Ancient "promotion map" similar to Monopoly game, has been banned

Mention the "Big rich" game, can be described as a popular world, everyone knows, in fact, Old Beijing has a very similar game, called "Promotion map", it exists for thousands of years, it is regrettable that once as the feudal dross was forbidden, now know few people.

"Promotion Map" also known as "color election lattice" "election official map", reportedly began in the Tang Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty, Li Yu, the Song Dynasty Liu Chang has "the Chinese official instrument new election", called "the election Official chart", the famous scholar Liu Jizhun once wanted to make "the promotion plan", but did not see in the kind, the Song Dynasty Gai has the rhyme: "Inkstone dry pen bald ink is muddled, the midnight knocks the door to send the Did you throw it? Xiyue, as if to lose the election official map. For the first time, the game was written into the poem.

In the middle of the Ming Dynasty Zhaozhe "five Miscellaneous zu" wrote: "Tang Li have dice, song Liu Mongyu, Yang Yi, such as color election lattice, that is this promotion map also ..." Qianlong years of the Qing Dynasty historian Zhao's "Baby Yu Ye Test" said: "Secular bureau play has a promotion map, the size of the official located on paper, to Ming June throw, count the number of points to set Take-off and landing ... This is a picture of a hundred Guando, a Ming generation of official bureaucracy slightly prepared to the Ming June to move delaminated, there are stolen goods will be reduced to the penalty, Nushongbao was created by legend. ”

Successive "promotion map" has changed, the current comparison of the prevailing argument is the Ming Dynasty Guanlu, but it is likely to be an erroneous assertion, there is no evidence. At different times, the style of "promotion map" is different. In recent years, archaeological discovery, the Han Dynasty portrait brick has "promotion map" game scene, and hole home slope unearthed han Jane "Day book" is probably the earliest "promotion map" chessboard.

The promotion figure uses rotates the gyro to play, the top has the text, respectively is "the morals only spoils the stolen goods" four words, stop when the text is how much, the rotation can be reduced to the board to walk a few squares, each of the official position of the logo, the competition from the "ding" starting, who went to the center of the chessboard "Tai" "Bao", "Too fu" position, who even won. If the top stop when the "stolen" word, you have to buckle points, the pieces should be corresponding back.

This game can help children quickly understand the structure of the court at that time, in addition to official position through the "virtuous, only, work" promotion, and the graft will regress, but also a way of entertaining. After the Republic of China, there appeared a promotion map game from elementary school students to big presidents. All kinds of promotion graphics games, although the form is different, but the basic rules and play is exactly the same.

In the Qing Dynasty, "the promotion plan" is the game which must play when the Shou. According to "Hai Yundong" contains: "Shen (1896) lunar month 13th." In addition to the day, the first month 十五、三月 15, on the mouth of businesses from the Tin Hau Temple Incense said ' play Spring '. On the mouth merchant play the leaf play, flapping the old chicken, throw a promotion map, dozen Montreal Kam, in all. ”

Although the original intention of the game inventor may be positive, however, because of the use of gambling, so people talk about this game, many think the contingency too big, there is less than the letter of the meaning of life, with the traditional stigma, the game has gradually disappeared, but in the "flying chess" and other games visible its shadow.

This article is mainly quoted from "Beijing Local records and people's Life"