Where did the playing cards come from?

Poker is also called playing cards. There are many theories about its origin, among which the most accepted one is that playing cards first appeared in China, at least in 969 AD. At that time, a deck of cards in China had four colors, and each color had 14 cards, which were not only used as paper money, but also used for card games. There is a legend that a Venetian brought a card back to his hometown from China, so Venice was the first place in Europe to have a card. The Venetian traveler may be nicolo Poirot, who returned to Venice from China with his younger brother Madiot around 1269, or the famous Kyle Poirot, the son of nicolo, who went with his father and uncle on his second trip to China.

Some authorities believe that India is more likely to be the birthplace of cards than China. It has been suggested that the early cards (Tarot cards) in Europe have a certain connection with Ardhanari, the goddess in Hindu mythology. The image of the goddess has four hands, each holding a wand, a cup, a sword and a ring (representing money). Similar design symbols were printed on some early European cards. There is a saying that cards were introduced to Europe by Gypsies, who may be an Indian nation. They crossed Persia and Arabia into Egypt, and from Egypt into Europe. Some of them, about 100 people, entered Paris on 1427.

As early as14th century or earlier, playing cards had been produced in many places in Europe, such as Nuremberg, augsburg and Ulm. Italian tarot cards may have appeared earlier than German cards: Tarot cards have been mentioned in an Italian document dated 1299. Johanna, Duchess of Brabant, 1379 teaches cards in Holland, and has at least 137 1 year in Spain. Perhaps the Moors or Saracens brought the card from Spain to Italy, but the similarity between naipes in Spain and nabi in Arabia, which tried to explain the word card, was unsuccessful.

1392, French king charles vi ordered Jacqueline Granguaid to draw a deck of cards by hand. This historical fact led to the statement that cards originated in France. But it is obvious that the deck ordered by the French king is just a deck similar to other cards that have been used for a long time. The royal treasurer, who was in charge of payment at that time, once said that there were three decks of cards printed with "gold and various colors, with many decorations for our king's entertainment." Among them, the 17 card was exhibited in the National Library of France.

The card was introduced to Britain later than to other European countries. Josie died on 1400. Although he detailed all kinds of entertainment activities at that time, he never mentioned cards: "They danced, they played chess and ate." The information about Edward I of England playing the game of Four Kings (K) in flanged clothes almost certainly refers to some other game, perhaps some form of chess game. 1465 is the earliest explicit reference to English playing cards. This year, British poker manufacturers applied to Edward IV of England, England to ban the import of Zach cards made in foreign countries, and an appropriate law can be used as evidence.

C.P. Hagravi wrote in his book The History of Poker: "There is a legend about Columbus and his sailors, saying that these sailors love gambling. When they were caught in a storm in the vast and mysterious sea, they threw all their playing cards into the sea because of the horror caused by superstition. Later, when they landed on land, they regretted this reckless action, so they made some playing cards from a leaf of this new country, which aroused great interest from Indians. " According to the materials given by Gasselo de Na Vega (Florida history), Spanish soldiers played cards with leather cards during the expedition of 1534. This statement seems to be more than just a legend. Mexicans have been playing card games for a long time. At that time, Mexicans called it amapa-tolli, which means paper and tolli means game.

The fifty-two cards in modern form are divided into two red cards and two black cards, which probably evolved from the early Italian tarot cards. Tarot cards are divided into four colors, each with 10 and 10 points, and four top cards: Wang (? Not in the early playing cards, but now some modern playing cards are replaced by warriors. Guards were printed in various valet shapes, but the name of the guards was retained, but it was renamed J(JACK) in modern usage. In a deck of 52 cards, the knight is no longer used, but used as the top card.

China brand is very different from western brand; China brand is narrow and long, usually 2-2.5 inches long and 0.5- 1.2 inches wide. Early cards were narrower and longer. As far as the number and color of cards are concerned, the cards in China and India are quite different from those in the West. There is an Indian card and a deck of 144 cards, divided into 8 sets, each set of 18 cards; Another Indian boutique brand, each deck has 120 cards, divided into 10 suit, and each suit has 12 cards. There is a China card, and there are only 30 cards in a deck, which are divided into three sets, each set of 9 cards and 3 powerful cards; But there are usually four colors.

Early pattern design depends entirely on the skills of the artists who carve wood carvings. Later, this model gradually changed from representing recognized numbers or events to meaningless numbers. Legend has it that Henry VIII is a model of four modes of K; The four portraits of the oldest existing English poker K all have curly beards, which are separated from each other like Henry VIII. It is also said that the models with four figures on Q are probably Queen Elizabeth of York family and Queen of henry vii. The design of the portrait patterns on the other headboards obviously follows the portrait patterns of playing cards made in Lyon, France in the past. Although the portraits are different, they are similar in manners and customs, the position of hands and the weapons they hold.

The manufacturing of French playing cards has been developing along the routes of various manufacturers. 18 13, the government issued an officially recognized design, giving each head card a name. Until now, many playing cards still use this name:

Spades, hearts and clubs

King David Charles Caesar Alexander

Judith Rachel Akini

Hogil Lacher Herlancelot stayed.

Among them, David of Spades was the father of King Solomon of Israel in the 10 century BC. He plays the harp well and writes many biblical hymns. Pallas of Spades, Greek Wisdom and Sivir are the only queen with weapons among the four queen cards. J. Hogill of spades is an attendant of Charles I (K of hearts). Charles I, the king of hearts, is the only one of the four kings who has no beard. Q of hearts is Queen Judith. Rahel the Red Heart is Charles VII's attendant. Julius Caesar is the king of the Roman Empire, and he is the only profile figure among the four trump cards. Jack Hector of diamonds is Charles I's attendant. Alexander the Plum was the first Macedonian king to conquer the world. He always wears a ball with a cross on his clothes. The word "Argine" of plum blossom Q is derived from the word "Regina" by letter shift. She holds wild roses in her hand, which indicates that the Lancaster royal family marked by red wild roses and the York royal family marked by white wild roses finally reconciled after wars of the roses, and tied the wild roses of both sides together. J Lancelot of Plum Club is a knight in King Arthur's story.

In Hungarian poker, there are eight portraits on the top card, representing eight characters in Schiller's Swiss drama William Tell. But this kind of playing card has never been used in Switzerland.

Common playing cards in Germany have no Q, but there are two J's. However, some German poker cards have four head cards of each suit, A-K-J-J. In Trepola Poker (Spain and Italy), the queen image on Q is replaced by a knight riding a horse.

The internationally accepted poker colors are spades, hearts, clubs and diamonds, which are the most common and first appeared in France. In some western countries, the colors of traditional poker are slightly different. Among them, Germany has hearts, leaves, bells and acorns, Switzerland has shields, flowers, bells and acorns, and Italy has swords, wine glasses, coins and sticks.

Italian design first appeared in Italy and Spain, and it is the most common design besides ordinary design. Most western countries have printed it, including Germany, Switzerland and other countries that have their own poker designs.

German colors are mainly popular in Germany, Austria, Czech Republic and other countries, while Swiss poker is relatively narrow, mainly popular in Switzerland, but there are also a few prints in other countries, such as Russia at the beginning of last century.