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The Year of the Fire Rooster

Kuan Yin • January 28, 2017

Happy 4715, the Year of the Fire Rooster.

Dee Gallo's Limited Edition Money set, with tiles arranged for this year in Chinese history.

The year of the Fire Rooster in Chinese years, on a Shanghai Luck set. — The year of the Fire Rooster in Chinese years, seen on a Shanghai Luck set.

In China there are 12 signs of the zodiac, and five elements can modulate each sign. The elements are metal, water, wood, fire, and earth. This year we have the Fire Rooster. People born this year are said to be strong-willed, leaders, and organized. They get things done, but they are not always considerate of the feelings of others.

2017, the 100 year anniversary of the "discovery' of Mahjong by Joseph P Babcock, on a Shanghai Luck set. Symbols of longevity aboud: the peaches at the top and bottom os the Crak tiles represent longevity, as do the Bats on either side. — 2017, the 100 year anniversary of the "discovery' of Mahjong by Joseph P Babcock, on a Shanghai Luck set. Symbols of longevity abound: the peaches at the top and bottom of the Crak tiles represent longevity, as do the Bats on either side.

In our calendar, 2017 is an important year. One hundred years ago, in 1917, according to legend, Joseph P. Babcock saw Mahjong being played. Babcock was working for Standard Oil and living in Soochow. As the story goes, he was on a ship on the Yangze River when he heard a lot of noise and laughter. He went to investigate, and found crewmen playing a mysterious game with tiles. Babcock spoke fluent Chinese, and he quickly learned how to play the game. He is credited with being the first person to realize the game might be a hit with the foreign market. He joined with others to form the Mah-Jongg Sales Company. Babcock added Arabic numbers and Western letters to the tile sets, so that Americans and Europeans could understand which tile was which. He also may have been the one to come up with the concept of "dumbing down" : thinking the Chinese rules and scoring were way too complicated for the non-Chinese market, he simplified everything. His version was printed in a little red soft-cover book which was enclosed in every set exported from China. A hard cover one was available for purchase.

The original Little Red Book, pre-dating Chairman Mao's by 20 + years. Mao outlawed mahjong during his rule.

Babcock was at least partly responsible for helping to save a struggling Chinese economy. China had a very difficult time in the beginning of the 1900s, which allowed for the overthrow of the last Emperor of China, and the establishment of The Republic of China in 1912. The new republic continued to have a "challenging" economy, but Mahjong helped to save the day in the 1920s.

Reader Paul J. sent me a wonderful article from a monthly newsletter published in 1924, and some of that information appears here. Mahjong is credited for helping Chinese employment numbers, and exports. In 1921, China exported 6,305 HK Dollars worth of goods. In 1922, all exports totaled 198,000 HK Dollars. By 1924 it was predicted that mahjong exports alone from China would account for, drum roll please, 3,000,000 HK Dollars!!!

Much of the credit for this world-wide craze was the brilliant marketing of the game. China in the 1920s was exotic and mysterious, and the admen took advantage of this. People at the Mah-Jongg Sales Company created wonderful lore, and wrote it in flowery phrases, pre-dating the J. Peterman catalog by 50 or more years. The MJSC catalog read:

What is it? This is the universal question found on the lips of everyone who has not yet been initiated in this fascinating game of the hour.

Mah-Jongg is our registered Trade Marked name of a game, an ancient Chinese game, and about it clings all the lure of the Orient. A game as fascinating to the Occident as are the rich silken and embroidered garments of the ancient courts of China.

Since the days of the great teacher Confucius, this ANCIENT HONORABLE AND ROYAL GAME has been handed down from generation to generation.

At the time when Babylon the Great was mistress of the Western World, long before the days of the Roman Empire, this marvelous game fascinated the cultured Chinese with the click of its ivory tiles and its “Pung” and “Chow.”

What better way to celebrate this Chinese New Year than to ring it in with symbols of good luck?

Lucky cat, lantern, rooster charm, chocolate coins, red envelope, new year symbol, peanuts, spaghetti (long noodles) tangerine, ginger chews — Lucky cat, lantern, rooster charm, chocolate coins, red envelope, new year symbol, peanuts (nuts are good luck), spaghetti (long noodles) tangerine, ginger chews

I was lucky enough to buy an Inaugural Friendship box from Pearl River Mart (pearlriver.com). The box includes:

Rooster charms to help people tap into traits associated with the sign

Red Envelopes used to gift hard cash (or maybe chocolate coins)

Lanterns, the end of the 15 day celebration: the full moon. The moon symbolizes the return of spring and the reunion of family.

Lucky snacks: ginger for longevity, and sweets for a sweet new year. Not included: tangerines (because the Chinese word sounds like the word for luck), peanuts and long noodles symbols of a long life.

The lucky cat with a beckoning paw is thought to bring good luck-the left paw attracts customers to a shop, and the right invites good fortune and money.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maneki-neko

Here's hoping this will be a good year.

For some fun extra reading, you can see Time magazine online, complete with videos

http://time.com/4648981/chinese-lunar-new-year-rooster/

And a sweet blog:

https://www.pagodared.com/blog/2017/01/24/handle-year-fire-rooster/

Dee Gallo's work can be seen at Redcoinmahjong.com. The One Bam Rooster on the Money set is perfect for this Chinese year.

More about Babcock can be read on Michael Stanwick's website themahjongtileset.co.uk in the China to the West section.

Dee Gallo, Red Coin, and Crisloid

Kuan Yin • October 30, 2016

Many of you are familiar with the delightful Crisloid set, with its peacock wearing a crown. Just looking at the color of the tiles, and the cheery images can cheer up a dreary day. No wonder this set is a fan favorite.

One of the most talented designers and craftswomen in the Mahjong business today, Dee Gallo of Red Coin, worked with Crisloid to create a new set for them, putting her touches on some of Crisloid's beloved images, and adding new wonderful designs for the Dragon Set, released in 2015. What a great result.

I thought I would show you some of the original tiles, and the ones that Dee tweaked to fit in with her vision for the new set. The plastic used for each kind of set is very different which probably leads to some design choices as well.

The lighter tiles will always be the original Crisloid set. Here are some of the suit tiles. The new One dot has the R representing Red Coin and the C representing Crisloid. The 7 Bam on the new set looks inspired by the designs of the 7 Dots we often see. The One Bam peacock is a bit more detailed, with the coins on his wings really resembling the Red Coin/Crisloid One Dots.

The original Crisloid Flowers look sunny, with what looks like a Swedish design influence in their simplicity and bold colors.There are two groups of Flowers on the new set : actual flowers (the eight ones on the left), and those that can be used in the Singapore Capture style of play (on the right.) The rooster gets the centipede, the rich man the pot of gold, the fisherman the fish, and the cat the rat.

The Crisloid Big Joker has a wonderful bold and simple look to it. The new sets give the buyer a choice of Jokers. This one is the Ma-Ma Hu-Hu, half horse and half Tiger.

I must admit, I never thought I would have Winds as my favorite part of the set, but on this set they are. A Winds hand, seen below, is just beautiful. But when you see how Dee has directed the fans to the four compass directions, you will understand why the tiles are so beautiful.

But what would be a Crisloid set without their darling dragons? See how Dee has finessed them to fit in with the new set.

What wonderful inspirations, and great teamwork!

Given that the holidays are just around the corner.... 🙂

http://crisloid.com/the-dragon-mah-jong-set

Singapore in the 1930s

Kuan Yin • October 16, 2016

Singapore's residents have a long history of being enthusiastic about the game of Mahjong. In fact, Singapore even has its own version of the game, played with delightful "capture" Flower tiles. (Capture tiles are used in games where a player can win extra points by having certain Flower capture tiles. These special sets feature images of a cat and mouse, a rich man and a pot of gold, a rooster and a centipede, a fisherman and a fish, to name some examples.) But during the early days of the Sino-Japanese war, in the 1930s, seeing an increasingly aggressive Japan having invaded and taken over a part of China, Singapore was concerned about being "captured" by the Japanese. Other images began to appear on Mahjong tiles.

To set up the place Singapore occupied in history, in the 1930s it was a British colony with a large Chinese population. Beginning in 1906, some of the Chinese opponents of the Qing Dynasty in China took up residence there. According to Wikipedia:

"In 1906, the Tongmenghui, a revolutionary Chinese organisation dedicated to the overthrow of the Qing Dynasty and led by Sun Yat-sen, founded its Nanyang branch in Singapore, which served as the organisation's headquarters in Southeast Asia."

The Qing Dynasty was overthrown in 1912, and the Republic of China was established. After World War I, the British, who were in charge of the city, spent a lot of money in Singapore, building a naval base to protect British interests against the increasingly aggressive Japanese. When completed the base boasted the largest dry dock in the world, and the third largest floating dock. But there was one problem: there was no fleet of ships to dock there. The British thought they could get their fleet to Singapore in time to protect the port, but when WW2 actually broke out, the fleet was in Europe. Singapore was thus at the mercy of the Japanese. Singapore was right be be concerned. It was conquered by the Japanese in 1942 and subsequently occupied by them until 1945 when the city reverted to British control.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_Singapore

In addition to the sets we commonly associate with Singapore, it seems Singapore was also involved with anti-Japanese propaganda in the 1930s. As a British outpost, with many Chinese inhabitants, it was sending out messages about wartime aggression too.

The tiles we will look at today came in this case:

Some of the characters translate to mean Singapore and Shanghai. Possibly this Mahjong business had branches in both cities. I had thought only the craftsmen in Hong Kong were involved in the anti-Japan Mahjong Business. It turns out that the craftsmen in Singapore were just as intent on getting the word out about the Japanese threat as those men working in China. (Caveat: I am assuming that this set was made in Singapore and not imported there. Given that there is a rich history of Mahjong in Singapore, it seems a likely premise.)

The suits and honors are not unusual, although that wonderful One Bam (seen above in the first photograph) does rank among the great One Bams. But it is the Flowers that cause us to sit up and take notice. There are 16 of them, and 12 of them refer directly to the war against Japan. With the exceptions of the 1 on the Bams and the numbers on the Flower tiles, there are no Arabic numbers or Western letters on the tiles. The set was not meant for export, but perhaps it was intended to fill the people with hope that they could defeat the enemy.

Above we see images of war: a soldier with a sword about to use it on an enemy, another about to throw grenades, an airplane and a bomb heading toward a Japanese man. We have seen many similar images before on other sets. (Search for War in the search box on this website.)

Row #1: fight against the enemy

Row # 2 to follow

Row #3: Open a New Territory (maybe take land back that had been taken over by the Japanese, such as Manchuria?)

Row #4: The tiles with the airplane have the well-known phrase from Dr Sun Yat Sen: Aviation Saves the Nation

According to friend Richard Y., these Flowers translate as team work, or working together. We see a merchant, scholar, farmer with sickle and soldier instead of the normally seen farmer, wood-cutter, fisherman and scholar. Perhaps these tiles can be interpreted to mean that by working together, they might be able to resist the enemy.

You will enjoy the bit of subtle advertising found on the One Dots, the tiles where messages are often hidden. Despite all the political propaganda, there was a bit of company/manufacturer propaganda:

Although not in the right order, they translate to mean:

"The color won't fade" !!

A big thanks to Richard and his friends for helping with the translations.

Chinese Opera Star Mei Lanfang’s Mahjong Set

Kuan Yin • July 11, 2016

Those of you who read this earlier post will remember Mei Lanfang, the Chinese opera star who excelled at performing female roles. Not only did he act, sing and dance, he wrote operas too. Quite the man, he had two wives at the same time, fathering two children with one wife and nine with the other. Not to let any opportunity pass him by, he took on a mistress at the same time, and they lived together for five years!

Mei in his professional life is seen above

and as he really looked.

In his professional life he was quite revered, and he traveled the world showing his unique style of performing. He had great love for China, and he was a staunch National. Following the Marco Polo Bridge incident during the Sino-Japanese War, the Japanese took over Beijing. The commander of the Japanese army appointed Mei to a high position. (Mei's talent was also appreciated by the Japanese.) Mei was ordered to perform for the Japanese, but he refused to do so. FB friend Richard told me that Mei grew a mustache during the Japanese occupation so that he would not have to perform any operas, especially effective as he excelled in female roles. Mei lived in poverty until the end of the war, at which point he resumed his professional career.

While enjoying stardom he ordered a special mahjong set. I have scanned the photos from the catalog published by the (sadly) defunct Japanese Mahjong Museum. (We do not know where the collection is, but many of us certainly hope that we get to see its treasures sometime soon.)

This is the lovely box his set came in. You can see that it is inlaid with mother-of-pearl. The front and side panels have the often seen flowers in vases, and a teapot (in b). and what looks to be a pomegranate in the bowl on side c. This is somewhat amusing because pomegranates are symbols for hopes of many children, and we know that Mei certainly accomplished this!! The top of the box is inlaid with five bats (five being the lucky number that symbolizes long life, good health, a natural death, good moral character and prosperity.) And we also have two longevity symbols on either side of the handle hinges.

Thanks to Ray Heaton, we have translations for the beautiful tiles seen below. It is interesting how strong the strokes are in the characters in the upper left, and how delicate the carving is on the Flowers. Perhaps this alludes to Mei's manliness in real life yet his delicacy on the stage. Some of the Flower images are familiar to us, the rolled up painting, the book, the flower, and the Chinese Cauldron. Other images are more difficult to interpret-ideas anyone?

Ed: I have to assume the Winds have been replaced by the characters in blue, functioning in much the same way in the Chinese form of the game as it would be with Winds, and those characters in red, and green (the plain white being the White Dragon.) are substituting for the Dragons. There are 6 of these characters, all needed for the following translation.

"Here's a link to a description of the opera described in those large characters, 遊龍戲鳳(演劇), you long xi feng yan ju, "The Wandering Dragon toys with the Phoenix". (I've put the last two in brackets as they mean "to act in an opera" rather than relate to the title of the play, but if we assume all six are to be read together, would, I suppose, read "to perform in the opera the Wandering Dragon toys with the Phoenix".

https://ninedragonspot.com/2013/02/05/exit-the-dragon/

The flowers, 名伶表演, 古今趣史. Ming ling biao yan, gu jin qu shi. Literally, "the famous actor performs ancient and modern interesting history", I guess should translate more properly to something like "a record of famous performances in operas ancient and modern". Don't you love how the tiles refer to the famous actor performing, or a record of a famous performance?

The banner on one of the tiles says 文明自由, wen ming zi you, Civilization (and) Freedom." (right column, 2nd from the top)

The symbols in the One Dots are the name of the company that made the tiles!

Mei was a great national, as mentioned before. Many of you will see another indicator of his national pride: the hawk on the globe. This image symbolizes China's military strength, perhaps in this case, wishes for victory in the Sino-Japanese war. The symbol on the Craks is another way of writing the word wan. The unusual symbol on the Craks tiles is pin, the symbol for rank. *

Here follows more Mei Lanfang ephemera, truly an international star. I love the cover of this program! Remember, Mei is on the right!

Hoping you can read these absolutely rave reviews of his NY performances.

It is so interesting to see all the places mahjong can take us, isn't it?

*FB friend Richard pointed out how similar the rank symbol is to the Chinese character for the word "sing." Even if just a coincidence, I love it!

A Beautiful Lacquer Mayfly Box

Kuan Yin • May 31, 2016

From time to time I get to see beautiful and special boxes that house Mahjong sets. I want to share this one with you, and on this last day of May it seems especially fitting.

A reader sent me photos of this lacquer box, featuring the Mayfly, although at first I thought an artist took a lot of liberties with a butterfly. The Mayfly has special meaning to the Chinese and can symbolize (from primaltrek.com) strength, peace, harmony, purity, good luck, prosperity, childhood, living for the moment, joy and transparency. Quite a lot for one little insect! Mayflies actually have a very interesting life cycle, and you can read more about them by visiting a website I have linked at the end of the blog.

This is the side of the box, with a charming bird looking at a cicada from the branch of a plum tree. From Primaltrek: The cicada is a symbol of rebirth and immortality because after surviving underground for a long period of time it emerges and flies into the sky. Note the five blossoms on the flower, the give-away for a plum blossom in Chinese art. The plum blossom is also one of the four plants associated with the seasons. What is fascinating about Chinese art is that everything has to be put into context. Although the plum blossom is usually associated with winter, because of its pairing with the cicada it is associated with spring, and rebirth.

The box of the box features a crane (symbol of longevity) standing under a pine tree (yes, another symbol of longevity!) And that darling cicada is making himself known again.

Even the top of the box is decorated in the theme, with bees buzzing. The bird is perched in bamboo. Bamboo is a symbol of strength as well as ideals of the Confucian scholar, because both are upright, strong, and resilient (primaltrek.com). Bamboo is also the plant associated with summer. Even the handles of the box are embellished with what looks like bamboo leaves, and they may be made from a semi-precious metal known as Paktung.

What a Mahjong Treasure!

It is my feeling that some of the greatest artists in China in the 1920s, the time when Mahjong was the 6th biggest export from China, went to work in the Mahjong business. This box certainly would be a big argument for that being true.

There is a long history of the Mayfly being part of Mahjong, starring as One Bams. You can click here to see reader Tony Watson's write-up for this blog.

Katherine Hartman sent us some lovely photos of Mayfly One Bams:

Michael Stanwick's website also features other examples of Mayfly One Bams.

For more information about the Mayfly you can go here:

www.mayfly.org

Just found out there will be an article about the mayfly in the next Mahjong Collector Magazine. If you are not already a subscriber and you want to be, here's the email address you need: subscriptions@mahjongcollector.com

An Incredible Multi-layered Set

Kuan Yin • May 6, 2016

I recently came across images of a rare set, and I want to share them with you. Brad LaPratt took these wonderful mahjong photos, and he is the owner of this set.

We all know of one color tiles (those we most often see) two-tone ones (often even more desirable) and those delightful three layer lucite sets. Here is one with even more layers!

This set comes with fun history: a clarification by the previous owner who used tiny labels so that players could tell which tile was which. I was just asking about how to "update" tiles the other day, so that players unfamiliar with Chinese words and numbers could know what tile was what.

Here are the Bams, but you do get a sneak peak at the layers from the Craks if you look closely.

The Craks are complete with stickers done by the previous owner to "explain" what the tiles represent

The Dots are simple concentric circles, with an ornate One Dot.

16 (!) Flowers

Here's a close-up of the One Dot, the White Dragon, and the delicate One Bam peacock.

And finally the big reveal from the side:

These tiles look like regular Chinese bakelite tiles just looking at their faces, but aren't they fabulous from the side? Maybe players need to build walls balancing these tiles on their sides, instead of front to back! To me they look like they would be very soft, but Brad says they are hard like bakelite.

And don't they remind you of a wonderful multi-layered dessert?

Enjoy!!

For more images you can look at Brad's website:

http://www.bradfordboards.com/#!4tone/e990f

A Celebration of a Master Craftswoman: Dee Gallo

Kuan Yin • March 27, 2016

I have given around 100 talks about mahjong art in the last year and a half, and I always mention the craftsmen who designed, carved and painted those tiles we all love. The other day I was asked about some of my favorite sets, and my thoughts immediately went to a wonderful one designed by Dee Gallo, a craftswoman! So here is a celebration of Dee and the beautiful sets she has designed. I am lucky enough to own one, featured today, but please visit her website to see some of the others.

Some of you know that when mahjong was ruled illegal in China, during the Cultural Revolution, all mahjong sets were ordered destroyed, as were all company records. Craftsmen were no longer allowed to practice the techniques that had been handed down for generations. Methods of carving, restoring, and painting Mahjong tiles were lost forever. Thank goodness Dee Gallo was determined to figure out how to bring tiles back to life, and I know many of us are indebted to her for her help restoring or replacing our lost tiles. But while learning how to go about restoring old tiles and carving replacement tiles, Dee was able to start thinking about creating new designs for sets. And this is her latest limited edition enrobed (!) set:

Dee Gallo's Limited Edition Money Set. Be sure to note the often unique Bam placement and Bamboo stalk design.

Dee's deep rooted knowledge of Chinese culture and history is evident in every new series she creates. Here you can see The Money Set, released in 2014. This is Dee's 8th set, dedicated to her parents. It pays homage to her grandfather and his two brothers who worked at the Bank of Shanghai. All three were sent to different parts of China to open bank branches, and they met their wives while working for the bank. Eventually they all decided to move to the United States and open their own banking business and fur import business. The banking world in China inspired Dee's latest set. (More about that later.) I know we all could not be more delighted that Dee is free to work on her creative designs on our shores.

I am going to use Dee's own words (in green) to describe what the images represent. But please visit Dee's site to really get to see the beauty of the tiles. My photos were taken with my cell phone, and don't begin to show the wonderful work she has done.

We'll start with the suits.

IMG_3901 (1) — This is the 22nd set she made in this edition.

Dots:

"Each of the Dots in this set is a coin, with the #1 Dot sporting a signature and an edition number. The Chinese character for Lee, which is my family name, is rotated four times around the square hole, representing the four Cardinal points (E,S,W,N). Inside the square is the number representing its place in the series. Chinese cash is a symbol of prosperity, both as an amulet and an ornament. In 11th Century China, the name "round coin" was applied to copper coins (hence "Red Coin") (Ed, the name of Dee's business) described as "square within and round without." This represents the internal integrity of the government issuing the coin, and their external attitude of cooperation (no sharp corners to annoy anyone.) I hope to promote these qualities. Because this set celebrates the Chinese cash (coin) I have used copper as a color for the first time on many of the designs. (Ed: my husband Woody, an art director and font aficionado, noted that the typeface that Dee uses is Copper Plate, a lovely tie-in.)

Dee uses banking numbers instead of the normally seen Chinese numbers.

The Wan or Crak Suit

This is a unique suit designed with the special characters (ED: look at the Chinese numbers, very different from what we are used to seeing on our tiles) used in China and Taiwan for writing checks. The usual characters are too easy to alter so these characters were developed to make checks more secure. You can see the "normal" characters hidden in most of these special characters. These unusual characters are perfect for this Money Set, don't you think?

The Bamboo suit

The #1 Bamboo is my Rooster, perched on a pile of copper coins and crowing his joy at a prosperous day beginning. The Rooster has special meaning for me, as my father and sister were born in the Year of the Rooster and my husband's surname, Gallo, means rooster in Italian. So it is in their honor that I drew the Rooster as the #1 Bam, a distinctive tile in all Mah Jong sets. In addition, most of the rural villages in China had living bamboo fences surrounding the compound of houses, and plenty of chickens and roosters...these served as a security and early warning system against pirates and thieves.

(Ed: Be sure to look at the arrangement of the other Bams on this photo: some unique approaches to the designs!)

The Dragons

Coins decorate the Dragon suit as well. The Red (Jung) (Ed: sometimes written Chung) means "center" as in Jung Guo (China: central country). The Green (Fa) is half of the phrase "Fa Tsai," meaning (I hope you) become rich. The Blue character (Bai) means "white" or blank.

Ed: Don't you love the coin in each of the Dragons?

The Winds

Money bags represent the winds, with the neck of the bag facing in the direction of the tile. Each money bag is sitting on a pile of copper coins, representing abundant wealth and prosperity.

Ed: The money bags almost have personalities, don't they? They remind me of the first short made by Pixar: Luxo Jr. (If you are not familiar with this short, you will have to go to youtube to see that delightful film: search for Luxo Jr. I was not allowed to post the link here.)

The Flowers

One set of Flowers sports a large coin and as flower representing the season. The large coins are indicative of the traditional shapes used for coins in early dynasties. The characters tell you the name of the plant, 1 Plum, 2 Orchid, 3 Mom (Ed: chrysanthemum) 4 Bamboo. th other set of Flowers depicts children playing with coins in each season (1 Spring, 2 Summer, 3 Autumn, 4 Winter), representing a wish for prosperity and luck.

Ed: In the top row I believe Dee is paying homage to 100 children, a theme often seen in Chinese art, where children are seen being children in paintings. Children are also seen on mahjong tiles and boxes

Direction Coins

(Ed: Dee made these specifically for this set. As many of you know, we often find mings with direction coins in our old boxes, or sometimes a bakelite wheel indicating directions on it. Dee designed her own, also seen on the top row of the Flower tiles.)

Jokers

(Ed: sadly I only have eight Jokers, but I will tell you about all of them, and you just will have to go to Dee's website to see them all)

Each joker shows a design which will bring you luck and prosperity!

2 Facing Bats and coin: Blessings before your eyes

3 Coins tied together: the Trinity of luck-Heaven, Earth and Mankind

Double Fish & Stone Chime: May you have a superabundance of auspicious happiness

Ruyi: Wish-granting Wand, Ruyi means "As you wish"

Ingot: Yuanbao is a large ingot of gold representing the phrase "all will be as you wish" in addition to prosperity

3 legged Toad: Belongs to Liu Hai, God of Wealth & always finds gold

Shou Medallion: the longevity symbol, when used in a circular shape mens fulfillment or completion. Mah Jong!

Lozenge and Endless Knot: may you have everlasting victory for 10 Thousand generations

I am missing ( 🙁 )

Yin-Yang: Remember there is a balance in life, you win some, you lose some! This symbol is actually called Tai-ji, meaning The Original One, from which the duality of Yin (dark)/Yang (light) developed.

5 Ears of Grain on One Stalk: may you enjoy a bumper harvest and reap a big reward!

Now, wasn't this a wonderful treat? Here's to Dee!!

DLG working — Dee at work on the Money Set, hand-painting each tile.

Mahjong-Tiles-Crisloid-Red-Coin — The Dragon Set, designed by Dee Gallo and Crisloid.

You have a chance to buy one of Dee's other sets, designed by Dee and the people at Crisloid. (Click here.)The Dragon Set takes many of Crisloid's unique designs and combines them with Dee's images.

A Delightful Wood Set Made in Vermont

Kuan Yin • March 11, 2016

I thought you all would enjoy seeing this wonderful set made in Vermont, a state with a long history of design and craftsmanship. This set, made in Brandon by the Newtown & Thompson Company, has wonderful and unique designs for many of the tile faces, as you will see. My friend Gail once told me that one of the many things she loves about the game is that no one was priced out of it. In fact, many of the most delightful designs can be found on some of the most affordable sets, and this is one of them. And aren't these some of the most darling dragons you have ever seen?

You will notice on this box there is no mention of anything vaguely "Mahjong" related, not wanting to risk any copy-right issues. It is just a game of Tiles. The box has delightful stylized Dragons, one on each side, with their ever-present pearl hidden in the smoke, right above the T and the S.

Take a look at the tile designs. The Craks have a very Asian flair to them, the Dots have some unusual arrangements, although we have seen these before. But the Bams! I have never seen 4 Bams stacked up like that, or the 7 Bam with the top one off-side, or the 8 Bam with two rows of four. It takes a lot of creativity to make arrangements of tile designs unique and these designers did it! But there are no visual cues as to which suits the Dragon belong to: the Craks are black but the Dragon is Red, The Dots are red but their Dragon is painted black, only the Bams got a Dragon that is the same color as the tiles. And the designers made it be two-tone by painting the backs of the tiles!

And did you notice the Flowers? The 1 Flowers almost seem upside down if you keep the number 1 on the top (which is why I put the #1 on the bottom, so that the flower would be right-side up). Kind of funny, right?

Bone or Ivory and Mahjong Tiles

Kuan Yin • January 8, 2016

Many people think they have ivory mahjong sets, either because they assume they do or that is what they have been told. Some people do have ivory tiles, but most people don't. But just because tiles are not made of ivory does not mean they are less valuable. In fact, some of the most expensive sets sold recently are bone and bamboo, not ivory and bamboo or pure ivory.

Why is it that some sets made of bone are more expensive than those made of ivory? The answer is simple: it is all about the carving and the designs on the tiles. In the 1920s, the heyday for Mahjong designers and carvers, China was very poor and ivory was in short supply. In fact, bone was scarce too. When China ran out of bone they were able to purchase some from the United States, from the stockyards in Chicago and the cattle ranchers in Nebraska. The best parts of the bone were bought by the best workshops, and they turned out high quality sets. Of course ivory was carved in the best workshops too, but it might have been that the shops were depending more on the ivory material alone to sell the set, and thus were not as inspired to make sets with wonderful designs that would make people want to buy the tiles.

This exquisite bone and bamboo set, seen below, recently sold for almost $10,000. And yes, for bone and bamboo, but look at the carvings and the images. Absolutely beautiful. In fact, each tile is a masterpiece. The Dots come first (peaches, with the One Dot a curled up Dragon often copied as joker tiles on the modern sets), Winds with butterflies in the corners, and Dragons with dragons and phoenixes, Flowers perhaps illustrating a tale of combat, and Craks with special Chinese numbers usually used by banks, surrounded by longevity symbols including endless knots, and Bams made of Bamboo shoots (and look at that divine One Bam bird with the ribbon in its mouth, symbolizing China's military strength).

This next set is solid ivory, and it sold for less than half of the above set. It is easy to see why. Yes, the carving is lovely, but the designs are much more unusual and intricate on the bone and bamboo set.

You will notice that the surface of the ivory is smooth.

Bone often has small channels in it, the haversian system, as you can see below, even in this very beautifully carved set.

note small dots on the side of the bone, remnants of the haversian system

Below are two photos of ivory, seen from the top and the side.

notice the slightly wavy varied tones in these ivory tiles

the cross-hatching only found in ivory is noticeable on the sides of these tiles

Ivory has cross-hatching known as Schreger lines, but sometimes several pieces need to be examined to see it, depending on where on the tusk the pieces came from. For more views of ivory, please click here to see the page devoted to ivory and French Ivory.

Beautiful Purple Set • 2 Comments

Kuan Yin • August 26, 2015

A very lucky reader sent me photos of her newest Mahjong set. She confessed she had taken a big risk at auction, not having been able to see photos of any tiles close up. She was delighted when the box arrived and she knew this time her instinct was correct, and her excitement about this purchase got her to send me photos to post on this blog . According to her, the colors of the tiles are true in these photos. It seems all the colors in the tiles were painted. And the sharp crisp corners of the tiles indicate perhaps a German or Austrian manufacturer.

This is one of those great times when a set is rare, the colors are fabulous, and the designs terrific. Purple tiles allow for many different color effects on the tiles themselves. Here on the Bamboos we see yellow instead of our usual green. The flying crane of longevity is simple in the white outline with his red legs and bill. The 8 Bams have a real Art Deco look to me.

The One Dots look like targets, don't they? What's interesting here is that you can see that all the tiles are not the same size, despite being machine made.

The Winds, Dragons and Flowers certainly don't disappoint with their unique and spirited Character renditions, all very angular in keeping with the squared off quality of the tiles themselves. The Flowers have a neon sign look to them, don't they? The top ones are the Four Arts of the Scholar and the lower ones flowers, although not the traditional ones we usually see.

Who would have thought the Craks would be a favorite suit? Everything about the spirited Chinese numbers and Characters delights the eye, including the colors.

The Wind Indicators and the counters are the same beautiful material and color. All beautiful, don't you think?

Maybe she will have to learn how to play the Hong Kong version, Wright-Patterson or another form of the game so that she can play with the set!

I am undertaking a new project involving the social history of the game. You can read about by clicking History Project at the top of the Page. Perhaps you would like to participate.

For those of you who don't yet know, there is a wonderful magazine, The Mahjong Collector. You can find out more by emailing them at this address:

subscriptions@mahjongcollector.com

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

Mahjong Treasures

Appreciating the Art of Mahjong; A Collector's Guide