In the beginning of January, a well-known tile game originated from China was the subject of a media storm following three businessmen from Texas attempted to get on the fun. Their business, dubbed The Mahjong Line, offered an adorable, vibrant version of mahjong, that omitted any reference to Chinese culture by using catchy phrases and cartoons at just 425USD and claimed the company had “upgraded” the game -which was a sure sign of the social media storm.
Prior to the Mahjong Company’s major error, the game’s advancements abroad were centuries from the beginning.
Mahjong first arrived in The United States via an American named Joseph Park Babcock, a representative of the Standard Oil Company in Shanghai. He brought mahjong sets into America. United States, and Abercrombie & Fitch was the first business to carry mahjong sets in their stores, selling about 12,000 sets annually. In the context of discrimination and immigration that time, mahjong offered Chinese Americans a common cultural connection in a time where others Americans were viewed as foreigners.
In the meantime, mahjong was growing in popularity in the UK but the British were more likely to follow the traditional Chinese mahjong rules and abstain from the ones devised by the Americans (typical).
It wasn’t until 1986 however it wasn’t until 1986 when American mahjong’s rules, rules of play and championships finally became standardized. Amy Tan further cemented the game’s popularity in pop culture through her novel, which was later made into a movie The Joy Luck Club which explored the intergenerational conflicts within an Chinese immigration-related family.
“My father has asked me to be the fourth corner at the Joy Luck Club,” Tan writes Tan in her novel. “I am replacing my mother’s seat, which at the mah-jong table is empty since her death just two months back. My father believes that she was killed by her thoughts.”
In the US Mahjong is now a popular game within The Jewish community. Mahjong also known as ” mahj” as the writer Jessica Turnoff Ferrari grew up calling it, has was ” a way of life” for an entire generation of American Jews similar to how that it has been in China.
This explains why it reached Sarah Jessica Parker; in 2018, the actress from America’s Jewish heritage was adamant about mahjong on “Live” with Kelly as well as Ryan she “loves mahjong,” and one year later, she posted in her Instagram about her brand new tile set, stating that she would play it if “it’s Sunday evening, it’s Mah Jong.”
Mahjong Youth
In China mahjong is often considered to be a game to help retirees get their attention and keep their minds alert. But how many young Chinese players taking part in the game?
For some, it’s led to some very heated arguments (and feelings of guilt) about their choices in life.
In 2019, the query, “Is it a waste of life for young people to play mahjong?” was the subject of the topic of a heated discussion in Chinese social media, which referred specifically to mahjong’s addictive nature. In a congruous article posted on “China’s Quora,” Zhihu one of the users who was in her 20s, said the fact that she “felt guilty” for spending all day playing mahjong with her friends from her home town. The renowned sociologist Li Yinhe weighed in in the comments, arguing that mahjong can be an “double-edged sword.”
“On the one hand, it numbs our nerves like opium and makes us reluctant to do anything but to settle for random existence,” she wrote. “On the other hand, it enables us to obtain peace of the soul, to live a leisurely life, and to endure the meaninglessness of life, the painful fact that all mankind and every individual must face.”
However, for some mahjong doesn’t require that too much thought or concern It’s just a great means to have fun and meet new people. In the three-part report shared on social media platform Douban, a player in the town of Changsha shared stories of the bonding experience to Chinese students over mahjong when being within America. United States.
“So many Changsha people I know are clamoring for [it], but none of them have mahjong!” writes the author in his story “And online mahjong just isn’t the same!”
The largest online marketplace in China, Taobao, you can continue to browse for the perfect mahjong all-mechanical table or tile sets with vibrant colors that will bring Texan entrepreneurial minds look green and envious.
As the current generation of mahjong players enters their twilight years It is yet to be determined if the next generation can keep the game in play. There is one thing that is certain but should you be looking for a game that has a long time that requires planning, speed and agility in equal measure mahjong is likely to become your new favourite game.