History of Mahjong
Mahjong’s Origin in China
Mahjong was created in its current form in the mid to late 19th century in China. Thought to be adapted from card or domino games from as early as the 12th century. It began as a gambling game among the wealthy, particularly elite men.
Mahjong gained popularity in southern China during the later part of the Qing Dynasty and the name actually means “Sparrow" referencing the sound the tile make when shuffled.
By the early 1900’s, its popularity spread among all classes, in Shanghai and Beijing.
But the popularity of Majong, rose and fell in popularity in the 20th century due to social and political issues. Concerns over gambling began to slow its growth. By the 1950’s the government cracked down and eliminated symbols of capitalism and gambling culture. Because the game was linked to gambling, playing the game in public clubs and parks was banned.
In the 1970’s government crack down softened and Mahjong became widespread again.
Babcock Introduces Mahjong to Americans
Joseph Babcock, an American business executive living in Shanghai, saw the popularity of the game and he and his wife learned to play. He created a booklet of “Mah-jongg” rules in English and created his own set of tiles that included anglicized numbers, making the game easier to learn among non-Chinese readers in Shanghai. He soon saw Mahjong as a huge business opportunity to introduce to the wealthy communities back home in America.
In doing so, Babcock altered the pronunciation of the name, some of the rules and names and images on the tiles, thinking it would be easier to introduce the game among English speaking Americans. In 1922, he partnered with Abercrombie & Fitch, at the time an outdoor game and leisure company, to market the game as an exotic pastime to appeal to the affluent circles.
Babcock’s instinct was right, and the popularity of the game took off among American socialites on the west coast. It became so popular that Chinese manufactures dedicated factories to the American market and it became Shanghai’s sixth-largest export to the United States.
Asian Diaspora and Mahjong
At the same time, some of the original variants of the game of Mahjong were spreading to other parts of the world and making its way to America with the early Chinese migrants.
While wealthy Americans saw the game as an exotic and exciting social pastime, immigrants coming to America, viewed Mahjong as a tradition passed down through generations that created a sense of community and shared culture and forged new friendships within the immigrant neighborhoods, detention camps and railroad worksites.
Today, there are over 40 variants of Mahjong played all over the world.
The National Mah Jongg League
With the popularity of Mahjong spreading, various manufacturers entered the market creating their own tile sets in the US. The game, in both China and the US became fractured and different variations and rules of the game began popping up. It caused the popularity of the game to fade a bit.
In the 1930s and 1940s Mahjong was still regularly played among Jewish American women organizations and was seen as a key social activity for fundraising and community building. A group of women in New York, who were frustrated that the inconsistent gameplay and rules were hindering the game they were so passionate about, decided to do something about it. In 1937, the group led by Viola Cecil and Dorthy Meyerson got together to standardize the rules and winning hands of Mahjong, thus the National Mah Jongg League was formed.
The Origin of The Tiles
Each tile in a Chinese Mahjong set carries a symbolic meaning, representing history, philosophy and Chinese culture.
Mahjong started as card game with each suit representing different references to money. In the late 19th century the paper cards transitioned to bone and bamboo tiles that were hand carved and hand painted, 144 in a set, inheriting the three suits that maintained their visual and historical reference to money and Chinese culture.
Stone Tiles
Also referred to as wheels, circles and dots represent Chinese coins and symbolize wealth and prosperity.
Bamboo Tiles
Also referred to as sticks, represent a string of ancient coins. The One Bam tile seemed a little plain, so the tile creators added a bird perched on a stick or bamboo stalk.
Characters Tiles
Also referred to as numbers, thousands and coins. The tiles include the Chinese characters for the number one through nine and each tile includes the Chinese character for 10,000 underneath. This suit represents abundance.
The Honor Tiles
Wind Tiles - These tiles include the cardinal directions, East, South, West and North connecting the game to Chinese cosmology and daily life.
Arrow Tiles - (referred to as Dragons in American Mah Jongg) - The symbol on the red arrow tile symbolizes success and virtue, the symbol on the green arrow tile represents wealth and sincerity and the white tile with the blue border (or blank in early sets) represents moral integrity.
The Optional Suit - Flower Tiles - Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter represent cycles of nature and the Plum, Orchid, Bamboo and Chrysanthemum represent the four Confucian plants.
