The history of mahjong is fairly straightforward and can be divided by the decade of the 1920s. Before the early 1920s, mahjong was almost exclusively played in China and after the early 1920s the game began to spread around the rest of the world. There is no evidence that the game existed before the year 1880.

The History of Mahjong in China

There is some dispute as to the exact origin and date of the game of Mahjong in China. There is a theory that the game was invented by a beauty in seclusion within the court of King of Wu. She created the game and invited her maids to play with her.

For many centuries the game of mahjong remained exclusive to the royal class, so much so that there was a law against commoners playing the game, with a sentence of decapitation for anyone who broke the law. Around 500 AD the law was lifted and the game began to circulate both among the lower classes and to other countries around the world.

The History of Mahjong in America

Joseph B. Babcock, an American who lived in Shanghai is said to be responsible for introducing the game of mahjong into the United States. He coined the phrase, Mah-jongg and, to make it simpler for the American player, he added index letters and numbers to the tiles and gave them English translations. He also imported the first few mahjong sets into the United States.

By 1923, the popularity of mahjong was at a tremendous high with huge numbers of mahjong sets being imported, however by the late 1920s, the popularity of mahjong was already beginning to wane. It was estimated that importers were left with around $2 million worth of mahjong sets that they could not sell.

Mahjong experienced a revival during the depression of the 1930s, at the same time as many other card games, table games and board games experienced resurgence. The game has remained popular to this day.

The National Mah Jongg League

In 1937 the National Mah Jongg League (NMJL) was established in the United States. At the same time, the American mahjong rulebook was written, which saw the end of the scores of rule changes that had been seen up until that point.

Mahjong Rules

The British author, Alan D. Millington wrote “The Complete Book of Mah-Jongg” in 1977. In it he set out formal rules for the classic Chinese version of the game of mahjong. The book was referred to as the leading authority on the game of mahjong.

Mahjong Today

Mahjong continues to be more popular in Asia that it is in the rest of the world. That being said, mahjong is played around the world with a number of mahjong tournaments held in America. With the advent of the internet, the popularity of mahjong has grown even more. The game is more accessible than ever and is enjoyed by people from all over the world, for fun, for real money and in tournament play.