subject: Enjoy A Game Of Mahjong Sets [print this page] One of the stories regarding the origin of mahjong claims that Confucius the great Chinese philosopher had developed the game about 500bc. The game of mahjong was found to have come into existence during the same period as Confucius traveled around teaching. The three "cardinal" tiles in the game of mahjong also coincide with the three cardinal virtues taught by Confucius. Chung (middle) the red, FA(prosperity)the green, PO(white)the white, benevolence, sincerity, and filial piety. Confucius was known to like birds and that would explain why mahjong is named mahjong. The name mahjong literally means hemp bird, or linen bird, in Chinese.
Mahjong is a game that originated in china and is commonly played by four players. Mahjong is a game of skill, strategy and calculation and involves a certain degree of chances also. In Asia mahjong is also popularly played as a gambling game. The former sometimes leads to aggressive gambling and social behavior, as well as health problems, though interestingly there is also research which reveals health benefits also.
The game is played with a set of some 152 attractive tiles based on Chinese characters and symbols. In most variations, each player begins by receiving thirteen tiles. In turn players draw and discard tiles until they complete a legal hand using the fourteenth drawn tile to form four groups (melds) and a pair (head). Which means when a player discards than any player can bit or buy it. There are fairly standard rules about how a piece is drawn, stolen from another player (melded), the use of basic (numbered tiles) and honours (winds and dragons), the kinds of melds and order of dealing are done and played. The minimum hand necessary to win and the amount of tiles and or extra tiles used usually vary greatly per variation.
