Of course, the passion for punting is not a new thing in Taiwan. Local gazetteers from the Ching dynasty relate that one thing Taiwanese of all social classes had in common was a love of gambling. The losers ended up broke, and the winners kept gambling until they were busted as well.
台灣的賭風當然不是現在才盛行，清代《諸羅縣志》裡描述台灣人特愛賭博，農工商兵全體有志一同，輸的人沒錢，贏的人也沒錢，因為又投入賭場去啦。