History
The game seems to have derived from mahjong, go and xiangqi, where the names of the pieces are often used on the cards. The cards were typically used by the lower class to play gambling games, and were intended to be easy and cheap to make because, as gambling was illegal in China, there was a need for cards that could be disposed off easily. Also because of the Chinese revolution and lower class connections, written rules for the game are rarely found. Hence there can be many versions of the official rules depending on the region and the household.
Read more about this topic: Four Color Cards
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