Behold this gilded silver tortoise holding a cylindrical drinking game tube on its top, with two layers of lotus flowers between them. The tube, topped with a lotus leaf-shaped lid, has a lotus bud-shaped knob connected to the lid by a silver chain. Inside the tube are 50 inscribed gilded silver drinking game slips, which bear various orders derived from The Analects (Lun yu) for the drinkers to follow so as to add vivacity to a drinking activity.
Unearthed in 1982 in Zhenjiang, Jiangsu province, this exquisite silver artifact is a vital resource for research on the Tang Dynasty (618-907) drinking game culture. Collection: Zhenjiang Museum.