The origin of playing cards is often traced back to a number of literary references of the Tang Dynasty (618-907) to yezi ge, translated as ‘the game of Leaves’. Even medieval Chinese researchers seemed to take it for granted that the Leaf Game is or was a card gamepossibly on the assumption that ‘leaves’ is a picturesque synonym for cards.
One oft-repeated reference is an entry in a 14thcentury history of the Liao dynasty, recording that in 969 the emperor Muzong went on a drinking spree for 25 days and on New Year’s Eve (26 February) ‘he played the game of leaves with his ministers’. Another is from Ouyang Xiu (1007-72), who wrote: ‘The game of yezi ge (Rules of leaves) was present after the mid Tang period. [i.e. post 750-800] ... It was popular during banquets of the scholar-officials of the Tang period. This was still so in the Five Dynasties period (907-60) and the early years of the [Southern Song] dynasty (960 onwards), and then gradually it was put aside and not handed down. Some people may possess the rules for this game now [1067], but no one knows how to play it.’
Hence the conclusion that playing cards first appeared in China in the 9th century. But only, that is, if yezi ge, the Leaf Game, was in fact a game of cards. But this is not the belief of modern Chinese games researcher Dr Andrew Lo, who cites a number of 12th to 14th century researchers who themselves assert that yezi means playing cards, and even gives the titles of four manuals reportedly outlining the rules of play. Unfortunately, as he points out, most of their compilers are unidentified, and the manuals themselves no longer exist. Ouyang himself explains yezi as dice rules written on the pages (‘leaves’) of a book, but provides no further information.