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Mid-Spring till the end of autumn is the mahjong (or majiang
as it is pronounced) season in China. Courtyards in modern high-rises
resound to the clacking of tiles being shuffled and arranged,
and the occasional cry of “Hula!” (I win!). Majiang
is a highly addictive game of chance for four players. It is not
uncommon for gaming sessions to carry on for 20 hours or more,
as demonstrated in the famous Wang Kar-Wai movie In the Mood
for Love, when the main character’s neighbors play majiang
non-stop for several days. These days it is a game that is played
not only on the narrow streets of Chinese cities, but nearly everywhere
in Asia. There are also majiang websites visited by virtual
communities of mahjong devotees, and shops both real and virtual
that sell mahjong sets fashioned out of anything from chocolate
to jade to ivory.
So, where did it come from and when?
In terms of traditional Chinese culture, majiang is a
relative newcomer. Historians have traced its origins to a card
game with similar rules played in 800 AD. But the game as it is
now known, played with tiles, appeared only at the end of the
XIX century. Its popularity spread to the Western World through
residents of Shanghai’s foreign concessions in the 1920s,
who found it as compulsive a pastime as their indigenous neighbors.
Majiang tiles remind me of the dominoes played by senior
citizens of my native Belarus, except that they have exotic markings
in addition to dots. The game is also referred to as moving or
laying bricks as playing it entails construction of a wall of
sorts.
There are several theories as to the game’s origins. The
most interesting is that it was invented by a military strategist
who used tiles bearing pictures to construct military formations.
The full majiang set has 144 tiles. They comprise 36 sticks,
or bamboos, numbered 1 to 9, each number having 4 sticks; 36 dots
or circles, also numbered 1 to 9 with 4 to each number; 36 wan
(ten thousand) numbered 1 to 9, with 4 for each number; 12 decorations:
comprising 4 red, green and white dragons each; 16 winds: 4 each
for the north, south, west and east winds; and eight flowers that
are dealt after the game has started.
The stick, or bamboo, represents a spear; the dot a shield; and
the wan characther troops. The eastern, western, northern and
southern winds represent the general guardians of the four gates.
The character zhong, which means both center and China, acts as
commander, and fa as the officer announcing orders given by superiors
to all ranks of troops. Blank tiles denote detachments in reserve.
Each player has 13 tiles. The aim of the game, similar to that
of gin rummy and poker, is to make sets and flushes. The winner
is the first player to show four sets of three tiles and two of
a kind. This result is achieved in various ways, according to
where in China the game is being played, or even in which of the
many Mahjong communities in one city.
Playing one’s first game of majiang is a daunting
experience, particularly for the Western novice. Experienced players
often don’t need to look at the tiles as just a touch tells
them its picture. The only way to cheat is to hide a tile up a
sleeve, which is why many men players do not wear a shirt at all:
on the one hand the weather is too hot, and on the other it makes
secreting a tile impossible. According to the formal rules, players
do not speak to people other than those they are playing, and
make their moves rapidly and irrevocably. Winners and losers evince
neither joy nor disappointment and, very important, no player
becomes indebted.
Majiang is and always has been a game of chance, although
nowadays matches are generally substituted for cash. Sometimes
small wagers are made, but the main aim of the game is the excitement
it generates. You won’t make a fortune playing majiang
in China but you might win enough to treat your company of players
to a beer or a pot of fragrant tea.
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