Chinese mahjong tiles series#

Swain explains that although the flower tiles have always been known by that name, they often depicted other scenes and were an outlet for the craftsmen’s creativity. There is just something about them that really speaks to me,” she says. Robin Parker, who hosts a lively, regular mahjongg game at her house in Burlington, says that the first time she played the game she was immediately captivated by the designs, especially the flower tiles. VPR Robin Parker, who plays in a weekly mah jongg game in Burlington, says that the first time she played the game she was immediately captivated by the tile designs. So all sets really have to have that in common.” All sets also have four types of wind and three kinds of dragons. “There are Dots, which represent coins, there are Bams, or bamboos, which represent strings of coins, and then there are Cracks, the Chinese word for character, which represents lots of money. She explains that although many sets have different designs, they all have the same basic suits. “What’s really wonderful about mah jongg is there’s an incredible variety of types of sets and types of materials,” Swain says. Gregg Swain, a writer from Shaftsbury, is so enamored with the game she recently co-authored a book all about mah jongg titled Mah Jongg: The Art of the Game. More than 100 years later, mah jongg sets are still a popular means of entertainment in many cultures. In the late 19th century, Chinese craftsmen left paper behind and started hand carving mahjongg symbols on bamboo and bone tiles. Landsteiner 2005 The faces of the sets 'Stone 1' and 'Stone 2' are those of real Mahjong tiles.Mah jongg, a card game that mixes skill and strategy with a bit of luck, originated in China in the 1850s. The images of the sets 'Wooden', 'Wooden II', 'Wooden III', and 'Shiny' are © N. This page is part of JavaScript-Mahjong by Norbert Landsteiner. There is only one tile for each season, but all four season tiles match with each other. They are like the flower tiles and are also associated with a specific wind: There is only one tile for each flower, but all four flower tiles match with each other: The four flowers are usually associated with a specific wind: There is a set of four flowers in each game. There are four tiles of each dragon in the game: The white dragon ( pai pan white tile), symbolizing the higher or spirutual order of beings. The green dragon ( fa), symbolizing the lower or plant order of life, The red dragon ( chun), symbolizing the middle or animal order (including humans), There are four tiles of each wind in the game: The four winds are East, West, South, North. These pieces are inscribed with the Chinese characters for the four compass directions, representing the four winds. Therefor this suit is also called the wàn suite. The character on the top of each tile shows the numeral, the character below is the Chinese symbol wàn (10,000). These tiles show the Chinese characters for the figures 1 through 9 ( man-zu). Anciently they where depicted as coins or shields.Īgain, there are four of each of the following pieces, numbered 1 through 9: This suit is formed by the wheels ( pin-zu). The 1 st piece is generally rendered as a bird, usually a peacock or sparrow. There are four of each of the following pieces, numbered 1 through 9: The pieces of this suit depict bamboo sticks ( sou-zu). While these tiles are represented in the game four times each, the four seasons and the four flowers are only once in the game and mach each other. Further, each game contains four sets of tiles inscribed with the Chinese characters for the four compass directions, representing the four winds, as well as four sets of three tiles called 'dragons'.

Chinese mahjong tiles series#

Most of these form four series each of three suits: Bamboo (Sticks), Dots (Wheels), and Cracks (Numbers). Mahjong Guide to Tiles JavaScript-Mahjong Guide to TilesĪ Mahjong set contains a total of 144 tiles.