On a sunny weekend afternoon, Xiao Ming's home was bustling with family and friends, ready to play a few games of mahjong to pass the time. Xiao Ming took out a delicate little box from the drawer, which contained cube things.
"Oops, isn't that dice?" Xiao Ming's uncle had sharp eyes and recognized it at a glance.
"No, no," Xiao Ming corrected with a smile, "This character is not pronounced gǔ zi, nor shǎi zi, its correct pronunciation is tóu zi." ”
Everyone was stunned for a moment, and then burst into laughter. Xiao Ming's uncle scratched his head and smiled awkwardly: "Oh, I've read it wrong for so many years, I'm really ashamed!" ”
Xiao Ming took the opportunity to popularize the history and pronunciation of dice for everyone. He said, "Dice is a 'little one' with a story. It originated in the pre-Qin period, when it was not called dice, but was called '焭' or 'sai'. ”
Hearing this, Xiao Ming's grandfather became interested: "Oh? There was such a thing in the pre-Qin period? So what was it used for in the first place? ”
Xiao Ming explained: "Grandpa, you asked well. Dice may have originally been used for divination or sacrifice. Later, it was discovered that rolling dice could generate random numbers, so it became a good helper for various games. ”
Xiao Ming's mother also interjected curiously: "Then when was it called dice?" ”
"It was in the Tang Dynasty," Xiao Ming continued, "during the Tang Dynasty, people began to play with dice extensively, and that was at that time, it got the name 'dice'. ”
Everyone listened with relish, and Xiao Ming's father suddenly asked, "Is the dice only used in mahjong?" ”
"Of course not," Xiao Ming shook his head, "Dice can be used for a wide range of purposes.
In addition to mahjong, there are also various board games, such as flying chess, Go, chess variants, and even poker games. It can be said that dice are the 'panacea' of the gaming world. ”
As she was talking, Xiao Ming's sister picked up a dice and looked at it curiously: "Brother, why are there these little dots on this?" ”
Xiao Ming explained with a smile: "These points are used to indicate the result of the throw. In general, a die has six sides, and the number of points on each side varies from one to six.
In this way, each throw will have different combinations and possibilities, adding to the fun and challenge of the game. ”
"Oh, that's a real increase in knowledge!" Xiao Ming's aunt sighed, "It turns out that this little dice still has so many stories and history. ”
Xiao Ming smiled proudly: "Auntie, you're right. In fact, dice is not only a game tool, but also carries the wisdom and fun of Chinese culture.
You see, the design of this hexahedron is both simple and ingenious, fully embodying the wisdom of the ancients. ”
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Xiao Ming's grandfather even sighed: "Yes, there are all kinds of toys for children nowadays, but classic and interesting toys like dice are still worth passing on." ”
"By the way, Xiao Ming," Xiao Ming's mother suddenly thought, "Since dice have such a history, does it have some special particularities or customs?" ”
"Of course," Xiao Ming said with great interest, "for example, in some places, they will bow before rolling the dice and pray for good luck."
In other places, the combination of points of the dice has a specific meaning, such as three six points for the 'leopard', which is the largest combination of points, and the meaning is very auspicious. ”
In this way, everyone at the mahjong table, not only enjoyed the fun of the game, but also listened to an interesting history about dice.
That afternoon, Xiao Ming's home was full of laughter, and the dice, this small prop, also became a bridge between the past and the present, tradition and entertainment.