Editing Chinese dominoes (section)

==Deck composition and ranking==
{|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}}</ref> and domino equivalents<ref name=Culin-58/>{{rp|Fig.116, p.115}}
! colspan=5 | Civil suit (文子)
| rowspan=13 style="background:#aaa;" | &nbsp;
! colspan=5 | Military suit (武子)
|-
! Rank !! colspan=3 | Roll / Domino !! Name
! Rank !! colspan=3 | Roll / Domino !! Name
|-
! 1 (high)
| [[File:DFace 6B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 6B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 6-6 || [[File:CDomino 6-6.svg|frameless|upright=0.1]] || Heaven<br/>(天)
! rowspan=2 | 12
| [[File:DFace 5B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 4R++.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 5-4 || [[File:CDomino 5-4.svg|frameless|upright=0.1]] || rowspan=2 | Nines<br/>(九)
|-
! 2
| [[File:DFace 1R.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 1R.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 1-1 ||[[File:CDomino 1-1.svg|frameless|upright=0.1]] ||  Earth<br/>(地)
| [[File:DFace 6B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 3B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 6-3 || [[File:CDomino 6-3.svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
|-
! 3
| [[File:DFace 4R++.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 4R++.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 4-4 || [[File:CDomino 4-4.svg|frameless|upright=0.1]] || Man<br/>(人)
! rowspan=2 | 13
| [[File:DFace 5B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 3B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 5-3 || [[File:CDomino 5-3.svg|frameless|upright=0.1]] || rowspan=2 | Eights<br/>(八)
|-
! 4
| [[File:DFace 3B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 1R.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 3-1 || [[File:CDomino 3-1.svg|frameless|upright=0.1]] || Harmony<br/>(和)
| [[File:DFace 6B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 2B-horiz.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 6-2 || [[File:CDomino 6-2.svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
|-
! 5
| [[File:DFace 5B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 5B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 5-5 || [[File:CDomino 5-5.svg|frameless|upright=0.1]] || Plum Flower<br/>(梅花)
! rowspan=2 | 14
| [[File:DFace 4R++.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 3B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 4-3 || [[File:CDomino 4-3.svg|frameless|upright=0.1]] || rowspan=2 | Sevens<br/>(七)
|-
! 6
| [[File:DFace 3B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 3B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 3-3 || [[File:CDomino 3-3.svg|frameless|upright=0.1]] || Long Threes<br/>(長三)
| [[File:DFace 5B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 2B-horiz.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 5-2 || [[File:CDomino 5-2.svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
|-
! 7
| [[File:DFace 2B-horiz.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 2B-horiz.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 2-2 || [[File:CDomino 2-2.svg|frameless|upright=0.1]] || Bench<br/>(板凳)
! 15
| [[File:DFace 4R++.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 2B-horiz.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 4-2 || [[File:CDomino 4-2.svg|frameless|upright=0.1]] || Six<br/>(六)
|-
! 8
| [[File:DFace 5B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 6B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 5-6 || [[File:CDomino 5-6.svg|frameless|upright=0.1]] || Tiger's Head<br/>(虎頭)
! rowspan=2 | 16
| [[File:DFace 3B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 2B-horiz.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 3-2 || [[File:CDomino 3-2.svg|frameless|upright=0.1]] || rowspan=2 | Fives<br/>(五)
|-
! 9
| [[File:DFace 4R++.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 6B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 4-6 || [[File:CDomino 4-6.svg|frameless|upright=0.1]] || Red Head Ten<br/>(紅頭十)
| [[File:DFace 4R++.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 1R.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 4-1 || [[File:CDomino 4-1.svg|frameless|upright=0.1]]
|-
! 10
| [[File:DFace 1R.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 6B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 1-6 || [[File:CDomino 1-6.svg|frameless|upright=0.1]] || Long Leg Seven<br/>(高腳七)
! rowspan=2 | 17 (low)
| rowspan=2 | [[File:DFace 2B-horiz.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 1R.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| rowspan=2 | 2-1 || rowspan=2 | [[File:CDomino 2-1.svg|frameless|upright=0.1]] || rowspan=2 | Final Three<br/>(三)
|-
! 11
| [[File:DFace 1R.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]][[File:DFace 5B+.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]]
| 1-5 || [[File:CDomino 1-5.svg|frameless|upright=0.1]] || Red Mallet Six<br/>(玲瓏六)
|}
Each tile pattern in the Chinese domino set is equivalent to a single outcome when two six-sided [[dice]] are thrown. Each combination is only used once, so there are 21 unique possible patterns. Eleven of these 21 unique patterns are repeated to make a total of 32 tiles in a Chinese dominoes set.<ref name=Culin-58>{{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/in.gov.ignca.11531/mode/2up |title=Games of the Orient: Korea · China · Japan |author=Culin, Stewart |author-link=Stewart Culin |date=1958 |publisher=The Charles E. Tuttle Company |location=Rutland, Vermont |lccn=58-11074}}</ref>{{rp|Fig.109, p.103}} The 32-tile set is divided into two "suits" or groups called "military" and "civil". There are no markings on the tiles to distinguish these suits; a player must simply remember which tiles belong to which group. There are two each of the eleven civil suit tiles (6-6, 1-1, 4-4, 1-3, 5-5, 3-3, 2-2, 5-6, 4-6, 1-6, 1-5) and one each of the ten military suit tiles (3-6, 4-5; 2-6, 3-5; 2-5, 3-4; 2-4; 1-4, 2-3; 1-2).<ref name=Culin-58/>{{rp|114–115}}

===Civil suit===
Each civil tile also has a Chinese name.<ref name=Culin-58/>{{rp|114}} Here are the Cantonese names and rough English translations:
* 6-6 is ''tin'' ({{lang|zh|天}} heaven)
* 1-1 is ''dei'' ({{lang|zh|地}} earth)
* 4-4 is ''yan'' ({{lang|zh|人}} man)
* 1-3 is ''ngo'' ({{lang|zh|鵝}} goose or {{lang|zh|和}} harmony)
* 5-5 is ''mui'' ({{lang|zh|梅}} [[Prunus mume|plum]] flower)
* 3-3 is ''cheung'' ({{lang|zh|長}} long)
* 2-2 is ''ban'' ({{lang|zh|板}} board)
* 5-6 is ''fu'' ({{lang|zh|斧}} hatchet)
* 4-6 is ''ping'' ({{lang|zh|屏}} partition)
* 1-6 is ''tsat'' ({{lang|zh|七}} long leg seven)
* 1-5 is ''luk'' ({{lang|zh|六}} big head six)

The civil tiles are ranked according to the Chinese cultural significance of the tile names, and must be memorized.  The [[hendiatris]] of {{ill|Three talents|zh|三才|lt=heaven, earth, and man}} ({{lang|zh|天地人}}) dates back for over two thousand years <ref>{{cite web |url=http://ctext.org/pre-qin-and-han?searchu=%E5%A4%A9%E5%9C%B0%E4%BA%BA |title=Chinese Text Project}}</ref> while the harmony ({{lang|zh|和}}) of the three have been in dice and domino games since at least the Ming dynasty. Remembering the suits and rankings of the tiles is easier if one understands the Chinese names of the tiles and the symbolism behind them.

===Military suit===
The military tiles are named and ranked according to the total pips or points on the tiles.  For example, the "nines" (3-6 and 4-5) rank higher than the "eights" (2-6 and 3-5). The rankings of the individual tiles are similar in most games.  However, the ranking of combinations of tiles is slightly different in Pai Gow and Tien Gow.

Since there is only one of each military tile, these are usually grouped in four mixed "pairs" of equivalent total points: nines, eights, sevens, and fives; for example, the 3-6 and 4-5 tiles "match" because they have same total points (nine) and both are in the military suit.  Among the military tiles, individual tiles of the same pair rank equally, such as 1-4 and 2-3, each totaling five.

{{multiple image |align=right |direction=horizontal |total_width=100px |caption_align=center |title="Supreme" pair<br/>(至尊)
 |image1=CDomino 4-2.svg |caption1=4-2
 |image2=CDomino 1-2.svg |caption2=1-2}}
The 2-4 (six) and 1-2 (three) military tiles also are paired together in many games despite the nominal difference in total points. They are the only tiles in the entire set that have no corresponding tile in the military suit, considering sums. In Pai Gow both of these tiles may be scored as three or six, depending on which is more advantageous. This pair when played together is considered a suit on its own, called the ''gi jun'' ({{lang|zh|至尊}} supreme).<ref name=Culin-58/>{{rp|116}}  It is the highest ranking pair in the game of Pai Gow, though the tiles rank low individually (in their normal order).  When either tile of this pair is played individually in the game of Tien Gow, each takes its regular ranking according to the total points among the other military suit tiles.

===Physical characteristics===
[[Stewart Culin]] stated that traditional dominoes are made of Chinese [[ebony]] with measurements of {{cvt|2+5/8|in}} long, {{cvt|7/8|in}} wide, and {{cvt|3/8|in}} thick.<ref name=Culin-58/>{{rp|116}}

Values are marked with white and red pips. Using the same coloring scheme as traditional Chinese dice, every half-domino with 1 or 4 pips has those pips colored red; for example, the 4-5 domino has four red pips and five white pips. The only exception is the pair of 6-6 tiles.  Half of the pips on the 6-6 domino are colored red to make them stand out as the top ranking tiles.<ref name=Culin-58/>{{rp|103}}

Typically, one of the short edges is marked with a single red pip, and the backs may be marked with three pips, arrayed diagonally white-red-white.<ref name=Culin-58/>{{rp|116}}

===Variants===
<gallery mode=packed heights=150px widths=200px caption="Chinese domino variants">
File:挖花牌.JPG|Half of a [[Digging Flowers]] set. The other half is identical.
File:골패 骨牌 삼재도 三才圖.jpg|Dominoes from Korea
</gallery>
There are also sets with where the tiles have [[Xiangqi]] characters next to the pips. As Xiangqi also has 32 pieces, these dual use sets can be used to play Giog.

Variant sets include the [[Digging Flowers]] ({{lang|zh|挖花}}) game, which use the same 21 patterns generated by the 2d6 combination; some tiles have flowers or frames printed on them while others have their values duplicated. In addition, a Digging Flowers set may include several bonus tiles from [[mahjong]], including flower, season, and blank tiles.

Dominoes from Korea also come in a set of 32 and bear markings schematically identical to Chinese dominoes, based on the throw of two dice, although the tiles are closer in size and shape to those used in mahjong, measuring {{cvt|3/4|×|7/16|×|3/16|in}}, and the pip size may vary, especially for the 1- and 4-pip halves. The pairings for the "military" suit also differ: 1-2 and 4-5; 1-4 and 2-3, 2-4 and 3-4, 2-5 and 3-5, and 2-6 and 3-6.<ref name=Culin-58/>{{rp|103–104}}

{|class="wikitable" style="font-size:90%;text-align:center;"
|+Dice throws / tile names (Korean)<ref name=Culin-58/>{{rp|103}}
! Value<br/>(Qty) !! Image !! Name
| rowspan=7 style="background:#aaa;" | &nbsp;
! Value<br/>(Qty) !! Image !! Name
| rowspan=7 style="background:#aaa;" | &nbsp;
! Value<br/>(Qty) !! Image !! Name
| rowspan=7 style="background:#aaa;" | &nbsp;
! Value<br/>(Qty) !! Image !! Name
|-
! 1-1<br/>(2)
| [[File:KDomino 1-1.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || smallest<br/>''syo-syo''<br/>(소소)
! 2-2<br/>(2)
| [[File:KDomino 2-2.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || superior two<br/>''tjoun-a''<br/>(진이)
! 3-3<br/>(2)
| [[File:KDomino 3-3.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || long three<br/>''tjyang-sam''<br/>(장삼)
! 4-4<br/>(2)
| [[File:KDomino 4-4.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || superior red<br/>''tjoun-hong''<br/>(직흥)
|-
! style="background:#fdd;" | 1-2<br/>(1)
| style="background:#fdd;" | [[File:KDomino 1-2.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || style="background:#fdd;" | rat nose<br/>''tjoui-hko''<br/>(쥐코)
! style="background:#fed;" | 2-3<br/>(1)
| style="background:#fed;" | [[File:KDomino 2-3.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || style="background:#fed;" | two, three<br/>''a-sam''<br/>(이삼)
! style="background:#ffd;" | 3-4<br/>(1)
| style="background:#ffd;" | [[File:KDomino 3-4.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || style="background:#ffd;" | three, four<br/>''sam-sa''<br/>(삼사)
! style="background:#fdd;" | 4-5<br/>(1)
| style="background:#fdd;" | [[File:KDomino 4-5.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || style="background:#fdd;" | four, five<br/>''sa-o''<br/>(사오)
|-
! 1-3<br/>(2)
| [[File:KDomino 1-3.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || small, three<br/>''syo-sam''<br/>(소삼)
! style="background:#ffd;" | 2-4<br/>(1)
| style="background:#ffd;" | [[File:KDomino 2-4.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || style="background:#ffd;" | two, four<br/>''a-sa''<br/>(이사)
! style="background:#dfd;" | 3-5<br/>(1)
| style="background:#dfd;" | [[File:KDomino 3-5.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || style="background:#dfd;" | three, five<br/>''sam-o''<br/>(삼오)
! 4-6<br/>(2)
| [[File:KDomino 4-6.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || four, six<br/>''sa-ryouk''<br/>(사육)
|-
! style="background:#fed;" | 1-4<br/>(1)
| style="background:#fed;" | [[File:KDomino 1-4.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || style="background:#fed;" | white, four<br/>''paik-sa''<br/>(백사)
! style="background:#dfd;" | 2-5<br/>(1)
| style="background:#dfd;" | [[File:KDomino 2-5.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || style="background:#dfd;" | sovereign two<br/>''koan-i''<br/>(관이)
! style="background:#ddf;" | 3-6<br/>(1)
| style="background:#ddf;" | [[File:KDomino 3-6.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || style="background:#ddf;" | three, six<br/>''sam-ryouk''<br/>(삼육)
! 5-5<br/>(2)
| [[File:KDomino 5-5.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || superior five<br/>''tjoun-o''<br/>(준오)
|-
! 1-5<br/>(2)
| [[File:KDomino 1-5.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || white, five<br/>''paik-o''<br/>(백오)
! style="background:#ddf;" | 2-6<br/>(1)
| style="background:#ddf;" | [[File:KDomino 2-6.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || style="background:#ddf;" | two, six<br/>''a-ryouk''<br/>(이육)
| colspan=3 style="background:#aaa;" | &nbsp;
! 5-6<br/>(2)
| [[File:KDomino 5-6.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || five, six<br/>''o-ryouk''<br/>(오육)
|-
! 1-6<br/>(2)
| [[File:KDomino 1-6.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || white, six<br/>''paik-ryouk''<br/>(백육)
| colspan=3 style="background:#aaa;" | &nbsp;
| colspan=3 style="background:#aaa;" | &nbsp;
! 6-6<br/>(2)
| [[File:KDomino 6-6.svg|frameless|upright=0.15]] || superior six<br/>''tjoun-ryouk''<br/>(주륙)
|}

Chinese Dominoes may also appear in a card format ([[:zh:纸骨牌]]). {{ill|15 Lake Cards|zh|十五湖|vertical-align=sup}} ({{cjkv|c=十五湖牌}}) have the 21 patterns (from the 2d6 combinations) quadruplicated to form an 84-card deck. [[Si Chuan Cards]] ({{cjkv|c=四川長牌}}) may have the 21 patterns plus two additional cards (the "listen - use" and the "god of wealth") duplicated up to 5 times to form a 115-card deck.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://a_pollett.tripod.com/cards44.htm|title=Chinese Domino Cards|publisher=Andy's Playing Cards|access-date=June 21, 2024}}</ref>