Propaganda of Health: 52-ways to Stay Healthy

Published September 18, 2026 • Updated September 18, 2026

A rare Chinese public-health deck with four floral suits and Zhuyin symbols replacing the usual court cards.

Health Poker №538 is a rare non-standard Chinese deck produced by the Shanghai Puye Printing Works in the early years of the People's Republic. Rather than a conventional card game, it repurposes the 54-card format as a vehicle for public-health education: every card carries an illustrated hygiene or disease-prevention scene, suits are marked with four flowers in place of the usual ones, and the court cards are replaced entirely by four Zhuyin Fuhao symbols.

Health Poker №538 box front showing two athletes holding a Health First banner

Above: box front with the slogan “First of its kind nationwide”. Two athletes hold a banner reading “Health First”, with basketball and running vignettes behind them.

Health Poker №538 box back showing a worker, peasant woman and soldier

Above: box back - the canonical “a worker, a peasant woman and a soldier” triptych shows them walking arm in arm before a tractor and factory chimneys - standard First Five-Year Plan agitprop styling, c. 1949–1956. Brand mark and the issue №538 at lower left.

Four floral suits from Health Poker №538, with two red suits followed by two blue suits — **Above**: The deck’s four floral suits, shown left to right: cherry blossom, lotus, plum blossom, and chrysanthemum.

Suits are marked with four flowers in place of the usual ones (plum blossom, cherry blossom, lotus and chrysanthemum). The card back can be viewed here: See the card back . It is in the spirit of Chinese symbolic tradition, but unlike the classic set of “plum-orchid-bamboo-chrysanthemum”, it retains plum blossom and chrysanthemum while replacing orchid and bamboo with cherry blossom (sakura) and lotus - a more “festive” and not strictly literary selection. Ranks 2–10 use Arabic numerals; the four remaining ranks per suit use four consecutive Zhuyin Fuhao (Bopomofo) symbols — ㄅㄆㄇㄈ — in place of J, Q, K and A. These symbols occupy the same index positions as the numbered cards, so no “court” imagery survives anywhere in the deck. The illustrations and slogans span practically the full range of public-health education of the period: personal hygiene, infectious-disease prevention, vector control, food and market hygiene and rejection of folk-healing practices.

These three independent features date the deck to c. 1949–1956: the use of Zhuyin rather than Pinyin (official until 1958); First Five-Year Plan-style “worker, peasant and soldier” iconography; and the absence of the public-private joint operation designation that became mandatory for private Chinese printers after 1956. The deck is attributed to a compiler, Zhang Juemin, and an illustrator, Wang Shi'an. Its formal copyright notice is unusual for mass-market print goods of the period, and suggestive of bespoke, limited production rather than a standard state commission. The brand, the Puye Printing Works, the deck's fate and its full-card content remain undocumented.

In conclusion, the card history of Communist China remains poorly investigated, and the author welcomes further discussion.

Court Cards

Court Cards: Lotus and Chrysanthemum

Health Poker №538 cards showing hygiene, food safety and insect control

Above: the red Lotus suit is shown across the top row, with the blue Chrysanthemum suit below. Both use the four Zhuyin Fuhao (Bopomofo) symbols ㄅㄆㄇㄈ in place of the usual J, Q, K and A indices; the scenes cover exercise, clean water, fresh food, pest control and household hygiene.

Court Cards: Cherry Blossom and Plum Blossom

Health Poker №538 cards showing public-health messages about exercise, food and cleanliness

Above: the red Cherry Blossom suit is shown across the top row, with the blue Plum Blossom suit below. Again, the four Zhuyin Fuhao (Bopomofo) symbols ㄅㄆㄇㄈ replace the usual J, Q, K and A indices, while the imagery extends the deck’s public-health programme into food safety, sanitation and clean domestic and working environments.

Number Cards

Number Cards: Lotus

Health Poker №538 cards showing hygiene and disease-prevention scenes with flower suit symbols

Above: a spread of illustrated cards from the red Lotus suit, combining numbered ranks with public-health messages about personal hygiene, bathing, sanitation, disease prevention and pest control. All cards are 87 × 62 mm; the index is 8 mm.

Number Cards: Chrysanthemum

Health Poker №538 cards showing personal hygiene and disease-prevention advice

Above: cards from the blue Chrysanthemum suit, covering everyday hygiene—from sterilising barber’s tools and brushing teeth to bathing, wearing masks, vaccination and keeping public spaces clean.

Number Cards: Cherry Blossom

Health Poker №538 cards showing vaccination, sanitation and public-health advice

Above: cards from the red Cherry Blossom suit, presenting practical lessons in hand-washing, household cleanliness, disease isolation, clean streets and safe public spaces.

Number Cards: Plum Blossom

Health Poker №538 cards showing disease prevention and household cleanliness

Above: cards from the blue Plum Blossom suit, linking personal hygiene with disease prevention, ventilation, clean air and prompt medical attention.

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By Dmitriy Staroverov

Russian Federation • Member since July 27, 2026

I'm a playing cards collector from Russia, Moscow. My area of interest is B.Dondorf decks, collection of historic Russian and Chinese decks throughout its history. I'm a medical doctor, ICU Specialist.

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