace of cakes. Gilt marks on the Aces, the three coat cards, and the five jokers; red splashes on the 9's. Total, 125. Fig. 126."