A Brief History of Mahjongg

Mahjongg tile sets are used to play many variations of the original game. The version of Mahjongg you play is the solitaire one. Each tile also has a meaning associated with it.

Mahjongg's origins are not fully known, but many theories have been put forth. One such theory says that Noah played Mahjongg on the ark because the East hand is dominant, presumably the direction the rains came, in the flood. Another theory says that the Chinese philosopher, Confucius, made the game. The three "Cardinal" tiles have the same names as his three Cardinal virtues, Chung (middle) the Red, Fa (prosperity) the Green, and Po (white) the White, cooresponding with Benevolence, Sincerity, and Filial Piety. Still another theory says that Mahjongg is derived from other Chinese games. "Ya Pei" is played with 32 cards made of wood or ivory and have the same oblong shape as present day Mahjongg tiles. "Ma Tiae" is played with 40 paper cards, similar in appearance, numbering 1 to 9 in four different suits along with the flower cards. It has been suggested that two brothers made the game, around 1850 A.D., from a combination of these two games.

In the early 1900's Mahjongg was introduced into English clubs in Shanghai. Mr. Babcock started the importation of Mahjongg tiles to the Western world. He stripped down the rules to the very basics and even put Arabic numerals on the tiles. 1923 was the height of the Mahjongg craze with major gaming companies, like Parker Bros., Milton Bradley, and United States Playing Card, importing Mahjongg tile sets by the thousands.

Many different rules sprang up and in 1924 the Standardization Committee of the American Official Laws of Mah-Jongg was formed to write a rule book. Still today many clubs play by different rules and sometimes even add flower or joker tiles. Players of the computer version are becoming intrigued with the beauty and detail of the hand crafted sets of the 1920's and 1930's and are searching antique shops and flea markets for sets of their own. Many new players are being introduced to the game solely through the solitaire version and are slowly realizing the intrigue and challenge that the traditional game offers. [1]