Editing Tien Gow (section)

==History==
In his article ''[[Chinese Origin of Playing Cards]]'' published in 1895, Sir [[William Henry Wilkinson]] pointed out that the game of Tien Gow was invented long before [[Song dynasty]], but was standardized in 1120:<ref>* [https://healthy.uwaterloo.ca/museum/Archives/Wilkinson/Wilkinson.html Excerpt from Wilkinson's article ''Chinese Origin Of Playing Cards''] at Elliott Avedon Virtual Museum of Games. Retrieved 9 April 2017.</ref> <blockquote>
[Quote from page 66.  Note this publication predated the modern [[pinyin]] transliteration system]
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It is perfectly clear, indeed, that all that was done or asked for in 1120 was an imperial decision as to which of several forms or interpretations of the game now known as T'ien-kiu ("Heavens and Nines") was to be considered orthodox. The game and the cards must have been in existence long before. The passage from the ''[[Zhengzitong|Cheng-tzâ-t'ung]]'' [《正字通》] runs thus (s.v. p'ai [牌]):
<blockquote>Also ya p'ai now the instruments of the game. A common legend states that in the second year of the [[Emperor Huizong of Song|Hsüan-ho]] [宣和二年], in the Sung dynasty [i.q. 1120 AD], a certain official [[memorial to the throne|memorialized the throne]], praying that the ya p'ai (ivory cards [牙牌]) be fixed as a pack of 32, comprising 127 pips [sic, it should be 227, but Chinese printers are careless], in order to accord with the expanse of the stars and constellations. The combination 'heaven' [6/6, 6/6] consisted of two pieces, containing 24 pips, figures of the 24 solar periods; 'earth' [1/1, 1/1] also composed two pieces, but contained 4 pips, the 4 points of the compass - east, west, south, and north; 'man' [4/4, 4/4] two pieces, containing 16 pips, the virtues of humanity, benevolence, propriety, and wisdom, four-fold; 'harmony' [2/3, 1/3] two pieces of 8 pips, figuring the breath of harmony, which pervades the eight divisions of the year. The other combinations had each their names. There were four players having eight cards apiece for their hand, and the cards won or lost according as the number of the pips was less or in more the winner being rewarded with counters. In-the time of [[Emperor Gaozong of Song|Kao-tsung]] [高宗 1127-1163] pattern packs were issued by imperial edict. They were known throughout the empire as Ku p'ai, 'bone p'ai;' [骨牌] but it does not follow that this class of games, po-sai [博塞], Ko-wu [格五], and the rest originated in the reign of Hsüan-ho.
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[[Ming dynasty|Ming]] author Xie Zhaozhe (1567–1624) also records the legend of dominoes having been presented to [[Emperor Huizong of Song|Emperor Huizong]] but in the year 1112. The Ming sources may be early by half a century as [[Li Qingzhao]] (1084 – c. 1155) made no mention of dominoes in her compendium of games. The oldest confirmed written mention of dominoes in China comes from the ''Former Events in Wulin'' (i.e. the capital [[Hangzhou]]) as recorded by  Zhou Mi (1232–1298), who listed dominoes as items sold by peddlers during the reign of [[Emperor Xiaozong of Song|Emperor Xiaozong]] (r. 1162–1189).<ref name="lo 2000 401">Lo, Andrew (2000). 'The Game of Leaves: An Inquiry into the Origin of Chinese Playing Cards'. [[Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies]], [[University of London]], Vol 63-3 p. 401.</ref>