Culture Insider: Ancient Chinese table games

Leaf game cards, which are all no bigger than a leaf. [Photo/Xinhua]

Leaf game

Although the leaf game was said to be invented by the famous General Han Xin in the Han dynasty, records of it stretch back to the Tang Dynasty. The cards for this game are no larger than a leaf, thus the name "leaf game".

The rules of this game had a large influence on bridge, and in Science and Civilization in China, Joseph Needham, a British scientist and historian, pointed out that bridge originated from China.