Editing Tien Gow (section)

==Dice game==
[[Image:Snake eyes with Chinese dice.jpg|thumb|right|Chinese dice, "Earth" combination shown]]
Throwing Heaven and Nine (掷天九), or ''Kwat-P'ai'' (骨牌){{efn|This is a transliteration of the Cantonese pronunciation for Chinese dominoes.}} as reported by Ng Kwai-shang in 1886,<ref name="Ng">{{cite book|last1=Ng|first1=Kwai-shang|title=A Book on Chinese Games of Chance|date=1886|publisher=Kwong Cheong Printers|location=Hong Kong|pages=80–84}}</ref> is a game of chance where players try to beat each other with a higher combination from a pair of Chinese dice with red 1 and 4 pips.<ref name="Culin">{{cite book|last1=Culin|first1=Stewart|title=Chinese games with dice and dominoes|date=1895|publisher=[[United States Government Publishing Office]]|location=Washington, D.C.|pages=[https://archive.org/details/chinesegameswith01culi/page/494 494]–495|url=https://archive.org/details/chinesegameswith01culi|ref=Culin}}</ref> Of the 21 possible combinations, 11 are ranked in a "civil" suit and 10 are ranked in a "military" suit.

{|class="wikitable floatright" style="font-size:85%;text-align:center;width:30em;"
|+Dice combinations<ref>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/chinesegameswith00culi/page/8/mode/2up |title=Chinese games with dice |date=March 14, 1889 |author=Culin, Stewart |author-link=Stewart Culin |access-date=21 September 2023 |pages=8;Plate 1|publisher=Philadelphia [Franklin] }}</ref>
! colspan=4 | Civil suit (文子)
| rowspan=13 style="background:#aaa;" | &nbsp;
! colspan=4 | Military suit (武子)
|-
! Order !! Illustration !! Roll !! Name
! Order !! Illustration !! Roll !! Name
|-
! 1
| [[File:DFace 6B-horiz.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 6B-horiz.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 6-6 || Heaven (天)
! rowspan=2 | 12
| [[File:DFace 5B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 4R++.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 5-4 || rowspan=2 | Nines (九)
|-
! 2
| [[File:DFace 1R.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 1R.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 1-1 || Earth (地)
| [[File:DFace 6B-horiz.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 3B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 6-3
|-
! 3
| [[File:DFace 4R++.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 4R++.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 4-4 || Man (人)
! rowspan=2 | 13
| [[File:DFace 5B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 3B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 5-3 || rowspan=2 | Eights (八)
|-
! 4
| [[File:DFace 3B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 1R.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 3-1 || Harmony (和) (or Goose, 鵝)
| [[File:DFace 6B-horiz.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 2B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 6-2
|-
! 5
| [[File:DFace 5B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 5B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 5-5 || Plum Flower (梅花)
! rowspan=2 | 14
| [[File:DFace 4R++.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 3B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 4-3 || rowspan=2 | Sevens (七)
|-
! 6
| [[File:DFace 3B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 3B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 3-3 || Long Threes (長三)
| [[File:DFace 5B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 2B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 5-2
|-
! 7
| [[File:DFace 2B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 2B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 2-2 || Bench (板凳)
! 15
| [[File:DFace 4R++.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 2B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 4-2 || Six (六)
|-
! 8
| [[File:DFace 5B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 6B-horiz.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 5-6 || Tiger's Head (斧頭)
! rowspan=2 | 16
| [[File:DFace 3B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 2B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 3-2 || rowspan=2 | Fives (五)
|-
! 9
| [[File:DFace 4R++.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 6B-horiz.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 4-6 || Red Head Ten (紅頭十)
| [[File:DFace 4R++.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 1R.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 4-1
|-
! 10
| [[File:DFace 1R.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 6B-horiz.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 1-6 || Long Leg Seven (高腳七)
! rowspan=2 | 17
| rowspan=2 | [[File:DFace 2B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 1R.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| rowspan=2 | 2-1 || rowspan=2 | Final Three (三丁)
|-
! 11
| [[File:DFace 1R.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 5B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 1-5 || Red Mallet Six (玲瓏六)
|}
The ranks from highest to lowest are:
*Civil: Heaven (6-6); Earth (1-1); Mankind (4-4); Harmony (1-3); Plum Flower (5-5); Long Threes (3-3); Bench (2-2); Tiger's Head (5-6); Red Head Ten (4-6); Long Leg Seven (1-6); Red Mallet Six (1-5)
*Military: Nines (3-6 or 4-5); Eights (3-5 or 2-6); Sevens (2-5 or 3-4); Six (2-4); Fives (2-3 or 1-4); Final Three (1-2)

After the wager is set, the banker throws the dice into a bowl which sets the suit. The banker automatically wins if they throw the highest rank within the suit (Heaven or Nine) but loses if they throw the lowest rank (Red Mallet Six or Final Three).

For any other combination, the other players each throw the dice and try to beat the banker's throw within the same suit. If they throw the wrong suit, then they get to throw again until they "[[follow suit]]". Those that throw lower than the banker will have to pay them. According to [[Robert Charles Bell|R.C. Bell]],{{efn|No other source states it but Ng implies it.}} if there is a tie, no money is exchanged.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Bell|first1=Robert Charles|title=Board and Table Games from Many Civilizations - Volume 1|date=1979|publisher=Dover|location=New York|pages=146–148|edition=Revised}}</ref>

The opponents keep throwing until one manages to beat the banker and gets paid. The player to the right of the banker becomes the next banker and starts the following round after new stakes are set.

{{clear}}