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'Three Kingdoms,' a winning hand
By Wei Xi Source:Global Times Published: 2012-8-6 20:30:03
Playing Sanguosha Photo:CFP
If you've ever played the card game Dynasty Warriors, you would find yourself familiar with the Chinese card game Sanguosha. Both are inspired by the Chinese historical novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
The idea for Sanguosha was first conceived in 2008 by three young men, Du Bin, Huang Kai and Li You, who were fans of Bang!, a Western card game.
The resulting popularity of these games inspired the creation of a semester course at DeCal, a student-run democratic education program at the University of California, Berkeley. At DeCal, students can create their own classes according to their interests. Many of the courses at DeCal are different from those offered in a traditional curriculum.
The class, "Exploring the Three Kingdoms: The Classic Chinese Novel and Sanguosha the Card Game," examines the impact the Three Kingdoms (220-280) period had on Chinese culture.
Sanguosha
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is one of the four great classical novels in China, alongside A Dream of the Red Mansion, Journey to the West and Water Margin.
Written by Luo Guanzhong (1330-1400), the story is based on historical records from the Three Kingdoms, when China was ruled by three powers Wei, Wu and Shu. Romance of the Three Kingdoms has profoundly influenced Chinese culture, with the story depicted in movies, TV series and now, card games.
Sanguosha, like Dynasty Warriors, is a role-playing card game. Though there are different rules and names for the game, its premise remains the same. A standard set contains 153 cards, divided into four categories.
The number of players ranges from two to 10. In a game with four or more players, there are four different roles: Ruler, Loyalist, Defector and Rebel. There is one Ruler, and all roles aside are kept secret. The Ruler's mission is to stay alive while killing the Defector and Rebel. The Loyalist protects the Ruler while assisting in killing others.
Making academics fun
Since Zheng Minghong, a Chinese student at Berkeley posted the information about the course on her Sina Weibo, many Chinese netizens discussed whether the course is academically valid.
"There is nothing to be said against it, as it has little to do with majors and is only set based on [certain] students' interests," said an official at the Ministry of Education, surnamed Liu."Sanguosha is popular in China. Combining learning and games is good. A course about the culture related to the Three Kingdoms and Sanguosha can act as a tool."
The course was launched by three Chinese-American undergraduates in Berkeley. Trevor Chou, Darian Ng and Katherine Pan said the idea was developed out of their interest in the card game and novel.
"When I was in middle school, I played Dynasty Warriors. The game introduced me to a lot of the names of the famous historical figures of the Three Kingdoms period, and I learned the fascinating stories of their exploits. Unfortunately, at that time I couldn't find a good English copy," Chou told the Global Times in an e-mail.
Inspiration
Chou learned about Sanguosha when he entered university, after seeing the game played in Chinese student clubs on campus.
In the summer of 2011, when he was a student enrolled in summer classes at Peking University in Beijing, he met Ng, one of the course's co-facilitators.
Sharing an interest in Sanguosha, the two found an English translation online in the US and began learning the rules.
"As we played the game, not only did familiar names pop up again and fuel my interest in the Three Kingdoms, but I also noticed that Darian's friends, many whom had no prior interest in the Three Kingdoms, were remembering the names of the characters and learning about them too," Chou wrote.
Chou thought it would make an interesting course, and the three friends collaborated on the project.
The course requires students to read Romance of the Three Kingdoms and will include screenings of related TV series and movies. As facilitators, Chou said their job is to organize the class, set up activities and encourage discussions. They invited Professor Robert Berring, who teaches Chinese courses at Berkeley, to be a guest lecturer.
Berkeley is not the first academic institution to incorporate Sanguosha in its academic courses.
Last year, Heyuan Polytechnic in Guangdong Province launched a class about Sanguosha strategy. In the same year, a high school in Fuzhou, Fujian Province started a course based on Sanguosha, according to Xiamen Evening News and sina.com. In these two classes, Sanguosha was not the main focus. Instead, the classes used the card game as a platform to teach students about statistics and probability.
The idea for Sanguosha was first conceived in 2008 by three young men, Du Bin, Huang Kai and Li You, who were fans of Bang!, a Western card game.
The resulting popularity of these games inspired the creation of a semester course at DeCal, a student-run democratic education program at the University of California, Berkeley. At DeCal, students can create their own classes according to their interests. Many of the courses at DeCal are different from those offered in a traditional curriculum.
The class, "Exploring the Three Kingdoms: The Classic Chinese Novel and Sanguosha the Card Game," examines the impact the Three Kingdoms (220-280) period had on Chinese culture.
Sanguosha
Romance of the Three Kingdoms is one of the four great classical novels in China, alongside A Dream of the Red Mansion, Journey to the West and Water Margin.
Written by Luo Guanzhong (1330-1400), the story is based on historical records from the Three Kingdoms, when China was ruled by three powers Wei, Wu and Shu. Romance of the Three Kingdoms has profoundly influenced Chinese culture, with the story depicted in movies, TV series and now, card games.
Sanguosha, like Dynasty Warriors, is a role-playing card game. Though there are different rules and names for the game, its premise remains the same. A standard set contains 153 cards, divided into four categories.
The number of players ranges from two to 10. In a game with four or more players, there are four different roles: Ruler, Loyalist, Defector and Rebel. There is one Ruler, and all roles aside are kept secret. The Ruler's mission is to stay alive while killing the Defector and Rebel. The Loyalist protects the Ruler while assisting in killing others.
Making academics fun
Since Zheng Minghong, a Chinese student at Berkeley posted the information about the course on her Sina Weibo, many Chinese netizens discussed whether the course is academically valid.
"There is nothing to be said against it, as it has little to do with majors and is only set based on [certain] students' interests," said an official at the Ministry of Education, surnamed Liu."Sanguosha is popular in China. Combining learning and games is good. A course about the culture related to the Three Kingdoms and Sanguosha can act as a tool."
The course was launched by three Chinese-American undergraduates in Berkeley. Trevor Chou, Darian Ng and Katherine Pan said the idea was developed out of their interest in the card game and novel.
"When I was in middle school, I played Dynasty Warriors. The game introduced me to a lot of the names of the famous historical figures of the Three Kingdoms period, and I learned the fascinating stories of their exploits. Unfortunately, at that time I couldn't find a good English copy," Chou told the Global Times in an e-mail.
Inspiration
Chou learned about Sanguosha when he entered university, after seeing the game played in Chinese student clubs on campus.
In the summer of 2011, when he was a student enrolled in summer classes at Peking University in Beijing, he met Ng, one of the course's co-facilitators.
Sharing an interest in Sanguosha, the two found an English translation online in the US and began learning the rules.
"As we played the game, not only did familiar names pop up again and fuel my interest in the Three Kingdoms, but I also noticed that Darian's friends, many whom had no prior interest in the Three Kingdoms, were remembering the names of the characters and learning about them too," Chou wrote.
Chou thought it would make an interesting course, and the three friends collaborated on the project.
The course requires students to read Romance of the Three Kingdoms and will include screenings of related TV series and movies. As facilitators, Chou said their job is to organize the class, set up activities and encourage discussions. They invited Professor Robert Berring, who teaches Chinese courses at Berkeley, to be a guest lecturer.
Berkeley is not the first academic institution to incorporate Sanguosha in its academic courses.
Last year, Heyuan Polytechnic in Guangdong Province launched a class about Sanguosha strategy. In the same year, a high school in Fuzhou, Fujian Province started a course based on Sanguosha, according to Xiamen Evening News and sina.com. In these two classes, Sanguosha was not the main focus. Instead, the classes used the card game as a platform to teach students about statistics and probability.
If you've ever played the card game Dynasty Warriors, you would find yourself familiar with the Chinese card game Sanguosha. Both are inspired by the Chinese historical novel, Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
The idea for Sanguosha was first conceived in 2008 by three young men, Du Bin, Huang Kai and Li You, who were fans of Bang!, a Western card game.
The resulting popularity of these games inspired the creation of a semester course at DeCal, a student-run democratic education program at the University of California, Berkeley. At DeCal, students can create their own classes according to their interests. Many of the courses at DeCal are different from those offered in a traditional curriculum.
The class, "Exploring the Three Kingdoms: The Classic Chinese Novel and Sanguosha the Card Game," examines the impact the Three Kingdoms (220-280) period had on Chinese culture.
The idea for Sanguosha was first conceived in 2008 by three young men, Du Bin, Huang Kai and Li You, who were fans of Bang!, a Western card game.
The resulting popularity of these games inspired the creation of a semester course at DeCal, a student-run democratic education program at the University of California, Berkeley. At DeCal, students can create their own classes according to their interests. Many of the courses at DeCal are different from those offered in a traditional curriculum.
The class, "Exploring the Three Kingdoms: The Classic Chinese Novel and Sanguosha the Card Game," examines the impact the Three Kingdoms (220-280) period had on Chinese culture.
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