life. In these sunny Settlements in the Straits of Malacca serious gambling seems to come and go by fits and starts–to break in waves from time to time over the surface of Chinese life, carrying trouble and distress with it amongst many peaceful families
Singapore has been lately visited by one of these periodical gambling epidemics.
Since 1893 there has grown up amongst some of the China-born and amongst all the Straits-born Hokkien and Teo-Chin well-to-do and middle class families in Singapore, a new form of gambling commonly called the Chap ji-ki lottery. In a word, this lottery is won by guessing rightly one out of twelve cards selected from a pack of ordinary Chinese playing cards.
This new form of lottery has within the space of the last twelve months become immensely popular amongst Chinese ladies in Singapore, owing to the popularity of the game and the passion for gambling it excites; the losses that have been incurred have done great harm to and caused much distress and trouble amongst the families of the Chinese resident in Singapore.
If steps had not been taken by Government to deal with the evil, this new Chinese lottery might have become as harmful to the private life of the Strait-born Chinese as the old Hoe-He or Wha-Way lotteries that flourished unchecked in the Straits Settlements some fifteen years ago.
As there seems to be some confusion of ideas abroad as to how the game of Chap-ji-ki played, I propose to explain briefly the manner in which the game of Chap-ji-ki lottery is conducted. The game of Chap-ji-ki itself and the Chap-ji-ki lottery now carried on are different. The Cantonese and Hok-kien way of playing the ordinary Chap-ji-ki game varies a little but is roughly as follows.
The Chap-ji-ki game as played in China.
On a board about six feet long by four feet broad, the names of six Chinese chessmen are carved (the same six figures are found on all common Chinese playing cards, just as the figures King, Queen, &c., on English playing cards are derived from the figures used in chess).
