Mah Jongg is an ancient Chinese game, played with tiles and supporting Mah Jong racks, that is often attributed to Confucius, the historic Chinese philosopher. While it is not entirely clear when the game was first introduced, most sources estimate the game was first played around 500 B.C.
Nobody really knows if Confucius had anything to do with the creation of the game but some historians claim that the three Dragon tiles that are part of the game are similar to the three cardinal virtues proclaimed by Confucius. Hong Zhong matches benevolence, Fa Cai represents prosperity and Bai Ban stands for filial piety. The same historians also claim that the name of the game “mahjong” or sparrow was chosen because of Confucius’ fondness of birds.
The game was originally designed as a card game with 40 cards in four sets numbered from 1-9 and 4 extra cards with flower symbols. Sometimes in the early 19th century many believe that Chines army officers created today’s Mah Jongg game out of boredom during the Taiping rebellion.
While many see the game just as another past time, the game was actually prohibited to play in China for almost 40 years. From 1949 to 1985 the Chinese communist government banned the game as a sign of capitalist corruption. Since 1985 the game could be officially played again in China with minor modifications of the rules to circumvent gambling aspects of the game.
The game was officially introduced in the US by Abercrombie and Fitch in 1920 and was so successful that Ezra Fitch had to send traders to Chinese villages to buy all the Mah Jongg racks and tiles they could find.
An important element of the success of the Mah Jongg game are the beautifully designed Mah Jongg tiles and the Mah Jongg racks. Most game sets are functional and decorative at the same time allowing the devotee to look for a unique Mah Jongg set for sale that is not only fun to play but also fits within the interior design of the players.
Many of today’s fans bought the game because of the beautiful design and the intricate details of artfully crafted tiles and Mah Jongg racks, but soon fell for the fun and excitement of the game.