Abrac
In his book A Gnostic Book of Saints, pages 8 & 9, Robert Place mentions an early Chinese deck that has allegorical illustrations on one suit. He says they depict senes "from 'The Story of the River Banks,' a Chinese legend about the heroic exploits of the emperor's emissary on a journey to the mountain of the Taoists in the center of the world. It's a hero's journey that includes a fight with a devilish dragon before the final reward is achieved. It's easy to see in this ancient Chinese deck a relationship with the Tarot, which also has a suit of coins and a suit depicting an allegorical story."
After some searching I've found that this type of deck was not uncommon in ancient China. Andy's Playing Cards mentions a couple of them, see Money-Suited Patterns (Gun Pai) and The Turfan Card.
I also found a Website that seems to support Place's reference. Tradgames.org, see Chinese Money Cards (illustrated).
The big mystery seems to be how tarot cards just appear without any real clues to their origin. We know playing cards originated in the East and migrated westward. It seems to me that a Chinese deck with an allegorical suit is huge. Why hasn't this been talked about more?
After some searching I've found that this type of deck was not uncommon in ancient China. Andy's Playing Cards mentions a couple of them, see Money-Suited Patterns (Gun Pai) and The Turfan Card.
I also found a Website that seems to support Place's reference. Tradgames.org, see Chinese Money Cards (illustrated).
The big mystery seems to be how tarot cards just appear without any real clues to their origin. We know playing cards originated in the East and migrated westward. It seems to me that a Chinese deck with an allegorical suit is huge. Why hasn't this been talked about more?