Mahjong (also called mah-jongg by the American association, is a game for four players that originated in China. Mahjong involves skill, strategy, and calculation, as well as a certain degree of chance. Depending on the variation which is played, luck can be anything from a minor to a dominant factor in success. In Asia, mahjong is also popularly played as a gambling game. In the game, each player is dealt either thirteen or sixteen tiles in a hand (depending on the variation being played). On their turn, players draw a tile and discard one, with the goal of making four or five melds (also depending on the variation) and one pair, or "head". Winning comes "on the draw", by drawing a new or discarded tile that completes the hand. Thus a winning hand actually contains fourteen (or seventeen) tiles.
HistoryMahjong in ChinaOne of the myths of the origin of Mahjong suggests that Confucius, the great Chinese philosopher, had developed the game in about 500 BC. This assertion is likely to be apocryphal. According to this myth, the appearance of the game in the various Chinese states coincided with Confucius' travels at the time he was teaching his new doctrines. The three dragon (Cardinal) tiles also agree with the three Cardinal virtues bequeathed by Confucius. Hóng Zh?ng (? , lit. middle) the Red, F? Cái (? , lit. prosperity) the Green, Bái Pi (? , lit. white) the White represent Benevolence, Sincerity, and Filial piety respectively, again under this myth. In fact, the "middle" is likely a reference to ?? (zh?ngguó) — China's name in Chinese.
Also, this myth claims that Confucius was fond of birds, which would explain the name "
Mahjong" (sparrow). However, there is no evidence of Mahjong's existence before the Taiping era in the 19th century, which eliminates Confucius as a likely inventor.
Many historians believe it was based on a Chinese card game called M?diào (??) (also known as Ma Tiae, lit. Hanging Horse; or Yèzí (??), lit. Leaf) in the early Ming dynasty. This game was played with 40 paper cards similar in appearance to the cards used in the game Ya Pei. These 40 cards, numbered 1 to 9 in four different suits along with four extra flower cards, are quite similar to the numbering of Mahjong tiles today. Although Mahjong only has three suits and, in effect, uses four packs of Ya Pei cards.
There is still a healthy debate about who created the game. One theory is that Chinese army officers serving during the Taiping Rebellion created the game to pass the time. Another theory is that a noble living in the Shanghai area created the game between 1870 and 1875. Others believe that around 1850 in the city of Níngp? two brothers had created Mahjong from the earlier game of M?diào.
This traditional Chinese game was banned in its homeland in 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded. The new Communist government forbade any gambling activities, which were regarded as symbols of capitalist corruption. After the Cultural Revolution, the game was revived, and once again Mahjong has become a favorite pastime of the Chinese, as well as in Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan and elsewhere.
Current DevelopmentToday, the popularity and the characteristics of players of Mahjong vary from country to country. There are also many governing bodies, which often host exhibition games and tournaments. It remains far more popular in Asia than in the West.
In Japan, there is a traditional emphasis on gambling and the typical player is male. Many devotees there believe the game is losing popularity and have taken efforts to revive it. In addition, Japanese video arcades have introduced Mahjong arcade machines that can be connected to others over the Internet.
Mahjong culture is still deeply ingrained in the Chinese community: Sam Hui wrote Cantopop songs, using Mahjong as their themes. Hong Kong movies have often included scenes of Mahjong games. Gambling movies have been filmed time and again in Hong Kong, and a recent sub-genre is the Mahjong movie.
A recent study by doctors in Hong Kong concluded that the game can induce epileptic seizures.
Type of GameDue to the solid form of the tiles, Mahjong is sometimes classified as a 'domino game'. This is unrealistic as the tiles are not double-headed like a western domino. Mahjong is more similar to western-style card games such as rummy with the unusual extra characteristic of having a 'hard' card.
EquipmentMahjong, can be played either with a set of Mahjong tiles, or a set of Mahjong playing cards (sometimes spelled 'kards' to distinguish them from the list of standard hands used in American mahjong); one brand of Mahjong cards calls these Mhing. Playing cards are often used when travelling as it reduces space and is lighter than their tile counterparts, but are of a lower quality in return. In this article, "tile" will be used to denote both playing cards and tiles.
Many Mahjong sets will also include a set of chips or bone tiles for scoring, as well as indicators denoting the dealer and the Prevailing Wind of the round. Some sets may also include racks to hold tiles or chips (although in many sets the tiles are generally sufficiently thick so that they can stand on their own), with one of them being different to denote the dealer's rack.
Computer implementations of Mahjong are also available: these allow you to play against computer opponents, or against human opponents on the Internet.
A set of Mahjong tiles will usually differ from place to place. It usually has at least 136 tiles, most commonly 144, although sets originating from America or Japan will have more. Mahjong tiles are split into these categories: suits, honor and flowers.
SuitsThe suits of the tiles are money-based. In ancient China, the copper coins had a square hole in the center. People passed a rope through the holes to tie coins into strings. These strings are usually in groups of 100 coins called diào (? or variant ?) or 1000 coins called guàn (?). Mahjong's connection to the ancient Chinese currency system is consistent with its alleged derivation from the game named m? diào (??).
In the mahjong suits, the coppers represent the coins; the ropes are actually strings of 100 coins; and the character myriad represents 10,000 coins or 100 strings. When a hand received the maximum allowed winning of a round, it is called m?n guàn (??, lit. full string of coin.)
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Stones: named as each tile consists of a number of circles. Each circle is said to represent can (?,
tóng) coins with a square hole in the middle.
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Bamboos: named as each tile (except the 1 Bamboo) consists of a number of bamboo sticks. Each stick
is said to represent a string (?, s?o) that holds a hundred coins. Note that 1 Bamboo is an exception.
It has a bird sitting on a Bamboo. This is a belief that players cannot draw or add bamboo sticks to 1
Bamboo to change the tile to some other Bamboo.
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Characters: named as each tile represents ten thousand (?, wàn) coins, or one hundred strings of one hundred coins.
Honor*
Wind tiles: East (?, d?ng feng), South (?, nán feng), West (?, x? feng), and North (?, b?i feng).
* Dragon tiles: red, green, and white. The term dragon tile is a western convention introduced by Joseph Park Babcock in his 1920 book introducing Mahjong to America. Originally, these tiles are said to have something to do with the Chinese Imperial Examination. The red tile ("?"?, zh?ngb?ng) means you pass the examination and thus will be appointed a government official. The green tile ("?"?, f?cái,literally "Get Rich") means, consequently you will become financially well off. The white tile (???báib?n,literally "White Tile") means that because a person is doing well they should act like a good, incorrupt official. It usually has a blue border to distinguish from replacement tiles and prevent players from secretly adding lines to effect a victory. In the original Chinese Majiong, the piece called "?" (jiàn), represents archery, the red "?" represents a hit on the target. In ancient Chinese archery, one would put a red "?" to signify that the target was hit. White "?" represents failure, green "?" means that one will release the draw.
Flower*
Flower tiles: The last category and typically optional components to a set of mahjong tiles, these tiles often contain artwork on their tiles. Many people prefer not to use these tiles due to the fact that they make it easier to win and earn bonus points. For example, if you have no flowers in your hand you get 1 bonus point, and 2 points for 2 bonus tiles of your seat (eg: A pair of the symbol 3 flower and you are west wind. You get 2 bonus points for your hand.)
The 4 tiles below are flower tiles that represent plum, orchid, chrysanthemum, and bamboo, the four noble plants of Confucian reckoning.
The 4 tiles below are seasonal tiles that represent spring, summer, autumn, and winter.
