Play Free - Mahjong Game
This is an ancient game of Maj-Jong played in the modern world. Can it be beaten?
Instructions are in the game. History of Mahjong
One of the myths of the origin of Mahjong suggests that
Confucius, the great Chinese philosopher, had developed the game
in about 500 BC. This assertion is likely to be apocryphal.
According to this myth, the appearance of the game in the
various Chinese states coincided with Confucius' travels at the
time he was teaching his new doctrines.
Also, this myth claims that Confucius was fond of birds, which
would explain the name "Mahjong" (sparrow). However, there is no
evidence of Mahjong's existence before the Taiping era in the
19th century, which eliminates Confucius as a likely inventor.
The general consensus is that the game was developed from
existing Chinese card and domino games sometime around 1850.
Many historians believe it was based on a Chinese card game
called Mádiào (馬吊) (also known as Ma Tiae, lit. Hanging Horse;
or Yèzí (葉子), lit. Leaf) in the early Ming dynasty. This game
was played with 40 paper cards similar in appearance to the
cards used in the game Ya Pei. These 40 cards, numbered 1 to 9
in four different suits along with four extra flower cards, are
quite similar to the numbering of Mahjong tiles today.
There is still a healthy debate about who created the game. One
theory is that Chinese army officers serving during the Taiping
Rebellion created the game to pass the time. Another theory is
that a noble living in the Shanghai area created the game
between 1870 and 1875. Others believe that around 1850 in the
city of Níngpō two brothers had created Mahjong from the earlier
game of Mádiào.
This traditional Chinese game was banned in its homeland in
1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded. The new
Communist government forbade any gambling activities, which were
regarded as symbols of capitalist corruption. After the Cultural
Revolution, the game was revived, and once again Mahjong has
become a favorite pastime of the Chinese, as well as in Hong
Kong, Macau, Taiwan and elsewhere. More Strategy Games
here.
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