image interpretation

•

 

1930-41b-1000x1320 1 and 2

We are featuring another war set on this website, representing the war between the Japanese and the Chinese during the 1930s. This particular set has 16 Flowers, and thus a lot of information, all of which deserves study. I am dividing this set into two posts, each looking at eight different tiles.

For many years, resource poor Japan had their eyes on China, their neighbor to the West. This desire for China's resources, among other reasons having to do with a united Asia under Japanese rule, led to the Second Sino-Japanese War which effectively started in 1931. These mahjong tiles seem to deal with events from those years. The carvers possibly were hoping to rally people to combat the more major take-over of China which began in 1937. Remember, Mahjong is a game, something that was played to get away from the troubles of the day, and yet for the Chinese, there was no escape from war time troubles. Given the presence of Arabic numbers on these tiles, this set was meant for export.

Ray Heaton and Michael Stanwick have translated the tiles.

The left column of tiles contains the term: Aviation to Save the Nation, a term we have seen before, coined by Dr Sun Yat-Sen, who had great hopes that the Chinese would be able to develop a strong aviation presence. According to Peter Harmsen, in his very well-researched book Shanghai 1937 Stalingrad on the Yangtze, during the 1930s, there were actually two flight schools. One was overseen by the Italians, who were sent to China by Mussolini. Il Duce wanted to ensure that Italy would have a good part of China's aviation business. That school was very poorly run, so much so the planes that had crashed were counted as being ready for flight!  And equally sad, the training program graduated everyone, even people who were totally unfit pilots. Luckily another flight school, out of Hangzhou, was doing a better job. In other words, the Chinese were no match for the skilled and very well prepared and outfitted Japanese.

Of course if you are familiar with the E.A. R. Fowles set, you will have already seen a tile similar to the 2nd tile in the first column. We see hopes that the Chinese will be able to become strong enough in the air to be able to drop bombs on their Japanese enemies.

The 2nd column is very interesting: the Characters at the tops of the tiles translate to move troops to recover territory, something that we have seen on other sets of tiles. A few of the gates may represent towns, such as Tile #2, Ji Lin, which is in Manchuria. Tile #3 translates as Yan Jiang, or Flood Yangtze River. 1931 is the year the Japanese invaded and took over Manchuria, "prompted by" the Mukden incident (and you can read about that in the Wikipedia article linked below). It was right after the terrible flooding of the Yangtze River in July and August, which was responsible for the deaths of between 145,000 and 4,000,000 people. I don't know if there is cause and effect here, but maybe the government of China was coping with this flood, and the Japanese took advantage. Or perhaps the wall merely marks the timing of the take over of Manchuria.

The railroad sabotage on the Japanese line which ran through China, which was blamed on the Chinese although it had been carried out by the Japanese, was termed the Mukden Incident. Please pay attention to the amount of "destruction" done to the tracks

From Wikipedia:

Incident

Japanese experts inspect the scene of the 'railway sabotage' on South Manchurian Railway

Colonel Seishirō Itagaki, Lieutenant Colonel Kanji Ishiwara, Colonel Kenji Doihara, and Major Takayoshi Tanaka had laid complete plans for the incident by May 31, 1931.[8]

 

A section of the Liǔtiáo railway. The caption reads "railway fragment".

The plan was executed when 1st Lieutenant Suemori Komoto of the Independent Garrison Unit (独立守備隊) of the 29th Infantry Regiment, which guarded the South Manchuria Railway, placed explosives near the tracks, but far enough away to do no real damage. At around 10:20 PM (22:20), September 18, the explosives were detonated. However, the explosion was minor and only a 1.5-meter section on one side of the rail was damaged. In fact, a train from Changchun passed by the site on this damaged track without difficulty and arrived at Shenyang at 10:30 PM (22:30).[9]

This incident ultimately led to the Japanese take-over of Manchuria, a loss that was crushing to many Chinese people, who felt they had lost part of their country. Perhaps this was the "lost territory" the mahjong carvers hoped to inspire the Chinese people to recapture.

Mao Zedong was well aware of the power of propaganda. He was the head of the Propaganda Department. Zhang states:

The CCP leader Mao Zedong commented in 1937:

"Our party should strictly obey the following guidelines: [we will] spend one cent [of effort on] fighting against the Japanese [directly on the battlefield]; two cents on marginal expenses; seven cents on recruiting [new Party members]; ten cents in propaganda."[77]

To read more about the precursors of the war, you might want to look at Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mukden_Incident

For those of you who don't yet know, there is a wonderful magazine, The Mahjong Collector. I am eagerly awaiting my copy.

You can find out more by emailing them at this address:

 

To see when I am doing author appearances, click here

You can now follow me on Twitter!

@MahJonggGregg

To learn more about Mah Jongg, you might want to take a look at this book that I wrote with Ann Israel, published by Tuttle.

www.mahjonggtheartof thegame.com

To order it click here:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mah-jongg-ann-israel/1118759459?ean=9784805313237

or here from Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Mah-Jongg-Collectors-Guide-Tiles/dp/4805313234/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1414844427&sr=8-7&keywords=mah+jongg

 

 

• 1 Comment

•

DSC_0112 crop

This is a delightful Mahjong set made by the German Company Schildkrote, and I thought it a very appropriate way to celebrate Valentine's Day. The set itself can bring joy to our hearts. And you will see why this is especially good for this day, but you will have to keep reading!

Notice the charming folk art-like sparrow, and the seed Bams which echo those early forms from old Mahjong sets (see Michael Stanwick's site:  www.themahjongtileset.co.uk  Gallery 1.1 The Wilkinson set). You can also see there is a bit of liberty taken with the arrangement of the 7 Bams, as well as the 7 Dots. The Wans are all a bit different one from the other, indicating parts of the set were  hand-carved. (Reader Tony feels they may have just used different stamps for the Wans, thus explaining the variations.)

 

DSC_0123

Although a few people have thought it to be ivory, the top is actually a thin plastic laminate on a wood back.

 

DSC_0112 news

The Winds and the Dragons are quite similar to those we often see. The White Dragon here is just the plain White plastic laminate top, not in the photo.

 

And now for the Big Reveal:

DSC_0114

The Flowers!! There are four hearts, and Ray Heaton has translated the characters to mean a pull on the heart. I'd like to think this means "love." When you note that there are directions on the tiles, and East, South, West and North are all present, although not photographed, I'd like to think this means that love is everywhere, for dear friends and relatives, and for the game of mahjong itself.

 

•

DSC_0114

These Mahjong tiles represent propaganda images made by Chinese craftsmen. The 2nd Sino-Japanese War, which lasted from July 7, 1937 to September 9th, 1945, was very difficult for the Chinese. The problems began when the Japanese invaded Manchuria in 1931, and many localized battles followed that invasion. But by 1937, the Marco Polo Bridge incident  started an all-out war between the two countries, and it became the largest Asian War in the 20th Century.

Although we can't know what was going on in the minds of the Mahjong craftsmen, it seems that China wanted soldiers to defend China from the invaders.  And interestingly, as we saw earlier in the Mysterious Case of E. A. R. Fowles, Mahjong tiles sometimes provided the medium for the message. Craftsmen wanted to let the world know how the Chinese felt about the war and that they were going to fight back against the invaders, with perhaps a hope that others would help them too.

Once again, Ray Heaton has translated these tiles for us:

"The tiles say 奮勇殺敵, fenyong shadi, "to summon up courage to fight the enemy" or simply "to fight the enemy bravely".

And 航空救國, hangkong jiuguo, aviation saves the nation."

The top tiles show two Chinese soldiers on the right,  with their Chinese style caps, and two Japanese ones on the left (Rising Sun on their hats)

"Aviation saves the nation" is a saying coined by Dr. Sun Yat Sen, the founder of the Republic of China, right after World War I, in the hopes of developing the aviation industry. He also wanted to train pilots who could serve their country and defeat the Chinese warlords wreaking havoc. The saying continued to be used to rally people to fight to save the nation, and it certainly seems to have been used in that way with these tiles. The Chinese star-like emblem can be seen on the plane's wings.

It is possible the Chinese carvers were inspired by some of these posters, taken from this website:

26016_5

26016_1

Hand-To-Hand Fighting

Notice that swords were being used in battle.

The United States government and its citizens helped China during its war with Japan. Many citizen groups raised money for the Chinese people.

I found a very interesting website if any of you are interested in learning more about these war years: www.chinaww2.com. One of the articles features propaganda posters that appeared at this time.

http://www.chinaww2.com/2014/07/25/more-than-a-thousand-characters/

One of the articles features some recent aviation paintings by a very talented artist Roy Grinnell.

http://www.chinaww2.com/2014/11/28/soaring-dragon/

To see when I am doing author appearances, click here

You can now follow me on Twitter!

@MahJonggGregg

To learn more about Mah Jongg, you might want to take a look at this book that I wrote with Ann Israel, published by Tuttle. To see more about it:

www.mahjonggtheartof thegame.com

To order it click here:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mah-jongg-ann-israel/1118759459?ean=9784805313237

or here from Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Mah-Jongg-Collectors-Guide-Tiles/dp/4805313234/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1414844427&sr=8-7&keywords=mah+jongg

 

•

urn-3-HUAM-CARP14598_dynmc

The above image is from the Harvard Museum.

There's a Chinese legend about Liu Hai and the three legged toad.

From Primal Trek:

"Liu Hai and the Three-Legged Toad

Liu Hai (刘海) is one of the most popular members of the Chinese pantheon of charm figures and represents prosperity and wealth.  There are a couple of versions of the story which have come down through history.

Liu Hai was a Minister of State during the 10th century in China.  He was also a Taoist practitioner.  One version of the story says that he became good friends with a three-legged toad who had the fabulous ability to whisk its owner to any destination.¹  This particular toad had a love not only for water but also for gold.  If the toad happened to escape down a well, Liu Hai could make him come out by means of a line baited with gold coins.

The second version of the story is that the toad actually lived in a deep pool and exuded a poisonous vapor which harmed the people.  Liu Hai is said to have hooked this ugly and venous creature with gold coins and then destroyed it.

The story of Liu Hai is frequently told as "Liu Hai playing with the Golden Toad".  There is a hidden meaning here.  The Chinese word for "toad" is chanchu (蟾蜍).  Sometimes, Chinese will only say the first character chan (蟾).  In some Chinese dialects, the character chan has a pronunciation very similar to qian (钱) which means "coin".  Therefore, a storyteller reciting "Liu Hai playing with the Golden Toad" could be heard by listeners as "Liu Hai playing with the gold coins".

There are many plays on words in the Chinese language and thus in representations in art.

 

 

get_thumb-1

I love this old woodblock print, of Liu Hai and the toad. It is easy to see Liu Hai enticing the toad to give up his coin . It clearly shows us the string of coins that were the inspiration for the bamboo suit, with a string through that hollow center of the coin.

 

kangxiobv

 

You can read more about that ancient way of carrying coins in this post

We often see Liu Hai on Mahjong tiles too, with his three legged toad and string of coins. On this delightful pair of tiles you can see the toad with a coin above his head, and Liu Hai with his string of coins, perhaps having just lured the toad out of the well.

DSC_0116 newer

Knots and thus tassels were important forms of art to the Chinese, and appear over and over, including as in the abbreviated form seen above with Liu Hai's string of coins, and on other Mahjong tiles as well.

Here's a photo I took to celebrate 2015:

DSC_0119

You can see the tassels at the end of the endless knots in the Wind tiles. (Those of you who have been following this blog will also recognize the presence of two fish, representing marital harmony, and peaches and bats surrounding the Craks, symbols of longevity. The shrimp are symbols of flexibility. Dragonflies represent summer, but I just learned that when associated with White, as we see for the White Dragon, they represent pureness of character, one of the five happinesses: long life, good health, wealth, good moral character, and a natural death.)

More on tassels and knots can be found here:

http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/culture/knot.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_knotting

 

You can now follow me on Twitter!

@MahJonggGregg

To learn more about Mah Jongg, you might want to take a look at this book that I wrote with Ann Israel, published by Tuttle. To see more about it:

www.mahjonggtheartof thegame.com

To order it click here:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mah-jongg-ann-israel/1118759459?ean=9784805313237

or here from Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Mah-Jongg-Collectors-Guide-Tiles/dp/4805313234/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1414844427&sr=8-7&keywords=mah+jongg

 

 

•

 

X 59 EAGLE SCENE crab

We've been looking at some of the wonderful sea creatures that we see on Mahjong tiles. The next three appear in our book: Mah Jongg the Art of the Game. They are from a fabulous set of Flower tiles, made of ivory backed with bamboo. Thanks to www.Mahjongmahjong.com for providing this wonderful set for our use in the book.

You can see how finely carved this crab is, and how there is attention to the rocks under the water, and the grasses growing at the bottom of the sea. Once again we see that small "H" mark on the shell of the crab, similar to what we saw in the other post. To me, that crab has a lot of personality!

 

X 59 EAGLE SCENE shrimp

Here we have a shrimp, swimming near the ocean bottom, past little clumps of sea plants. To the Chinese the shrimps are symbols of flexibility. I don't know about you, but I certainly could use a bit more flexibility in my life!!

 

X 59 EAGLE SCENE fish

And this may be one of the most delightful looking goldfish I have ever seen!  The bubbles are such a terrific touch! And as you probably remember, goldfish are symbols of wealth and prosperity.

Here's another shrimp, this time bone and bamboo, not from the book

DSC_0120

 

By sheer coincidence, today is the day the Italians celebrate:

The feast of the 7 fishes, Christmas Eve.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feast_of_the_Seven_Fishes

 

You can now follow me on Twitter!

@MahJonggGregg

To learn more about Mah Jongg, you might want to take a look at this book that I wrote with Ann Israel, published by Tuttle. To see more about it:

www.mahjonggtheartof thegame.com

To order it click here:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mah-jongg-ann-israel/1118759459?ean=9784805313237

or here from Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Mah-Jongg-Collectors-Guide-Tiles/dp/4805313234/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1414844427&sr=8-7&keywords=mah+jongg

 

 

•

 

carp from the Japanese Mahjong Museum
carp from the Japanese Mahjong Museum

I thought it might be fun to really get a good look at some of the marvelous treasures that were in the Japanese Mahjong Museum. For those of you who don't know, the Museum was founded in 2002 by a Japanese publisher, Mr. Kyouitirou Noguchi, and its collection was the finest in the world. Soon after Mr Noguchi died, the collection was sold. We all have high hopes it can once more be put on display for everyone to enjoy and study.

In the meantime, there are two wonderful catalogs of the collection. The photographs are extraordinary. The sets run the gamut from those made of  paper to ones made of cloisonné, and silver. The catalogs themselves have become collectibles. The set today is on page 14 of the soft cover catalog.

The game is called "The Officials Promotion Tiles" and it closely resembles some of the variants of the suits we see in Mahjong. Although not technically Mahjong, the set is very similar to what we have been seeing. And it's really pretty to look at!! The color palette is unusual, with the addition of the gold paint, and the blue is a lovely shade.

Carp have great meaning to the Chinese.

From Primaltrek.com

"The carp fish is a commonly seen visual pun because the Chinese character for carp (li 鲤) is pronounced the same as both the character (li 利) for "profit" and the character (li 力) for "strength" or "power". 

and

"A frequently seen image is of a carp swimming and leaping against the current of a river to reach the spawning grounds.  This refers to the legend (liyutiaolongmen 鲤鱼跳龙门) that a carp which is able to leap over the mythical "Dragon Gate" will become a dragon.  This is an allegory for the persistent effort needed to overcome obstacles."

Given that this set is all about Officials getting promotions, certainly the second meaning of the image has its appeal.

needle nose fish
needle nose fish

 

These fish were really hard to see as fish at first. But after looking at it for a bit, I was able to make it out. These fish do live in the waters around China. Don't you love the red at the tip of its nose?

needle nose fish
needle nose fish

The next fish is a bit more common on Mahjong tiles: the goldfish. I think this one has a great bit of spirit! He almost looks like he's smiling.

goldfish
goldfish

The goldfish is a symbol for wealth because the way goldfish is pronounced in Chinese. The first syllable is the same as "gold" and the second the same as "jade."

 

fish
fish

I am not sure what this fish is, but I like his looks!

Finally, from another suite of Flower tiles within the same set

turtle
turtle

Imagine getting that much personality on a really small turtle on  small tile! The tortoise, or the turtle in China, is a symbol of longevity. They also symbolize strength and endurance.

You can now follow me on Twitter!

@MahJonggGregg

To learn more about Mah Jongg, you might want to take a look at this book that I wrote with Ann Israel, published by Tuttle. To see more about it:

www.mahjonggtheartof thegame.com

To order it click here:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mah-jongg-ann-israel/1118759459?ean=9784805313237

or here from Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Mah-Jongg-Collectors-Guide-Tiles/dp/4805313234/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1414844427&sr=8-7&keywords=mah+jongg

 

 

 

 

•

DP146938

Qi Baishi, the Chinese artist who lived from 1867-1957, did this lovely scroll in 1950. It shows us five crabs (that number does keep reappearing, doesn't it?). This work is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum.

Here's what the catalog has to say about his work featuring crabs:

"Crabs became an important subject in Qi Baishi's painting after he moved into a new studio in 1913 and crabs frequented his backyard. He once observed, "When a crab moves, its legs rise and fall in strict order despite their great number. This is something crab painters in the world do not know." This work represents his mature style, when naturalism and abstraction found a new balance. The subtle gradation of the ink suggests the undulation of the shell's surface. The eyes have become two short slanting lines. The claws, as circular splotches of ink with two simple converging lines, are reduced to geometric abstraction. During the last forty years of his life Qi lived in Beijing and befriended people of radically different persuasions. His passive tolerance of things of which he might not approve shows in his sarcastic inscription to this painting, which reads: "I just fold my arms and watch you gentlemen go." The Chinese term for the sideways movement of crabs, hengxing, is also a metaphor for impudent behavior. Qi often humorously compared crabs to presumptuous people. Here, he states that he will simply stand aside and let these creatures have their way."

Of course the crab is symbolic in Chinese art. And once again it has to do with the way the Chinese word is pronounced.

From Primaltrek:

The Chinese word for crab (蟹) and the Chinese word for harmony (协) are both pronounced xie.  The crab symbol is sometimes used on charms which express a desire for peace such as the large tian xia tai ping (天 下太平) charm shown at Peace Coins and Charms.

The crab is also used to symbolize success in the imperial examination system.  This is because the Chinese word for the crab's shell (jia 甲) has the additional meaning of "first" as in achieving the highest score in the examination to become a government official.

Certainly we have seen many symbols wishing for success on exams, as these crabs might be doing. Doing well on Scholar's exams opened up the door for success to people outside the noble classes. Great grades could allow the student an important job in government, whereas failure would prevent any kind of government job.

Wonderful crabs appear on Mahjong tiles too.

 

These crabs are Dots in a Shanghai Luck Mahjong set
These crabs are Dots in a Shanghai Luck Mahjong set

These three tiles are the One, Two and Three Dot tiles from a Shanghai Luck Set, called that because of the presence of sea creatures. I love the way the crabs are shown, legs going in a few different directions, the eyes popping out, and the great attention paid to the claws on the One Dot. Can't you just see them skittering across the mahjong table?  Maybe when one plays with one of these sets is can be the Game of Skittering Crabs in stead of The Game of Sparrows!!

 

DSC_0116 crab

Here is another crab from a different set of Flower tiles. You'll notice he too has the mark on the top of his shell, just like the ones on the One and Two Dot tiles above.

 

Screen Shot 2014-05-22 at 8.50.23 AM

Reader Bill provided us with these wonderful Flower tiles some of you remember from before. The crab certainly is quite recognizable, on the right tile, but what is the left creature?

Perhaps it is some kind of jelly fish?

Screen Shot 2014-11-05 at 10.53.23 AM

There is a Asian fascination with jelly fish, and they frequently  appear in aquarium tanks, and anyone who has had the delightful experience of seeing these creatures from afar can certainly enjoy their great beauty.

To learn more about Mah Jongg, you might want to take a look at this book that I wrote with Ann Israel, published by Tuttle. To see more about it:

www.mahjonggtheartof thegame.com

To order it click here:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mah-jongg-ann-israel/1118759459?ean=9784805313237

or here from Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Mah-Jongg-Collectors-Guide-Tiles/dp/4805313234/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1414844427&sr=8-7&keywords=mah+jongg

 

 

 

•
Scroll by Xie Zhiliu from the 1930s, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Scroll by Xie Zhiliu from the 1930s, in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art

This lovely scroll combines many of the themes we have seen before: flowers, rocks and a butterfly. The flower here is a lotus, a flower much loved by the Chinese.

From Primaltrek:

Because the Buddha is often depicted as seated on a lotus, the lotus is considered a sacred Buddhist symbol (one of Eight Auspicious Symbols) representing purity and detachment from worldly cares.

The lotus signifies the seventh month of the lunar calendar.

The Chinese word for lotus is lianhua (莲花) or hehua (荷花).  Lian is also the pronunciation of the word for continuous (连) and he is also the pronunciation for the word harmony (和) so the lotus has the hidden meaning of "continuous harmony".

A lotus stem and lotus pod shown together symbolize marital harmony and sexual union.

Lotus seeds (lianzi 莲 籽) have the hidden meaning of "continuous birth of children" because the lian sounds like "continuous" (连) and the zi has the same pronunciation as the word for son or child (zi 子).

Examples of lotus charms can be seen at Open Work Charms, Pendant Charms, Lock Charms, Marriage Charms, and Boy Charms.

And I thought you'd enjoy this scene of children flying a kite shaped like a butterfly, found on Quan Dong's auction website:

Screen Shot 2014-11-07 at 8.44.37 AM

Certainly butterflies play an important role in Chinese life, in art and in play.

As we mentioned in the last post, butterflies are symbols of long life, joy and warmth (Primaltrek)

These delightful creatures often appear on mahjong tiles, but sometimes you have to look really carefully:

Butterflies appear at the corners of the tile
Butterflies appear at the corners of the tile

In the tile above, the butterflies form the frame around the Crak. Who says Craks have to be boring? I also love the way the number 1 is worked into the side of the "frame" instead of the top where it would interfere with the butterflies.

four split Mahjong flower pots with butterfly
four split Mahjong flower pots with butterfly

These tiles are examples of the split flower pots we often see, each half of the pot being a bit different from one another, with various plants in each. Because the Chinese often liked to have living creatures in their art, a butterfly can be seen on the bottom left set, the right tile. The butterfly is so well hidden it almost fades into the floral arrangement, doesn't it?

To learn more about Mahjong's art, you might like to consider this purchase:

The book I wrote with Ann Israel is being published by Tuttle. To see more about it:

www.mahjonggtheartof thegame.com

To order it click here:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mah-jongg-ann-israel/1118759459?ean=9784805313237

or here from Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Mah-Jongg-Collectors-Guide-Tiles/dp/4805313234/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1414844427&sr=8-7&keywords=mah+jongg

 

• 1 Comment

•

 

Butterflies frequently appear in Chinese art and in Mahjong. The first image you'll see is a black and white photograph of a woman's jacket from the early 19th Century in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum.

 

135137

 

but I looked further and found this beautiful color close-up

 

DT251758

 

How beautiful is that? The butterflies are iridescent, multi-patterned and just breath-taking. (thank goodness for color photography!)

 

14_40_279

And here are some simpler ones, with beautiful patterns nonetheless, on a vase from the late 17th Century, once again from the Metropolitan Museum. The ribbons seen between the butterflies add to the auspiciousness of the butterflies.

Butterflies have a lot of meaning to the Chinese. Many times the symbolism has to do with the way the word is pronounced. Because the pronunciation of the Chinese word  is somewhat similar to the word for a man in his 70s, the symbol of a butterfly may refer to that older man. Butterflies can also symbolize joy, summer, and marital happiness, giving the image many meanings.

 

DSC_0391

 

And here we have butterflies again, in this folk art type set we saw earlier in the blog, with butterflies on the two 2 tiles.

And of course we have one again here:

 

DSC_0559

Tile #2 clearly is a butterfly, but the image on tile #3 has always mystified me.

I wonder if it might be a chrysalis? The butterfly about to emerge?

 

Screen Shot 2014-10-30 at 3.09.31 PM

 

And I will end the post with a lovely orphan tile, one from a set of creature Flower tiles.

DSC_0115

 

The book I wrote with Ann Israel is being published by Tuttle. To see more about it:

www.mahjonggtheartof thegame.com

To order it click here:

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mah-jongg-ann-israel/1118759459?ean=9784805313237

or here from Amazon

http://www.amazon.com/Mah-Jongg-Collectors-Guide-Tiles/dp/4805313234/ref=sr_1_7?ie=UTF8&qid=1414844427&sr=8-7&keywords=mah+jongg

 

 

• 4 Comments

•
Written by guest writer WS

 

In his  semi-autobiographical novel EMPIRE OF THE SUN, G. J. Ballard describes what befell British citizenry in Shanghai China during the Japanese Occupation of the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945). It depicts events immediately following December 7, 1941, when Imperial Japan, having attacked Pearl Harbor, took over and occupied the long-established American and British settlements of the city. British and American civilians were rounded up by Japanese soldiers, and many were marched to their deaths in brutal Japanese internment camps. Ballard was lucky; his parents survived the death squads and he was reunited with them after the war. 

 
Others weren’t so fortunate.
 
A small leather beat-up Mah Jong case tells another tale about another family who might have escaped the horrible chaos of 1941 Shanghai. 
 
DSC_0118
 
Sometime before the Autumn of 1939, a certain Mr. E A. R. Fowles, for reasons currently unknown to us, booked first-class Stateroom No. 205 on the Japanese N.Y.K. liner M.S.Terukuni Maru scheduled from Shanghai to London. We know all this because his name is on the luggage sticker affixed to the Mah Jong case. 
DSC_0128
DSC_0127
 
 
What is missing on the sticker is a date of embarkation. Also unknown is who he traveled with. Moreover, until I can find a deck plan of this liner, I don’t know if this was a suite or a single room.
We are not exactly sure who this man was, but according to immigration records, there was a Mr. E.A.R. Fowles residing in Shanghai who went there with his wife and three children in 1925 on the P&O Liner Morea. We don’t know Fowles’ occupation, but most likely he worked in the British finance world along the Bund in Shanghai and lived quite elegantly with Chinese servants in the British Settlement District.
Here’s what else we know about our Mr. Fowles; he was a prominent “rate-paying” resident on Shanghai’s Municipal Council, present at its Annual meeting on April 14, 1937 and accorded “two votes” out of a total of 251.
Screen Shot 2014-09-07 at 8.17.21 AM
 
 
At any rate, the total number of that august Shanghai Council, with a list composed mostly Anglican surnames, numbered just 334.  Since there were 60,000 business people—not including Chinese— living in Shanghai since the early 1930’s, the Fowles family was on quite an exclusive list. 
E.A.R. Fowles’s name doesn’t appear anywhere again on the 468 page report.
 
Fowles, along with the Council was charged with maintaining a standard of living for the Brits in the long-established “International Sector” extant since the 1800’s— from The Library and Orchestra Committees, to the drinking water, medical services and the police force. It also charged its ex-pat community to coexist with the Chinese, their Chinese servants and the increasingly hostile Japanese military. The 1937 minutes for The Council state what must have become a fast developing ad-hoc mission:
 
" The duty of the Council during these abnormal times is to adopt every means in its power to ensure the safety of life and property within the area under its control, and to preserve the peace, order and good government of the International Settlement…All persons are urged,… to bear cheerfully any inconvenience to which they may be subjected and to assist generally in preserving calm, peace and good order.”

Looking back, their society was a powder keg about to be lit. Indeed, the “Emergency Branch” report of the Council continues:
 
[The Ambulance Service] was constantly in demand and handled no less than 901 casualties suffering from bomb, shell, shrapnel…from hundreds of injured at the aerial bombing at the Bund and Nanking Road,…and the striking, by an unidentified projectile,…on August 23, at which calls the casualties were so numerous and the conditions so appalling that no record of the number of patients actually conveyed in ambulances …could be kept.

Perhaps it was a family emergency abroad, or perhaps Fowles sensed the forthcoming onslaught. We don’t know if he even picked up the ship in Shanghai. Whatever happened, his proper British world was unraveling, and people were fleeing Shanghai — just as many were fleeing Nazi Germany. He must have decided it was now the time to leave. (Ironically many Jewish people fled east by ship to Shanghai during this period, and the story of the Shanghai Ghetto is a miraculous one. The Japanese, as cruel as they were during those years, were not anti-Semitic. While there were indeed wartime hardships in Shanghai for Jewish people, the Japanese would not tolerate their persecution).
 
At any rate, Fowles’s itinerary from China to England called for a fortnight transit across the Indian Ocean into the Suez, the Mediterranean, and up into the Thames to London with numerous ports in between. How could Japanese ships be allowed to sail into European waters in the late 1930’s when England was at war with Germany? From 1937 until 1940,  Japan was still regarded as a “neutral” country by England. Basically even though Imperial Japan’s atrocities in Mainland China— in their quest for oil and resources—resulted in such appalling massacres as in Nanking and Manchuria, diplomatic relations between the countries held and trade continued. It was only after the Japanese signed the Tripartite Act with the Nazi Germany Axis in 1940 that Japanese ships were targets for British warships.
Screen Shot 2014-09-07 at 8.19.40 AM
from Wiki
 
The vessel Mr. Fowles booked passage on was 505’ long, built in 1929, and thoroughly air conditioned throughout for her southern route which took two weeks. While not as grand or luxurious as an Atlantic Greyhound, Terukuni Maru could carry 121 First-Class passengers, 68 Second Class with a Japanese crew of 177. I think his trip happened sometime after 1937, which I’ll explain below.
 
Most likely, Fowles’ splendid Chinese Bakelite Mah Jong set remained in his stateroom. 
 
DSC_0106
 
I certainly don’t think it ever made out of his room and into the ship’s more public First Class Salon depicted below.
Screen Shot 2014-09-07 at 8.21.11 AM
 
Picture of lounge from Antique Postcards
 
Why? Because the tiles have Chinese propaganda vilifying his Japanese hosts. Japan marched into Shanghai on July 7, 1937, and took it over. It is highly doubtful a set such as this one could have been made in Mainland China after that date. This is why I think the set must have been manufactured, most probably in Hong Kong in 1938, soon after Japanese hostilities began with China and why I place him on the this ship at about this time.
This item could be considered contraband. It’s subject matter was taboo to the Japanese and certainly to the crew. How did it get onboard through customs? Was Mr. Fowles so important his luggage was never checked? Was he a diplomat?  Again we can only guess.
 
The message on the tiles takes no guesswork, however.
 
DSC_0134
 
Look closely at this Flower Tile of what can only be a kimono and clog-clad Japanese man running from a house with a bomb aiming right at him.
 
Other Flower tiles are equally anti-Japanese:
DSC_0131
 
The tiles depict Chinese troops defending their country. The top row reads: "Aviation to save the country." This expression was also used on War Bonds in 1941 to help the war effort against the Japanese. The bottom row calls for "a move of the troops to save territory."
The top row shows a portable canon launching artillery and an aerial bomber over a mountain range. Below is a close-up of that tile.
DSC_0137
 
DSC_0141
 
The phoenix and dragon are also beautiful and an interesting addition to the set. Remember the Emperor was associated with the Dragon, seen in the One Dot, and the Empress with the phoenix, seen as the One Bam. Interesting—since the monarchy had been gone for years, but perhaps a subtle reminder of old days?
 
Certainly this set was important to Mr. Fowles; his name was embossed in gold leaf on the back of the  set’s leather case.  
DSC_0126
 
 
 
Maybe this Mah Jong set expressed his personal hopes for a free and independent China. If this is the Mr. Fowles we think it might have been, he’d lived there and raised a family for 13 years and most likely was devastated as to what was happening to his adopted city. I’d like to think that perhaps Fowles played the game in his stateroom with his family or like-minded refugees from Shanghai shouting “Mah Jong” while their room steward, a Japanese spy, listened with an ear to the door totally clueless as to what was really being thought, and what tiles were being played with.
 
Again, this is all vivid conjecture—we just don’t know.
 
We have no record of a E.A.R. Fowles debarking in London, or whatever happened to him and his family, or if he ever returned to China. We do know no Fowles were on Terukuni's May 1939 voyage as this name doesn’t appear on that passenger list. And, unless any of you have any further information on Mr. Fowles, our story ends there.
 
Or does it? 
 
Remember I said that Fowles had to have left Shanghai before Terukuni Maru’s fall sailing on September 29 1939. That was to be her final voyage; for it was 62 days later on Nov 21at 12:39 am, following inspection by Royal Navy Minesweepers off the coast of England (remember, in 1939 she was still considered neutral), she hit a floating magnetic mine, and blew up. Terukuni Maru rolled over, twin screws in the air and was gone within 45 minutes.
merchant_navy_ship_WWII
There was not a single life lost among the 28 passengers or 177 crew, which my friend and ocean liner expert John Maxtone-Graham told me was “quite remarkable.” Four of the eight lifeboats could not be launched as she heeled onto her starboard side.  Her sinking has been described as Japan's only  World War II casualty outside East Asia before the 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor.
merchant_navy_39__WWII
 
I don’t think Fowles was aboard her final voyage. His surviving Mah Jong case proves it. He had 45 minutes to get off the ship. Would he go back for his beloved Mah Jong game and take it into the lifeboat? I don’t think so, for two reasons: First, the liner sank too quickly — although one passenger described a steward having the time to run quickly back to a rapidly-filling cabin to get her life vest. Second, and more importantly, if he was traveling with his family, he would first want to make sure his daughters, wife and son were put into the lifeboats. That would be his priority. While there was no panic and the Japanese crew reportedly behaved in the best traditions of the sea, certainly the scene on the boat decks was one of grave urgency.  At any rate, we have currently have no record of who the survivors were and Fowles doesn’t appear in any photos or newsreels of the disaster.
 
 
On the other hand, if the set was as dear to him as I think it was, maybe he did grab it. After all, it’s not large — only 9” x 14” and could easily fit onto his lap.
 
The wonders of the internet may reveal the final chapter about the real Mah Jong Treasure of a certain mysterious E. A. R. Fowles.
Our thanks to Ray Heaton for providing translations and images, and to Michael Stanwick for his research.
 The book written by Gregg Swain and Ann Israel can be found on Barnes and Noble:
and Amazon
The website for the book includes reviews of the book, and author signings and other appearances.