•^28 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1893. 



celebrated Chinese general, now universally worshiped in China as the 

 God of War, and one of the heroes of the famous historical romance, 

 the Sam Kwok cht, or "Annals of Three States." In escaping from 

 Ts'ao Ts'ao,* it is recorded that he killed six generals at " five frontier 

 passes," o-koan (Chinese 'ng kwdn). The vicissitudes of his life at 

 this time are typified in the varying fortunes of the game, which at one 

 moment approaches a successful termination, only for the player to be 

 unexpectedly set back to overcome its obstacles anew. The conquest 

 of the " five koan,^' which Eoan Ou achieved, finds it analogue in the 

 5 rows of the dominoes which the player struggles to overcome. Many 

 educated people play this game every morning, and scholars who have 

 nothing to do play it all day long, finding intellectual pastime in its 

 elusive permutations. 



BURMESE AND SHAN DOMINOES. 



A set of Burmese dominoes in the National Museum are of teak 

 wood and measure 2 by 1 by f inches (pi. 10). The spots are marked 

 with incised circles. They number 24 pieces, marked as follows: 6-6, 

 1-1, 4-4, 1-3, o-5,.3-3, and 2-2 duplicated, and one each of the following 

 pie(;es : 6-3, 4-5, 6-2, 5-3, 4-3, 5-2, 2-4, 1-4, 2-3, and 1-2, the las t having 

 2 smaller spots adjoining the "1." 



They are accompanied by a cubical die about three-fourths inch 

 square, with 2 opposite faces marked with 1 spot, 2 opposite faces 

 marked with 2 spots, and 2 opposite faces marked with 3 spots. This 

 is used to decide who shall play first. 



A set of Burmese dominoes, from Rangoon, sent to the writer by the 

 Hon. Sir C. H. T. Crosth^aite, lieutenant-general Northwest Prov- 

 inces, British India, are identical with the preceding, except that the 

 spots are marked with small brass disks. 



A set of Burmese domiiioes in the British Museun) are made of black 

 horn, and number 32 pieces. They measure If inches in length by 

 three-fourths of an inch in width and have incised spots, which are 

 painted red and yellow and arranged according to the Chinese system. 

 The backs are uniformly marked with "1" and "3" spots composed of 

 concentric circles, and the ends each bear 1 spot similarly inscribed. 

 Another set of Burmese dominoes in the same collection are made of 

 black wood, with the spots painted red and white. 



Dice are called anzamia (singular anzd) in Burmese. The Burmese 

 dice in the museum of the University of Pennsylvania are small ivory 

 cubes, regularly marked and having the fours in red, and are identical 

 with the Chinese. 



A set of Shan dominoes in the British Museum, presented by Maj. 

 E, B. Gladen, are identical in every respect with the horn dominoes 

 from Burma in the same museum. 



* Ts'ao Ts'ao D., A. D. 220. Chinese Reader's Mauiial, No. 768. 



