What do the symbols mean in mahjong?

Both the circles and bamboo represent ancient Chinese currency. The former represents a tong, a coin with a square hole in the middle, and the latter, strings of such coins.

What is the symbolism in mahjong?

In China, the game has evolved to represent peace and friendship. Inviting someone to a game of Mahjong is almost synonymous with friendship. Expensive Mahjong sets can be seen as a status symbol and are a source of pride among Chinese families.

What are the Chinese symbols in Mahjong?

Do Mahjong tiles have meanings?

The game of Mahjong is full of meaning around fortune and prosperity! 筒子 Coins: They represent, well, coins! In Ancient China, coins were copper and circular with a square hole in the middle. 索子 Bamboo: Bamboo is known to have the meaning of peace.

What are the flower symbols in mahjong?

Did you ever wonder about the flowers on the Mah Jongg tiles? These flowers represent the four Confucian plants: bamboo (summer), chrysanthemum (autumn), orchid (spring), and plum (winter). They are known as the Four Gentlemen of China.

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Why are the flowers numbered in mahjong?

The bonus tiles relate to the winds, as each season is associated with a direction and a flower with a season. Some tile sets will have the seasons and flowers numbered 1-4; these numbers correspond to the wind direction it is associated with: 1=East, 2=South, 3=West, 4=North.

What is the difference between flowers and Seasons in mahjong?

Flowers and season tiles are different in nature from the suit and honor tiles. There are only 4 flowers (1, 2, 3, and 4) and only 4 season tiles (1, 2, 3, and 4). When drawn, they are declared and a substitute tile is drawn.

What are the four flowers in mahjong?

Depending on the Mahjong set, the flowers are commonly the Plum Blossom, Iris, Bamboo, and the Chrysanthemum. These four flowers/plants represent the Four Confucian Gentlemen/women.

What does the green dragon mean in mahjong tile?

There are three "dragons": the red dragon (chun), symbolizing the middle or animal order (including humans), the green dragon (fa), symbolizing the lower or plant order of life, the white dragon (pai pan – white tile), symbolizing the higher or spirutual order of beings.

Why does my mahjong set have 16 flowers?

Sometimes sets come with extra tiles: extra flowers, extra jokers, extra blank tiles. Don't get all a-twitter (or all a-Facebook) over it -- it's perfectly normal for a manufacturer to add more tiles. And sometimes a previous owner may have acquired extra tiles and thrown those in, too.

What are lucky tiles in mahjong?

What are Lucky Tiles? Lucky Tiles will provide you with more strategic choices and additional goals while playing! Each game will have a randomized number of Lucky Tiles for you to match! When a Lucky Tile is matched then up to two sets of other tiles will automatically match.

What are the winds and dragons in mahjong?

The winds are east, south, west, and north, beginning with east. The dragons are red, green, and white. The white dragon has a blue or black frame on the face of the piece or in some sets is entirely blank. These tiles have no numerical sequence like the suited tiles (for example the bamboo pieces number 1 to 9).

What is the Flower wall in mahjong?

In Chinese Mah-Jongg, the Flowers and Seasons are optionally used to give a player extra points. If you draw a Flower (or Season; for simplicity's sake these are usually referred to as just Flowers), it is immediately placed in your meld area and replaced by a tile from the back end of the Wall.

What is the Joker for in Mahjong?

The Joker. One of the most important rules of Mahjong is that a player cannot use a joker for a single or pair. A joker can substitute for a tile(s) in a pung, kong, or quint combination. Accordingly, a player cannot use a joker for “NEWS” or for the year (ex.

What is the symbolism of the fourth corner at the Mahjong table?

In the beginning of the book, Jing-mei becomes the fourth corner to replace her dead mother at the mahjong table, which marks the beginning of the connecting between two generations, the West and the East, more importantly, the quest for and transmit of the Chinese identity.

What is the secret to Mahjong?

Always match tiles that will free and open up the most new tiles. If you have a pair that does not open anything yet, leave it until you need it. Concentrate on matching tiles on horizontal lines, as these are usually more difficult to remove.

What is the rarest win in mahjong?

No prize for guessing, but the Big Four Winds/Big Four Blessings winning hand has the lowest probability in a game of mahjong. With a rare 1 in 57,856 chance of happening, this combination definitely needs to go onto your Instastory!

What is the bird on mahjong tiles?

The number one tile ​does not have a bamboo stick on it. Instead, it has a bird sitting on bamboo, so this set is sometimes also called "bird." There 36 bamboo tiles in a set.

What does the snowflake do in mahjong?

'Frost'(Snowflake) helps to freeze the combo counter until you collect 5 pairs of tiles. The multiplier grows without falling. It helps to earn a higher score in the game.

What does Kong mean in Mahjong?

There are three main types of melds: a Pong (three identical tiles), a Kong (four identical tiles), and a Chow (three suited tiles of the same suit in numerical sequence).

What does the bamboo 8 mean in Mahjong?

Right as Rachel is saying this, she draws the most important tile in the game: an eight of bamboo. The number eight is of huge symbolic importance to the Chinese; it resembles the character for fortune and is considered a sign of wealth, prosperity, and happiness.

What is four small winds in Mahjong?

Little Four Winds is a hand that contains a pung/kong of three winds and a pair of the fourth.

Why do Mahjong sets come with extra flowers?

From the founding of the National Mah Jongg League 70 years ago (in 1937), the NMJL treated flowers as jokers (wild flowers). Beginning with the 1943 card, more flowers were added to increase the luck ratio and to allow for more challenging hands.

What is Sakura in Mahjong?

American Mahjong Tiles, "Sakura": Featuring a traditional Japanese cherry blossom motif, "Sakura" is revered as a symbol of rebirth, and the embodiment of beauty and mortality. 166 Cherry Blossom Tiles: The back of each tile of this American mahjong tiles depicts an alluring cherry blossom flower motif.