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Mahjong has a long history in China, and people from all over the country like to play mahjong. But in recent years, mahjong seems to have become popular in the United States.
Some young Chinese people opened a mahjong club called "Bipai Club" in New York, which was so popular that many United States did not go to nightclubs in their nightlife, but chose to play mahjong.
This is just a microcosm of the popularity of mahjong in the United States, and there are many similar mahjong clubs in the United States. Moreover, United States have also improved mahjong to form different styles of mahjong games.
So, when exactly did mahjong enter the United States? What changes have it brought to United States society?
Mahjong has become a culture in United States
Anerys ·Heinz, a professor of history at the University of Oregon United States, said in an interview with a Chinese media outlet that mahjong has largely become an important part of United States modern culture.
Mahjong culture even crosses racial genders and plays an important role in promoting racial integration in United States.
Is this really the case?
Professor Heinz was a teacher at Yunnan University in China, and it was at that time that he subtly learned to play mahjong, a unique game that fascinated Professor Heinz and began to learn more about the history of mahjong and its spread in the United States.
It turned out that mahjong was introduced to United States from China as early as the 20s of the last century.
(United States' revised version of mahjong)
At that time, a United States merchant named Joseph ·Parker · Babcock brought mahjong to the United States, in order to make more United States people like mahjong, Babcock simplified the mahjong rules, and he wrote the card type of the tie on a card, giving a more intuitive impression and easier to learn.
In addition, United States mahjong is also 8 more than the 144 cards of traditional Chinese mahjong, these 8 cards are mainly wild cards, also called universal cards, which can be freely matched with other cards, increasing the probability of winning cards.
After mahjong became more and more accepted, some merchants began to make mahjong tiles suitable for United States, marking each card with Arabic numerals in English letters.
United States have also optimized the rules of mahjong, and after everyone has taken the cards, they can also exchange cards with each other and give what they don't need to others.
(United States playing mahjong)
Mahjong was optimized and soon became popular in the United States, especially the ladies in the United States aristocratic society were particularly fond of this game, and once formed a mahjong trend in the Manhattan ladies circle.
These ladies tend to gather together on Mondays to play mahjong, and they dress up, and when they play mahjong, they are accompanied by Chinese tea, Chinese cheongsam, and other elements full of Chinese style.
When playing mahjong, the shouts of those ladies "hule, hule" were heard from time to time. For a while, Americans often complained about who introduced mahjong to the United States and made those women have no intention of working.
Later, mahjong gradually spread to United States ordinary families, and many cultural products such as cultural shirts and bracelets with mahjong elements were derived.
(United States woman playing mahjong)
After nearly 100 years of popularity, mahjong has been integrated into the United States community, has become an indispensable culture, this game has even become a link between United States people, even unfamiliar people, under the call of "three missing one", can quickly integrate into the new circle of friends.
The mahjong revision sparked controversy
Mahjong is not only an entertainment project, but also a special club often organizes some competitions, so that mahjong has become a more professional competition from entertainment.
As early as the eighties of the last century, United States held a sea mahjong tournament, which has developed to the present, the scale is getting bigger and bigger, and even the tour tournament is held in United States, attracting a large number of players from United States, Canada and other places.
With the development of the times, the style and rules of mahjong have been constantly changed, and a few years ago there was a kind of "white mahjong", although this mahjong game is based on traditional Chinese mahjong, but in the style design, the rules of the game have changed a lot.
As soon as it was launched, it was immediately welcomed by consumers from all walks of life in the United States and was sold well in the market.
(Mahjong United States after the revision)
However, this mahjong game has changed the original mahjong features, and even completely subverted the traditional mahjong style. Therefore, it has been opposed by many Chinese.
Under the objection of many people, the manufacturer of this mahjong explained that the mahjong only added elements that fit the aesthetic of United States. Such an explanation has caused more dissatisfaction, and many people believe that it is a denial of the aesthetics of traditional Chinese mahjong and a show off the superiority of United States.
In the eyes of United States, the design elements of Chinese mahjong are somewhat complex and the visual experience is not good, so mahjong has been improved. However, they did not see that Chinese mahjong has been passed down for thousands of years and has strong historical significance and cultural value.
What is even more infuriating is that some United States have gone so far as to claim that the revised mahjong will make them original cultural products.
(Mahjong after the revision)
In fact, after watching the United States's "white mahjong", you will find that they are just replacing some symbols with bubbles, cans and other symbols on the basis of traditional Chinese mahjong, which is completely a copy and copy, and there is no originality at all.
Chinese artist Christina · C. · Yang bluntly pointed out that the United States can modify the elements of mahjong in China, but it cannot deny that mahjong originated in China, which is an infringement on Chinese culture.
As opposition grew, in early 2020, the makers of the revamped mahjong retracted their promotional photos online and issued an apology.
Mahjong in United States is not just entertainment
There are a lot of Chinese people in the United States, and mahjong plays a role as a blending agent to a certain extent, connecting the Chinese in Chinatown.
Every year during the Spring Festival, many Chinese families still play mahjong for fun, and the family sits together and rubs mahjong, and they have a good time. The Chinese community also organizes mahjong playing activities.
(United States young man playing mahjong)
Among the Chinese in the United States, mahjong has become, to a certain extent, a symbol of cultural heritage or identity.
In addition to playing an emotional role in the Chinese people, mahjong also played a certain role in the integration of United States races.
In the process of playing mahjong, Japan people and Jews living in United States gradually formed new cultural norms, and this ordinary chess and card game has gradually integrated into all aspects of United States society across races and classes, and has been accepted by more and more people.
No matter how some people in United States revise mahjong, they cannot change the cultural connotation and social value of mahjong, and in the future, mahjong will only become more and more popular.
The process of four people playing mahjong is a kind of communication in itself. This is perhaps the greatest charm of mahjong, both in China and in the United States.
"Explosive change" mahjong, United States mark the card in English, Sichuan Watch, 2024-06-20
Why do United States also love to play mahjong? Yueyang Evening News 2022-11-28