What do the symbols on the face cards of a deck of playing cards represent? Surprisingly, they are 12 famous historical figures.

Playing cards are a form of entertainment enjoyed by people of all ages and familiar to everyone, from children to the elderly. These days, games like “Dou Dizhu,” “Zha Jin Hua,” and “Sheng Ji” are particularly popular. But do you know who the figures depicted on the face cards actually are? Below, we’ll introduce each of the twelve cards and the historical figures they represent.

Let’s start with the King of Spades. The figure depicted on this card is David, the father of King Solomon of Israel in the 10th century BCE. David was a skilled harpist and composed many psalms recorded in the Bible; hence, the King of Spades often features a harp, and his hair is styled in outward‑curving locks.

David established a unified and powerful Kingdom of Israel, which exerted influence on both the Jewish people and the wider world.

The King of Hearts bears the likeness of Charlemagne, the Frankish king. Legend has it that, in the earliest days, an artisan accidentally shaved off the mustache on his upper lip. From then on, every King of Hearts card was modeled after this very image. Consequently, only the King of Hearts appears without a mustache; his hair is curled inward, and he typically holds his sword behind his head.

During the reign of Charlemagne, the “Carolingian Renaissance”—often referred to as “the first awakening of Europe”—took place, exerting a significant influence on the social and cultural development of Western Europe.

On the King of Clubs card is printed the word “Alexander”—a name we often invoke. Whenever we talk about being under immense pressure, we can’t help but think of him: “He’s got mountains of pressure.” He established his dominance over all of Greece, then conquered the Persian Empire, forging a vast empire that stretched from Greece and Macedonia in the west to the Indus River in the east, bordered by the First Cataract of the Nile to the south and reaching as far north as Babylon. He was always adorned with jewels set with crosses, and his hair curled outward.

He fostered the flourishing of ancient Greek culture, promoted cultural and economic exchanges between East and West, integrated Eastern and Western traditions, encouraged intermarriage among different ethnic groups, and advocated for equal status among peoples, thereby exerting a profound influence on the development of human society and culture.

The King of Diamonds bears the image of Julius Caesar, the renowned Roman general and statesman. On Roman imperial coins, Caesar is depicted in profile; from that point onward, among the four Kings, only the King of Diamonds features a side-facing portrait, with hair curled inward, and he wields an axe—a symbol of authority.

He was a distinguished military commander and statesman at the twilight of the Roman Republic—covering regions such as the Mediterranean coast—and, through his extraordinary talents, became the founder of the Roman Empire.