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The Exhibit This exhibit is a departure of sorts from the Gallery's usual fare. Not really a pack of playing-cards at all, but really a card game, Khanhoo is nevertheless steeped in playing-card history... Playing cards in China come in several flavors, but one of the oldest and most popular is the 30-card deck of "money cards". The deck consists of cards one through nine in each of three suits: coins, strings of coins, and myriads of strings of coins. In addition to the three suits, there are three extra cards: a red flower, a white flower, and "old thousands". There are games played with single (30-card), double (60-card), and quadruple (120-card) packs of money cards. Mah Jongg players will note the similarity of a quadruple-pack of money cards and a set of Mah Jongg tiles, and indeed, the ancestry is the same. One game played with a double (60-card) pack of money cards is Khanhoo. Those interested in learning the rules should read "Card Games Around The World" by Sid Sackson (Dover, New York, 1994) where Sackson devotes three pages to an explanation of the game. When westerners would attempt to play a money-card game, they would not always have an authentic money card pack at hand, and so would make do by modifying a pack of local cards: throw out one of the suits, use a jack, queen and king as the extra cards, and make special markings on certain cards. Evidently, this wasn't good enough for some! Michael Dummett, in his "Game of Tarot" (George Duckworth & Co., London, 1980), states: "In 1891 W. H. Wilkinson induced the British cardmaking firm of Charles Goodall to issue a special pack of cards to play the game of Khanhoo, adapted from a Chinese draw-and-discard game played with the three-suited money pack with a accompanying booklet of rules." The deck contains no Spades, two sets each of Ace through Nine of Diamonds, Hearts and Clubs, with two each of a specially-designed Jack, Queen and King standing in for the "extra cards". Here then are some cards from that deck, an odd meeting of Occidental and Oriental card history.
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The Cards on Display I have chosen to display the more unique cards from the deck. Cards other than those mentioned below look just like those in a standard, French-suited pack. Card 1  Not the Queen of Clubs, but simply The Queen, holding an Eight of Clubs. The Queen takes the place of one of a money card pack's "extra cards". A small image of The Queen is in turn found on the Eight of Clubs. Card 2  The Ace of Hearts. Note the two small Clubs and three small Diamonds. Similarly, the Three of Diamonds shows one small Heart and two small clubs, and the Two of Clubs shows one small Heart and three small Diamonds. Card 3  The King, another "extra card", holding the Nine of Hearts. As you might guess, a small image of The King is found on the Nine of Hearts. Card 4  The Seven of Diamonds, with a small Jack (see next card). Card 5  The Jack, the third and final "extra card", holding a Seven of Diamonds. Card 6  The card back. | |
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Where to Find the Deck This is, as you might expect, a fairly rare deck. The Gallery's copy was obtained from Hava Getz Images, who carry a fascinating variety of decks, both old and new. | |
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Chinese Game Resources on the Web
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