花会起源及早期传播考

A Research on the Origin and Early Spread of huahui花会

花会是盛行于晚清民国的一种民间赌博方式,关于其起源与早期流变众说纷纭。对于花会的发端,"浙江说"不符合事实,应以"福建说"为准,并可进一步定位于乾隆四十年前后的泉州府南安县一带。当地的自然环境、吏治民风以及盗寇侵扰后社会结构的变化,均为花会的产生提供了土壤;流行于福建的压宝则可能是其形式上的借鉴。花会的名称最早并非源于一般认为的牌九图案,而是来自民间文学中草莽英雄的绰号,即花名。乾隆末年花会已进入潮州,至道光时在闽、粤、浙、赣、皖等南方省份均有分布;同时,其通过海路迅速传向北方,早在嘉庆年间即到达岫岩,至迟到咸丰初年已遍布奉天全境。

Huahui was a kind of gamble which prevailed in the late Qing Dynasty and the period of the Republic of China. There are different opinions on the origin and early spread of huahui. Different from the traditional opinion that huahui first appeared in Zhejiang Province, it is more plausible that it was created in Nan’ an county of Quanzhou, Fujian Province in ca.1779. The natural environment, bureaucracy, general mood in Nan’ an, as well as the change of social structure after being attacked by pirates, provided explanations for the creation of huahui. Meanwhile, another kind of gamble yabao压宝, also popular in Fujian, might provide reference for huahui. The name of the original huahui wasn’ t from patterns of pai gow, as usually believed. Instead, it might come from the stage names of heroes in folk literature. In the late Qianlong period, huahui had already entered Chaozhou. Until Daoguang period, it was widely spread in Fujian, Guangdong, Zhejiang, Jiangxi and Anhui Provinces. In the meantime, huahui was quickly spread to northern China by sea. As early as the Jiajing period, it arrived in Xiuyan, and throughout Fengtian no later than early Xianfeng period.