\tWhile the origin of mahjong (\u9ebb\u5c07, ma jiang) is unknown, the fast-paced four-player game is very popular throughout Asia. Mahjong is played both as a casual game amongst family and friends or as a way to gamble.<\/p>\n
\tTo learn how to play, you must first be able to identify and understand each mahjong tile. Each tile set contains 3 ‘simple’ suits (stones, characters, and bamboos), 2 ‘honor’ suits (winds and dragons), and 1 optional suit (flowers).<\/p>\n
\tStones
\tThe stones suit is also referred to as wheels, circles, or cookies. This suit features a circular shape, and on the face of each tile is a range of one to nine round shapes.<\/p>\n
\tThe round shape represents a \u7b52 (tóng), which is a coin with a square hole in the middle. There are 4 sets of each suit, and each set has nine tiles. That means there is a total of 36 stone tiles in each game set.<\/p>\n
\tCharacters
\tAnother simple suit is called characters, also known as numbers, thousands, or coins. These tiles feature the character \u842c (wàn) on its surface, which means ’10,000."<\/p>\n
\tEach tile also has a Chinese character ranging from 1 to 9. Thus, it is necessary to learn how to read numbers one through nine in Chinese in order to be able to put the tiles in numerical order. There are 36 character tiles in each mahjong set.<\/p>\n
\tBamboos
\tThe bamboo simple suit is also referred to as sticks. These tiles have bamboo sticks which represent the strings (\u7d22, s\u01d4o) that ancient copper coins were strung on in sets of 100 (\u5f14, diào) or 1,000 coins (\u8cab, guàn).<\/p>\n
\tThe tiles have 2 through 9 sticks on it. The number one tile does not have a bamboo stick on it. Instead, it has a bird sitting on a bamboo, so this set is sometimes also called ‘bird.’ There 36 bamboo tiles in a set.<\/p>\n
\tFlowers
\tFlowers are an optional suit. This set of 8 tiles features pictures of flowers plus a number ranging from 1 to 4. How the flower suit is played varies by region. The flowers could be used like the Joker in card games or as a wild card to complete tile combinations. Flowers can also help players earn extra points.<\/p>\n
\tThe 8 flower tiles include 4 tiles representing 4 four seasons: winter (\u51ac\u5929, d\u014dngti\u0101n), spring (\u6625\u5929, ch\u016bnti\u0101n), summer (\u590f\u5929, xiàti\u0101n), and fall (\u79cb\u5929, qi\u016bti\u0101n).<\/p>\n
\tThe remaining 4 flower tiles represent the 4 Confucian plants: bamboo (\u7af9, zhú), chrysanthemum (\u83ca\u82b1, júhu\u0101), orchid (\u862d\u82b1, lánhu\u0101), and plum (\u6885, méi).<\/p>\n
\tThere is only one set of flower tiles.<\/p>\n
\tWinds
\tWind is one of two honor suits. These tiles each feature the character for compass directions: north (\u5317, b\u011bi), east (\u6771, d\u014dng), south (\u5357, nán), and west (\u897f, x\u012b). Like the characters simple suit, it is necessary to learn to read the cardinal direction characters in Chinese to recognize and organize this suit.<\/p>\n
\tThere are 4 sets, and each set has 4 tiles. The total number of winds tiles in each game set is 16.<\/p>\n
\tArrows or Dragons
\tThe other honor suit is called arrows, or dragons. There are 4 sets of arrows tiles, and each set has 3 tiles. This threesome has several meanings which are derived from the ancient imperial exam, archery, and Confucius’ cardinal virtues.<\/p>\n
\tOne tile features a red \u4e2d (zh\u014dng, center). The Chinese character represents \u7d05\u4e2d (hóng zh\u014dng), which connotes passing the imperial exam, a hit in archery, and the Confucian virtue benevolence.<\/p>\n
\tAnother tile features a green \u767c (f\u0101, wealth). This character is a part of the saying, \u767c\u8ca1 (f\u0101 cái). This saying translates to "get rich," but it also represents an archer releasing his or her draw and the Confucian virtue of sincerity.<\/p>\n
\tThe last character features a blue \u767d (bái, white), which represents \u767d\u677f (bái ban, white board). The white board means freedom from corruption, a miss in archery, or the Confucian virtue of filial piety.<\/p>\n
\tThere is a total of 12 arrows, or dragons, tiles in each mahjong set. <\/p>\n