Monthly Archives: February 2019

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Coin from a Chinese New Year Coin set. Photo courtesy of William Price

Happy New Year. It's the Year of the Pig, which runs from Feb 5th 2019 until Jan 24 2020, according to China highlights.

https://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/chinese-zodiac/pig.htm

CNN gives us information about how to celebrate.

https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/lunar-new-year-2019/index.html

Because for some of us, no celebration is complete without mahjong, here's a tile featuring a pig at the bottom from a fabulous fully carved Chinese Bakelite set:

Tile courtesy of William Price

The dog on the top looks a lot like mine. Here's a photo of my dog contemplating a toy bought to celebrate the Year of the Pig.

 

Five minutes later, for a really "durable" toy:

And now a step back in time to 2002 where mahjong is part of a Chinese New Year celebration.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAZQ04ZzAyg

Kung Hei Fat Choi   Happy New Year!

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Many of you know that the smaller hand-carved bone and bamboo sets are starting to be appreciated the way they should be. I gave myself one of them for Christmas years ago (I fell for the horse Jokers) and the set connected me with a collector (now friend) who helped me develop my expertise about mahjong sets and Chinese art.  So I really have a fondness for these little treasures.

A reader sent me photos of his set, and I must admit I had not seen one like this before. I am sharing it with you now.

 

 

 

The One Bam peacocks are fabulous, aren't they? The Flowers are a Dragon (half hidden in the cloud (the pink), probably looking for his pearl which I can't see, a tiger (lord of all the land animals), a deer (emblem of long life)  and a goldfish. When the tiger and the Dragon meet, the two great forces of the universe are together (from C.A. S. Williams) The bottom tiles, 1 and 2 are Liu Hai and the three legged toad.

And isn't that Goose Joker the best? According to C.A.S. Williams, the wild goose is the harbinger of good news-how perfect for a Joker!