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Linde Center for Global Environmental Science Environmental Science and Technology
(Most of the words are from Wikipedia) Mahjong is a game that originated in China, commonly played by four players (with some three-player variations found in Korea and Japan). The game is played with a set of 136 tiles based on Chinese characters and symbols, although some regional variations use a different number of tiles. In most variations, each player begins by receiving thirteen tiles. In turn players draw and discard tiles until they complete a legal hand using the fourteenth drawn tile to form four groups (melds) and a pair (head). There are fairly standard rules about how a piece is drawn, stolen from another player (melded), the use of basic (numbered tiles) and honours (winds and dragons), the kinds of melds, and the order of dealing and play. However there are many regional variations in the rules; in addition, the scoring system, the minimum hand necessary to win varies significantly based on the local rules being used. The game was called Âéȸ (pinyin:?m¨¢ qu¨¨), meaning?sparrow?in Chinese, which is still the name most commonly used in some southern Chinese dialects such as?Cantonese?and?Min Nan, as well as in?Japanese. However, most Mandarin-speaking Chinese now call the game?m¨¢ ji¨¤ng?(Â錢). In?Northern?Wu Chinese?(Shanghainese?and its relatives), it is pronounced as Â錢?[mu tsia?], but in actuality, Â錢 is the diminutive form of Âéȸ, written as Âéȸƒº?[mu tsia? ?], due to an?erhua?event. It is through the Wu Chinese pronunciation of Âéȸƒº that the diminutive form of Âéȸ in Northern Wu dialect became known as Â錢 in both Mandarin and Wu. One of the myths of the origin of mahjong suggests that?Confucius,the Chinese philosopher, developed the game in about 500 BC. The three dragon (cardinal) tiles also agree with the three cardinal virtues bequeathed by Confucius.?H¨®ng Zh¨ng?(¼tÖÐ? The myth also claims that Confucius was fond of birds, which would explain the name "mahjong" (maque Âéȸ = sparrow). Many historians believe it was based on a Chinese?card game?called?M¨£di¨¤o?(ñRµõ) (also known as?Ma Tiae, hanging horse; or?Y¨¨z¨ª?[È~×Ó], 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 are numbered 1 to 9 in four different suits, along with four extra flower cards. This is 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 some 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 nobleman living in the?Shanghai?area created the game between 1870 and 1875. Others believe that two brothers from?N¨ªngp¨?created mahjong around 1850, from the earlier game of M¨£di¨¤o. This game was banned by the government of?People's Republic of China?when it took power in 1949. The new?Communist?government forbade any gambling activities, which were regarded as symbols of?capitalist?corruption. After the?Cultural Revolution, the game was revived, without gambling elements (see below), and the prohibition was revoked in 1985.Today, it is a favorite pastime in China and other Chinese-speaking communities. SimplesThere are three different suits numbered 1 to 9, which are called simple tiles. They are bamboo, characters (or myriads), and circles (or dots).
Bamboos numbered 1 to 9.
Characters numbered 1 to 9.
Circles or Dots numbered 1 to 9. HonorsThere are two different honor suits: the winds and the dragons. The winds are east, south, west and north, and the dragons are Red, Green and White. They have no numerical sequence and there are four tiles of each honor (e.g. four Red Dragon tiles).
The East, South, West and North
The Red, Green and White Dragons However, there are different kinds of scoring. For detailed information and fun, please contact jcchen@caltech.edu
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