China’s Greatest Invention: Keno

At our previous mention “Why are lotteries so popular, let’s find out” the foundation of the lottery has been going on for the past two thousand years. The lottery system was developed during the Han Dynasty of China which is known as today’s “Keno”. Its development has spread internationally across civilized prosperity places such as Rome, Ancient Greece, and the Han Dynasty.

Photo by Hanson Lu on Unsplash

A Foundation of Protection

Rumor has it that during the time of war, facing the continuity of war the empire was facing a treasury deficit and the shortening of food. And a tax raise towards the nation could trigger an immediate rebellion. Which is why one of Han Gao Zu Liu Bang’s minister Zhang Liang invented the lottery system, and they successfully raised enough funds and won the final victory during the war.

And it was said during that time Keno game was combined with racing pigeon, players would wager into a circle of symbols to generate winning combinations after the result of the racing pigeons. When Keno first came out it caused a wave of influx around the country, and continuously being revised on its forms and continued to circulate for more than two thousand years.

Photo by Atharva Tulsi on Unsplash

In addition, with the help of Keno, Han Dynasty was able to develop a foundation of protection, by raising funds for the construction of the Great Wall. Keno defiantly has the indispensable ability to build an entire empire.

International: North America

In the mid-18th century, Chinese immigrants built a railway in San Francisco on the west coast of the United States. During the spare time for leisure, they will take out Keno game to play, a tradition that’s been circulating for more than 2000 years. For residents of United States to participate together, the figure characters were converted into Arabi numerals that are more recognizable for them to participate. The term “Keno” was then established in North America.

Photo by Joseph Barrientos on Unsplash

Before the legalization for US lottery, “Keno” never had an official name, however, was known as “Chinese Lottery”. When it was still considered as an illegal operation, enthusiastic players changed its name to “Horse Keno” and deliberately linked it to the horse racing so the government may acquiesce in this form; the government passed a decree to levy horse racing. That was when “Chinese Lottery” had an official name of “Keno”.

It was when “Keno” entered the casino in Nevada, then it transformed into a drum-style box which shook the number balls and spins out the winning combinations. And it continues to transform into various form of Keno games around different casinos worldwide, while keeping its fascinating charm!

Photo by Gene Devine on Unsplash

Internet Generation: Keno

In the generation of the internet, everything needs to be online, and naturally, Keno adapted as well. Even the way to draw the prize has transformed by programs that can randomly generate prize numbers. Through the impact of internet generation, the efficiency of operation has greatly increased, and the prize can be drawn once in 10 seconds. With the large population access Internet daily worldwide, the amount of wager through Keno games online is always phenomenal!

Photo By QQ Keno

A game that can circulate for more than 2 thousand years is no jokes to its influence it brings among our society now. It has been used to raise funds for war, and even the construction of Great Wall. There must be some ultimate fascinating elements about Keno. Its foreseeable in our internet generation, the ability to absorb wealth will far exceed the era of more than two thousand years ago.

References
- Keno History, Retrieved 29 October 2018, http://www.kenoonline.org/history/
- History of Keno, 2017, https://www.thaicasinocenter.com/encyclopedia/history-of-keno
- 彩清风, 2018 2 May of每日头条, 修筑长城,这款彩票游戏功不可没!, https://kknews.cc/zh-hk/news/8la5nbn.html
- Chinese Gambling Games; Mysteries Of Fan Tan And Boc Hop Bu. Two Popular Games In The Chinese Quarters Of American Cities-- Superstitions Of The Players. Boc Hop Bu. Superstitions
The New York Times. 5 February 1888. (PDF)

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *