What was mahjong like in Qing Dynasty?

In the early Qing dynasty, there was such a story. It is said that during the Shunzhi period, Taicang, Jiangsu Province was once a royal granary, hoarding rice from the south of the Yangtze River all the year round for "transporting grain from the south to the north" to alleviate the food shortage in the north.

Because there are more rice stored in the granary, the grain inside is easy to go moldy and deteriorate, so people often empty the rice in the granary and air it in the open air. In this way, the open-air rice fields attract sparrows from all directions to enjoy the food. Taicang loses a lot of food every day because sparrows steal food. In order to reward those who catch birds and protect grain, the grain officer in charge of the granary records the number of birds with bamboo pieces and gives rewards according to these bamboo pieces. In order to prevent people from practicing fraud, grain officials carved various symbols and numbers on these chips, which is the exclusive "grain protection card" in Taicang area, also known as "sparrow card".

The names of the three basic colors on the sparrow board are "Wan", "Bundle" and "Guan". The pattern of "barrel" is the cross section of powder gun, and "rope" is "bundle", which means that people string the sparrows they catch one by one with thin ropes, so the pattern of "one rope" represents a sparrow and "several ropes" represents several bundles of sparrows.

The bonus for grain protection is calculated according to the number of "sparrows" caught. The last "ten thousand" is the unit that rewards money, and "ten thousand" is the number of rewards.

In addition, the "southeast and northwest" in the sparrow card refers to the local wind direction. The "Fa" in the ternary card is a bounty, that is, after people catch sparrows, they can go to Taicang Grain and Grass Officer to collect the bounty and make a fortune.

The word "mahjong" is also related to Taicang's "sparrow card", which is used to catch sparrows and protect food. For example, "Chengpai" is called "crane", which is homophonic with "stork", which is a kind of eagle that specializes in catching birds.

Later, there was no need to hoard rice in Taicang area, and the sparrow cards in the hands of local people that had not been exchanged for remuneration were useless. But in order to commemorate these "sparrow cards" that were used to protect food, they gradually improved these sparrow cards into a game by formulating some rules of the game. Of course, this is only the story of the origin of mahjong circulated among the people in the Qing Dynasty, but according to various documents, the embryonic form of mahjong is the horse cards and playing cards in the Ming Dynasty.

The most commonly used table at that time was the square table, also called the square table. When playing cards, the square table always faces one side, which is limited to two people sitting at the same time. Therefore, mahjong is played by four people sitting on one side, and people are also inspired by four directions, so four wind cards, namely "East", "South", "West" and "North", are added to mahjong.

As for the increase of "neutralization", "prosperity" and "whiteness", it is likely that the Qing people yearn for promotion and wealth.

"Winning" means winning high officials, "making money" means making money, and "whiteboard" means "innocence". In the Qing dynasty, people thought that only when they won a prize, became a big official, made a fortune, and at the same time ensured that they could remain innocent after being an official, would they not cause trouble. It is generally believed that only such a life is perfect, and that is why there are only ternary cards in mahjong tiles.

By the middle of the Qing Dynasty, people found that mahjong was often played and no one played it. They felt very disappointed. To make up for this shortcoming, they added "listening". At first, "listening" only added two pieces, and then gradually developed into more pieces until it developed into "drawing" mahjong tiles.

In the mid-Qing Dynasty, after the mahjong tiles were basically formed, people from all walks of life loved them from the imperial court to the common people. Ordinary people also get endless fun from playing mahjong. In the Qing Dynasty, there was a magistrate of a county who had a particularly good card luck. He once wrote a poem, which said:

I won the game today, so I arranged the alignment. Three yuan and four joys, slam meets all. Flowers are spontaneous, and the moon catches fish from the sea. The party is over, stay away, the rip-off is afraid of being knocked.

When mahjong really took shape in the late Qing Dynasty, people experienced endless happiness and rich connotations in the long-term mahjong game. A scholar in the Qing Dynasty summed up these connotations and once said:

First of all, we should refine the products. The products should be calm, not impetuous in winning cards, not stingy in losing cards, not happy in time, not sad in time, not invisible, not moved, broad-minded, noble in character, gentle and elegant, and superior in style.

All game activities have their own rules, and mahjong is no exception. Abiding by the rules of the game embodies an education, knowledge, wisdom, virtue and order. It also shows respect for others, self, etiquette and justice. These words are the will and spirit of mahjong games.

Therefore, some people say that "Mahjong Culture", as a typical symbol of China culture, shows the cultural characteristics of emphasizing self and being good at living independently.

Mahjong is a traditional entertainment program in ancient China. In the process of playing mahjong, artists must "pay attention to all sides" and adopt the tactics of "protecting themselves and caring for others" and "being flexible".

Playing mahjong is really fun. Someone once described playing mahjong like this:

If several people get together and go to Fangcheng's play, they will talk and laugh, touch and eat, and feel happy; The outcome is unpredictable, but there is always hope, which makes people worry about the future. Regardless of men, women and children, regardless of rank, unified rules and equal status. The sun rises three times, with strong interest; The willows on the moon linger. It is very effective for relieving loneliness and killing time. Therefore, it is widely spread and enduring.

It can be seen that the popularity of mahjong involved all social strata and fields in the Qing Dynasty and entered thousands of households, so mahjong was one of the most popular recreational activities in China.

Mahjong is not only favored by ordinary people, but also by cultural celebrities and officials. The scene of four people sitting around Fangcheng can be seen everywhere, and the sound of scrambling to eat and shuffle is endless. In the late Qing Dynasty, mahjong spread and played in different areas of China, and it also had social characteristics in many different places.

Even the mahjong tiles made and used by all walks of life are very particular. People who do business often like to use mahjong tiles with the god of wealth and cornucopia in flower design. Among the official favorite flower cards, there are mahjong cards for promotion and wealth. The mahjong tiles used by the emperor have the words "the country is prosperous for thousands of years", "the country is safe for the people" or "the life is boundless".

Others say that the rules of mahjong in the mid-Qing Dynasty were stereotyped, which reflected China's excellent cultural spirit and values. Although there are only 100 mahjong, it is colorful to play, which requires both wits and courage.

A square table for playing mahjong requires four people to sit opposite each other.