History of the Tangram
The invention of the tangram puzzle
is unrecorded in history. The earliest known Chinese book is dated
1813 the puzzle was very old by then. One reason for this could
be that in China, it's country of origin, at the time it was considered
a game for women and children. This would have made it unworthy
of "serious" study and unlikely to be written about.
Different times, different ways of thinking.
The roots of the word Tangram are
also shrouded in time, with a number of possible explanations.
The one I like best involves the Tanka people. These river people
of China were great traders who were involved in the opium trade.
The western sailors they traded opium to likely played with the
puzzle when they visited their Tanka girlfriends. The story I
believe is that it comes from the obsolete English word "tramgram"
meaning puzzle or trinket.
Tangrams enjoyed a surge of interest
during the 19th century in Europe and America.This, no doubt,
was due to the opening up of trade with China and the aforementioned
sailors bringing home new found amusements. "The Chinese
Puzzle" spawned a flood of books and picture card sets. Some
quite elaborate Chinese examples exist with pieces carved from
and/or inlaid with ivory, jade and other fine materials. Others
were cheap, locally made copies in wood or fired clay. Some books
blindly reproduced previous mistakes in the patterns. Some things
never change.
Tangrams continue to entertain
and frustrate now days. The puzzle attracts people on a number
of levels. It gets the math inclined with the geometry and ratios
of the pieces. The figures spark visually inclined people though
their form, liveliness and striking simplicity. It is one of the
classic puzzles, appealing to young and old, the serious and the
carefree.