Let's play Tibetan Snooker -- Gyiren

　　By Zhang Mingyu

　　Photo shows Tibetan lads Soitse (L) and Dorje (R) playing the game "Gyiren" at a sweet butter-tea house in the Barkhor Street, downtown Lhasa. (Photo Source: chinatibetnews.com)

　　BEIJING, Oct. 4 (Xinhuanet) -- At a sweet butter-tea house in the Barkhor Street, downtown Lhasa, Tibetan lads Dorje and Soitse, sitting leg-crossed by a square table, were flipping wooden oblate chessmen while sipping fragrant butter tea.

　　Each time when a chessman was knocked into a hole of the wooden plate, a murmur of admiration would burst out from the audience aside.

　　Such a game is called "Gyiren," a traditional Tibetan sport event also known as "the Tibetan Snooker" or billiards without ball arms.

　　Gyiren, originating from India, is reportedly introduced into Tibet by Kashmirians living in Lhasa. At the beginning of its introduction, it was regarded as a game for Tibet‘s upper class only, such as senior officials, noble lords and business families.

　　Lying at each corner of the tabletop is a hole in 3.3-cm diameter, beneath which is a pocket for holding the chessmen knocked into the hold. (Photo Source: chinatibetnews.com)

　　At the annual summer banquet for officials in old Tibet‘s local government, proficient of the game like Abdulla of the Hui ethnic group would be invited to vie with Tibetan noble officials.

　　Since the 1940s, the game has been becoming popular in ordinary Tibetan families and butter-tea houses in Lhasa and has developed into a Tibetanized game with the passage of the time.

　　It is played on a 0.85 m ×0.85 m square board with 20 0.5-cm-thick chessmen in 3.3 cm diameter, nine black and white, respectively, one red and one cue chessman. The board with birch rims has four holes in 3.3-cm diameter with pockets below on corners.

　　Points are scored by flipping the cue chessman with fingers with the result being a successful pocketing of other chessmen into one of the four holes. In the game plateau barley flour is used as lubricant.

　　Photo shows the arrangement for the chessmen at the opening of the game "Gyiren," a traditional Tibetan game known as "Tibetan Snooker." (Photo Source: chinatibetnews.com)

　　Quality of the tabletop of Gyiren differs in terms of material and smoothness. Usually, it takes two weeks to finish making a purely hand-made top, so the price will cost several hundred yuan apiece.

　　In the game, chessmen will be stricken off the table if the player uses the force of his/her fingers too much; yet, the chessmen will not be touched if the force is too small. So, how to flip properly is crucial to winning the game. Such recreation with a great fun is considered conducive to improving the fingers‘ flexibility.

　　During the development of this folk sport, a complete set of competition rules has been formulated. Especially after the 1980s, related departments formulated the "Rules for Gyiren" and listed it as an item of the Tibet‘s Traditional Sports Meeting for All Ethnic Groups.

　　At the third, forth, fifth and sixth National Folk Games for Ethnic Groups, Tibetan delegation‘s Gyiren was included in the competition event as well.