M is for Mah Jong

One of the things on my list before coming to China was to learn mah jong and maybe end up playing it in the park with the old gentlemen. I've since discovered that cards are the most popular game to play in parks, that mah jong is associated with gambling and furthermore I would be shark bait to them.

Despite my relative inability to play, I was not completely unfamiliar with the game prior to my stay in China. While I lived in Japan, my Japanese father and other men would play in the winter evenings. During my stint as a bookseller at Borders in Phoenix, I noticed that every Thursday a contingent of women use to settle themselves at the round table near the counter in the cafe. They were rather boisterous and appeared to be having a good time.

Last year, in the spring and summer I spent some cool Monday afternoons (on the top floor of an Irish tavern in Shanghai), under the tutelage of kind women from Brits Abroad,learning the art of playing Mah jong. quite difficult to memorize- we have cheat sheets in order to remember all of the permutations to organize the tiles into winning "hands." I've fallen out of the habit of going- my friend and fellow novice had other commitments on that day, and now I do some English teaching on that day.

JC and I also learned another version of the game while on a cruise down the Yangtze river. We taught my nephew and his mom to play this simpler version, and it was a pleasure to play it in coffee shops while waiting for tio to finish his lessons, or play it just before bed time. He caught on so quickly that he managed to win the game a number of times. I have a travel set that guests purchased for us and I have on occasion, spent part of an afternoon with a friend playing two handed mah jong in a coffee shop. As two white women laying our tiles all over the table, we certainly got a lot of attention.

The game originated in China and has been mistakenly attributed to Confucious. In Japan, there is a traditional emphasis on gambling and the typical player is male. Many devotees there believe the game is losing popularity and have taken efforts to revive it. In addition, Japanese video arcades have introduced Mahjong arcade machines that can be connected to others over the Internet.

In 1920, Abercrombie & Fitch became the first ever American brand to introduce the game to the country. It became a success in New York, and owner of the Company, Ezra Fitch, sent emissaries to Chinese villages to buy every set of Mahjong they could find. Abercrombie & Fitch sold a total of 12,000 sets.

The game was a sensation in America and the same Mahjong game took on a number of trademarked names, such as Pung Chow or the Game of Thousand Intelligences. "Mahjong nights" in America often involved dressing and decorating rooms in Chinese style. Several hit songs were also recorded during the mahjong fad, most notably "Since Ma is Playing Mah Jong" by Eddie Cantor.

While Mahjong was accepted by U.S. players of all ethnic backgrounds during the Babcock era, many consider the modern American version a Jewish game, as many American Mahjong players are of Jewish descent. (Also, the NMJL was founded by Jewish players and considered a Jewish organization.) In addition, players usually use the American game as a family-friendly social activity, not as gambling.

We now also have a bigger, better table version of the tiles and probably should make it a new year's resolution to play more often.