Mahjong
in the Western world
In 1895, Stewart Culin, an American anthropologist,
wrote a paper in which mahjong was mentioned. This
is the first known written account of mahjong in any
language other than Chinese. By 1910, there were written
accounts in many languages, including French and Japanese.
The game was imported to the United States in the
1920s.[5] The first mahjong sets sold in the U.S.
were sold by Abercrombie & Fitch starting in 1920.
It became a success in New York, and the (co.) 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.[6]
Also in 1920, Joseph Park Babcock published his book
Rules of Mah-Jongg, also known as the "red book".
This was the earliest version of mahjong known in
America. Babcock had learned mahjong while living
in China. Babcock's rules simplified the game to make
it easier for Americans to take up, and his version
was common through the mahjong fad of the 1920s. Later,
when the 1920s fad died out, many of Babcock's simplifications
were abandoned.
The game has taken on a number of trademarked names,
such as "Pung Chow" and 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.
Many variants of mahjong developed during this period.
By the 1930s, many revisions of the rules developed
that were substantially different from Babcock's classical
version (including some that were considered fundamentals
in other variants, such as the notion of a standard
hand). The most common form, which eventually became
"American mahjong", was most popular among
Jewish women. Standardization came with the formation
of the National Mah Jongg League (NMJL) in 1937, along
with the first American mahjong rulebook, Maajh: The
American Version of the Ancient Chinese Game.
While mahjong was accepted by U.S. players of all
ethnic backgrounds during the Babcock era, many consider
the modern American version a remake of a Jewish game,[10]
as many American mahjong players are of Jewish descent.
The NMJL was founded by Jewish players and is considered
a Jewish organization. In addition, players usually
use the American game as a family-friendly social
activity, not as gambling. In 1986, the National Mah
Jongg League conducted their first Mah Jongg Cruise
Tournament, in conjunction with Mah Jongg Madness.
In 2010, this large scale seagoing event hosts its
25th Silver Anniversary Cruise, with players from
all over the States and Canada participating.
In recent years, a second organization has formed,
the American Mah Jongg Association. The AMJA currently
hosts tournaments all across North America, with their
signature event being at the Trump Taj Mahal Casino
Resort in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
British author Alan D. Millington revived the Chinese
classical game of the 1920s with his book The Complete
Book of Mah-jongg (1977). This handbook includes a
formal rules set for the game. Many players in Western
countries consider Millington's work authoritative.
Mahjong is not the first re-appearance of the Chinese
game in the western world. It was also introduced
in playing card form by an official of Britain's Consular
Service named William Henry Wilkinson, author of "Chinese
origin of playing cards," under the name of Khanhoo.
This card game does not seem to have made much impression.
The later success of mahjong came in part from the
elegance of its mechanism as embodied in the domino-like
pieces.
Current development
Today, the popularity and the characteristics of players
of mahjong vary from country to country. There are
also many governing bodies, which often host exhibition
games and tournaments. It remains far more popular
in Asia than in the West.
Mahjong, as of 2010, is the most popular table game
in Japan, where there is a traditional emphasis on
gambling[dubious – discuss], and the typical player
is male. As of 2008, there were approximately 7.6
million Mahjong players in Japan and an estimated
8,900 Mahjong parlors did ¥300 billion in sales. Many
devotees there believe the game is losing popularity
and have taken efforts to revive it.[citation needed]
There are several manga and anime (e.g. Saki and Akagi)
devoted to dramatic and comic situations involving
mahjong. In addition, Japanese video arcades have
introduced mahjong arcade machines that can be connected
to others over the Internet. There are also video
game versions of strip mahjong.
Mahjong culture is still deeply ingrained in the Chinese
community. Sam Hui wrote Cantopop songs using mahjong
as their themes, and Hong Kong movies have often included
scenes of mahjong games. Many gambling movies have
been filmed in Hong Kong, and a recent sub-genre is
the mahjong movie.
Like other games, such as chess, Mastermind, checkers
and card games, prolonged playing of mahjong may trigger
epileptic seizures. The number of such cases, however,
are rare. According to a 2007 study, to date there
are only 23 reported cases of mahjong-induced seizures
in the English medical literature.
Studies by doctors have also shown in Hong Kong that
the game is beneficial for individuals suffering from
dementia or cognitive memory difficulties, leading
to the development of mahjong therapy. |
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