There aren't very many Oriental-style tarot decks available today, although I'm sure that there are more now than there used to be.  Somehow the assumption seems to be that if you have an Oriental deck it must be the I Ching.  It is nice to see some real tarot decks being published.

The Chinese Tarot has tremendously lovely artwork in it, following the traditional painting style of the Dynasties.  This is actually not a new tarot, being first published in 1989.  However, this is the first chance I have had to get one.

For the most part, the deck follows traditional tarot symbolism and ordering.  The Major Arcana are pretty much titled the standard way except that the Hanged Man is, in this deck, the Hanging Ghost, a most haunting card indeed, and visually stunning.  The other change is Confucius takes the place of the Judgement card.  Traditional order is used.

The Minor Arcana are also similar to traditional imagery.  Suits are Swords, Cups, Staves and Coins.  The Coins are I Ching coins.  Typical court cards of King, Queen, Knight and Page are used.  I have to wonder if there weren't empirical Chinese titles that would have been better used in this deck to fit the concept better.

The Swords suit has a lot of motion shown in all the cards, and there are several girls shown using swords as well as men.  I was under the impression that women weren't allowed to use weapons in ancient China, perhaps this was done to make the deck more P. C.  Mulan, move over!

On each card in the deck there is a delicate Chinese script down one side of the picture.  I imagine these are the titles in Chinese, or a keyword meaning, but they aren't explained in the little booklet.  In fact, the little booklet is little more than a sheet of paper folded eight times, printed with the short descriptions and meanings.  Very little background information is given.  I would have liked to have had more to read about this deck.

Overall, it is a beautiful deck, probably nice to use for those who are familiar enough with traditional symbolism to make the transition over to the Chinese theme.  I don't think a beginner would get very far with it, due to the lack of information available.  And, as always, the art makes it a wonderful addition to any collection.

Click here for pictures
 
or here to purchase this deck
 
or here to return

Please use your browser's back button to return from pictures

Review Copyright 1998 by Gina M. Pace