Yummy Moon Cakes,Funny Game

　　Foreigners Enjoyed the Moon Cake Gambling during the Mid-Autumn Festival in Jinjiang

Joyful moon cake gambling

　　The traditional Mid-Autumn Festival falls on the 15th day of the 8th month of the Chinese lunar calendar. When it comes to Mid-Autumn Festival, foreigners may think of enjoying moon cakes and admiring the full moon. Actually, there is a more “down-to-earth” folk activity in Minnan district—moon cake gambling.

　　The first Cross-strait Folk Carnival of Moon Cake Gambling was held in hilarity at Wudianshi traditional blocks of Jinjiang on September 13th. Nearly a dozen foreigners who live, work and study here, together with over 100 members of Jinjiang Tourism Association, celebrated the festival in a special way.

　　On the evening, 20 tables were well aligned before the Dicos of Wudianshi, on which hundreds of moon cakes were placed in sequence. The couple of Amine and Adina from South Africa were cheerful to be present, while many other foreigners had been waiting for the start of the game. “It’s said that the game can tell the fortune of the coming year. Everybody craves the prize of ‘Zhuangyuan’.” Having known the rules, foreigners were all excited and eager to have a try.

　　“One dice of four pips grants Xiucai!” The first throw by Adina indicated a good start. “Two dice of four pips, Juren!” “Six dice of 1,2,3,4,5,6 pips respectively, Bangyan!”...In the first round, almost everyone got rewards. For each throw, they would cast a steady gaze at the rolling dice, holding their breath and yelling “Zhuangyuan! Zhuangyuan! Must be Zhuangyuan!”. Having tried many little tricks for good luck, like rubbing hands, changing hands even puffing, “Zhuangyuan” was still late in coming. The moment everyone suggested a downgrading, it turned around. “Four dice of four pips! Got it!” Rolly from South Africa won “Zhuangyuan”. The crowd burst into scream and cheer. However, when everyone believed Rolly was sure to win, a latecomer cast a better throw and got the upper hand. The big prize just slipped away. “I’ve been here in Jinjiang for more than three years, but it’s my very first time to join in moon cake gambling.” Rolly said. Though he almost won the biggest prize, Rolly was still very happy to get the favorable prize of “Jinshi”.

　　“It is my first time in this activity. I never thought people would throw dice to celebrate the festival”, said Sushank in great surprise, the first foreign talent with a post doctoral degree recruited by Jinjiang from India. “The moon cake is delicious and I have a really good time,” he said, after enjoying his winning prize—a moon cake.

　　“We have no such Mid-Autumn Festival in Mexico. I only heard about it last year when I came to Jinjiang.” Patty, from Mexico, said in great enjoyment. “It’s my first moon cake gambling. Being with friends, throwing dice and winning prizes, it’s really amazing!” Patty said she was happy to take part in this Minnan activity, which makes her better integrated into the life in Jinjiang and feel the charm of traditional Chinese culture.

　　Foreign students from Malaysia, Liu Yukai and Chen Yucheng, now studying in Quanzhou College of Technology, participated in moon cake gambling for the second time. “My first participation in moon cake gambling at school last year was great”, said Liu Yukai. In Malaysia, Mid-Autumn Festival is the second most significant Chinese festival apart from the Spring Festival, celebrated by eating moon cakes and lantern parades. “But we don’t have moon cake gambling, so we are happy to experience the traditional culture with the Chinese”, they said.

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　　Moon cake gambling is a unique Minnan folk custom, which has been passed down since Zheng Chenggong, a general of the Ming Dynasty stationing his army in Xiamen to recover Taiwan. Zheng made it a popular game among his troops to relieve their homesickness during the Mid-Autumn Festival.

　　When gambling, game players gather around the table and throw 6 dice in turn. From the lowest to the highest, the titles of six ranks are Xiucai, Juren, Jinshi, Tanhua, Bangyan and Zhuangyuan. If you get 4 dice of four pips, 2 dice of 1 pip, you win the biggest title of “Zhuangyuan”, that is, “Zhuangyuan with two gold flowers”.

　　中文版

10余外国友人晋江博饼过中秋

月饼味道棒极了 玩得超开心

　　农历八月十五，是中国传统的中秋佳节。说到中秋，外国朋友的第一印象可能是：吃月饼、赏圆月。其实，闽南还有一个更“接地气”的中秋民俗活动，那就是博饼。

　　9月13日，“首届海峡两岸博饼民俗嘉年华活动”在晋江五店市传统街区浓情上演。晋江旅游协会的100多名会员与10余名在晋国际友人、留学生欢聚一堂，度过了一个不一样的中秋节。

　　9月13日晚，20张桌子在五店市德克士门前整齐排列，几百个月饼依次摊上桌。来自南非的Amine和Adina夫妇兴致勃勃地来到现场，发现已有不少外国友人在等待比赛开始。“听说这个游戏可以预测未来一年内的运气，我们都想赢一个状元！”了解博饼规则后，外国友人个个摩拳擦掌，激动不已。

　　“一秀！”掷下第一把骰子的Adina给大伙带来了好开头。“二举”“对堂”……第一轮下来，基本人人都有收获。“状元、状元，一定要是状元！”外国朋友投完骰子后，目不转睛地盯着跳动的骰子，屏气凝神地喊着。大家纷纷使出看家本领，或搓手、或吹气、或换手，无奈“状元”还是不见踪影。就在大家提议“降级”时，转机出现了。“四个四！有了！”全场一片尖叫声和欢呼声，来自南非的Rolly博到了状元。然而，本以为胜券在握的他，被后来人居上，最终与“状元”失之交臂。“我来晋江3年多了，这是我第一次参加博饼。”Rolly说，虽然错失大奖，但他还是很开心，拿到万众期待的“进士”大奖。

　　“这是我第一次参与这种活动，没想到竟然有人用摇骰子来庆祝节日。”Sushank是晋江市招收的首位外籍博士后，来自印度的他对晋江的博饼活动感到惊奇万分。品尝了自己赢来的月饼后，Sushank说：月饼味道棒极了，自己也玩得超级开心！

　　“我们国家没有中秋这个节日，去年来到晋江才对中秋有所耳闻。”来自墨西哥的Patty对于受邀参加活动感到非常开心：“我第一次参加博饼，能和这么多亲朋好友一起玩，还有机会博到大奖，这样的活动太棒了！” Patty表示，很高兴能参加这样的闽南中秋民俗活动，让她能更好地融入晋江的生活，感受中国传统文化的魅力。

　　来自马来西亚、现就读于泉州轻工学院的留学生刘昱凯、陈育丞是第二次参加博饼了。“去年在学校第一次博饼，感觉很赞。”刘昱凯说，在马来西亚，中秋节是除春节以外的第二大华人节日，除了吃月饼，马来西亚还有提灯笼游行活动。“不过，我们没有博饼。我喜欢和中国人一起体验他们的传统节日，这让我特别开心。”刘昱凯、陈育丞说。

　　链接

　　“中秋博饼”是闽南特有的民间习俗。相传是民族英雄郑成功屯兵厦门驱荷复台时，为解士兵中秋思乡之情而发明的，从此在民间代代相传，流传至今。

　　博饼时，众人围在桌前，轮流掷6颗骰子，设状元、对堂、三红、四进、二举、一秀。其中，状元以出现4颗红四、2颗红一为最大，称“状元插金花”。

　　本期策划：常励煊

　　本期执行：李玲玲 柯恺筠 张志耐 秦越

　　本期翻译：许剑辉 郑芷芳 陈承雄 柯招榕 黄珍珍 张自玲