Groups

Mahjong

Mahjong may be old, but you don’t have to be old to play it!!

There are few games whose history is shrouded in quite so many myths as Mahjong. While some say the game is over 2,500 years old, records only date back to the mid 19th century at the very earliest. The oldest artefact identifiable as a Mahjong tile dates back to the 1880s. The Game probably started in the provinces around Shanghai.

One of our regular players Anne Moxley vividly remembers her mother playing with other expatriates living in Shanghai before the 2nd World War, which is one of the reasons that she enjoys the game so much today.

Most researchers agree that the game probably derived from an old Chinese card game Mah-tiae (Hanging Horse), which was played with a very similar set of tiles. Mahjong roughly translates as “chattering sparrow” which is the noise the tiles make as you shuffle them. The tiles are very tactile and vary from set to set in appearance. There are 3 suits Circles, Bamboo and Characters, and Honours of Winds and Dragons. The flowers or guardian tiles which are not used in general play are the most decorative.

In the late 40’s during the Chinese Communist Revolution Mahjong was banned, as it was regarded as encouraging gambling and a capitalist pastime. The ban was not lifted until the late 60’s.

The traditional game played on street corners, parks and in homes throughout China has far fewer rules than the International game played in the west, and is played at a fast and furious pace. Whereas the group who meet up on Wednesday afternoons in Cargreen play at a much more leisurely pace and of course no gambling takes place! I would like to say that this certainly doesn’t mean that the will to win is any less.

I would like to leave you with one comment made by the husband of a Mahjong player who had been watching his wife and friends play for some time. “I think that this is a wonderful game, as it is the first time I have seen so many women in one room so quiet for so long.” 

Please feel free to join us on a Wednesday afternoon – all are welcome. 

Gilly Ainslie

Contact

Tel: Phillida Jermain 01752 847546

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