Summary
Chinese chess set, with playing board is divided into two grids, separated by a wide area in the centre. Known as 'The River', this represents the Hwang-ho, the Yellow River of China.
The chess set was donated to the Australian Children's Folklore Collection by a delegrate from Hong Kong to the World Play Summit held in Melbourne in 1993. Delegates were asked to bring a traditional toy from their own country.
The Australian Children's Folklore Collection is unique in Australia, documenting contemporary children's folklore across Australia and in other countries reaching back to the 1870s. The Collection has a strong component of research material relating to Victoria.
Physical Description
Chinese chess set contained in a red and white cardboard box with Chinese letters in black and English text in white. Graphic of a dragon-fly in white in the upper LH corner of the lid. There are 32 round wooden playing pieces, 16 with red Chinese lettering and 16 with green Chinese lettering. The playing board is white paper with red markings divided into two grids, each with 32 squares. The two grids are separated by a wide area in the centre of the playing board which has Chinese text written in red.
More Information
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Collection Names
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Collecting Areas
Leisure, Home & Community, Childhood, Migration & Cultural Diversity
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Acquisition Information
Cultural Gifts Donation from Dr June Factor, 18 May 1999
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Acknowledgement
Donated through the Australian Government's Cultural Gifts Program.
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Place & Date Made
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Inscriptions
On the lid: DRAGON-FLY/CHINESE CHESS/NO.724/MADE IN CHINA [Chinese script on lid and playing pieces]
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Classification
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Category
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Discipline
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Type of item
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overall dimensions
16.5 cm (Length), 4 cm (Width), 16.5 cm (Height)
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References
Grunfeld, F. 'Games of the World'. pp71-76.
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Keywords
Children's Play, Chinese Communities, Cultural Traditions, Games, Pastimes, Recreation, World Play Summit, 1993
