Mahjong: A Chinese Game and the Making of Modern American Culture

by Annelise Heinz

How has a game brought together Americans and defined separate ethnic communities? This book tells the first history of mahjong and its meaning in American culture.

Click-click-click. The sound of mahjong tiles connects American expatriates in Shanghai, Jazz Age white Americans, urban Chinese Americans in the 1930s, incarcerated Japanese Americans in wartime, Jewish American suburban mothers, and Air Force officers' wives in the postwar era.

Mahjong: A Chinese Game and the Making of Modern American Culture illustrates how the spaces between tiles and the moments between games have fostered distinct social cultures in the United States. This mass-produced game crossed the Pacific, creating waves of popularity over the twentieth century. Annelise Heinz narrates the history of this game to show how it has created a variety of meanings, among them American modernity, Chinese American heritage, and Jewish American women's culture. As it traveled from China to the United States and caught on with Hollywood starlets, high society, middle-class housewives, and immigrants alike, mahjong became a quintessentially American game. Heinz also reveals the ways in which women leveraged a game to gain access to respectable leisure. The result was the forging of friendships that lasted decades and the creation of organizations that raised funds for the war effort and philanthropy. No other game has signified both belonging and standing
apart in American culture.

Drawing on photographs, advertising, popular media, and dozens of oral histories, Heinz's rich and colorful account offers the first history of the wildly popular game of mahjong.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Games

360 pages, Hardcover

Published May 3, 2021

Reviews

[Mimi · Rating 4 out of 5]

My brother and I reminisce about the sounds and tastes of Mah Jongg as we were growing up: the clicking of the tiles; the silence as the game was being played; the tiles being called (one dot; two crack; red dragon); and then the cry of "Mah Jongg" followed by the loud conversations among the women. And of course, the candy snacks of chocolate nonpareils and M&Ms that we would try to eat as our mother was setting them out.

While very well-researched and well-written, this book contained way more information and details than I wanted/needed to know. I ended up skimming the mah-jority of the book. Ultimately, I found the last three chapters and the Epilogue to be the most informative and the most relevant to my interests: The Americanization of Mahjong, Suburban Migrations and Summer Bungalows, and The Paradoxes of Postwar Domesticity. There is one quote in the Epilogue that I found personally meaningful.

As players and their children age, the meaning of their mahjong sets has grown in psychological importance. Today, many play with the tiles that reunite them with loved ones who have passed away.

As a third generation player of Mah Jongg, I have inherited the Bakelite set that belonged to my mother and to my grandmother before her. The tiles are yellowed with age; the set only came with two Jokers instead of the requisite eight (I had to cover six extra tiles with Joker stickers); and the Flowers are a different color from the other tiles. (One of the women my mother played with always complained that "everyone can tell when you have Flowers in your hand.") I was able to get around that by getting replacement tiles and stickers from the National Mah Jongg League.

I wouldn't trade my set for anything!!

[TΞΞL❍CK Mith!lesh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mahjong takes a deep dive into the history of a game that crossed the Pacific and fostered distinct social cultures—from Chinese-Americans in the 1930s to incarcerated Japanese-Americans during the Second World War to Jewish-American suburban mothers and Air Force officers’ wives in the postwar era. Historian Annelise Heinz’s examination of the game provides unexpected insights into race, gender, class, and leisure in modern America with particular relevance to Chinese-American heritage and Jewish-American women’s culture.

[Julius Bautista · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is not about MJ per se, but more of the same stuff about the formation of American (suburban Jewish) culture invoking themes of class, gender and race. I read it anyway, I guess on the slim chance that learning more about the history and culture of mahjong might enrich my long standing enjoyment of this sublime game. (It hasn’t, to be honest). Wouldn’t it be great of someone wrote a cultural history of MJ in Southeast Asia…

[Rena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Certainly straightened out the myths I've been spouting about mahj...

[Mikko Saari · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mahjong on kiehtova peli, jolle myyntipuheissa loihditaan aina Kungfutsen aikoihin yltävä historia. Se on tietysti täyttä puppua; todellisuudessa mahjongin historia yltää 1800-luvun puoliväliin asti. Pelin todellinenkin historia on kuitenkin hyvin kiehtovaa.

Tädin yksinkertainen kysymys – ”Miksi juutalaiset ystäväni pelaavat kiinalaista peliä?” – toimi Annelise Heinzille potkuna lähteä tutkimaan mahjongin vaiheita. Miten kiinalaisesta pelistä tuli 1920-luvulla valtava villitys Yhdysvalloissa? Miten pelistä tuli nimenomaan juutalaisnaisten ajanvietettä? Yhden kiinalaisen pelin kautta Heinz kuvaa yhdysvaltalaisen kulttuurin kehitystä, konsumerismin ja vapaa-ajan kehitystä 1900-luvulla, orientalismia, etnistä identiteettiä ja naisten mahdollisuuksia.

1920-luvulla kiinalaisen pelin löysivät Shanghaissa asuvat yhdysvaltalaiset. Öljyedustaja J. P. Babcock näki mahjongvimmassa bisnesmahdollisuuden ja parin vuoden ajan 1920-luvulla mahjong oli kuumaakin kuumempaa Yhdysvalloissa etenkin valkoisen keskiluokan parissa. Kun buumi meni ohi, peli jäi amerikankiinalaisten harrastukseksi. 1930-luvulla juutalaiset naiset loivat omaperäisen yhdysvaltalaisen muodon mahjongista; siitä tuli 1950-luvulla juutalaisten lähiörouvien ykkösharrastus. Sotavuosina japanilaiset pelasivat mahjongia internointileireillä ja sodan jälkeen mahjong oli Yhdysvaltojen ilmavoimissa upseerien vaimojen suosikki.

Kaiken aikaa mahjongia on luonnollisesti pelattu eri puolilla Itä-Aasiaa, mutta Heinz tarkastelee peliä erityisesti Yhdysvaltojen kontekstissa. Mahjongin historiassa Yhdysvallat ja Kiina kietoutuvat toisiinsa vahvasti: pelin asemaa Kiinassakin on edistänyt se, miten 1920-luvun buumi muokkasi mahjong-tuotantoa Kiinassa teollisemmaksi. Kaikkea tätä Heinz käy läpi kirjassaan akateemisen tekstin perusteellisuudella. Kunnon tiedekirjan tapaan kirjasta kolmannes on alaviitteitä ja lähdeluetteloita. Heinz on tehnyt perusteellista tutkimustyötä vanhojen arkistolähteiden parissa ja haastatellen mahjonginpelaajia erilaisista yhteisöistä.

Mahjong avaa pelin historiaa tavalla, jollaista en ole muualla nähnyt. Minulle kirja avasi Yhdysvaltojen merkitystä mahjongin kehityksessä. Samalla sai sitten kelpo annoksen sosiologiaa ja kiinalaisiin ja japanilaisiin liittyvien etnisten jännitteiden historiaa Yhdysvalloissa. Heinz kirjoittaa sujuvasti, vaikka paikoin kirjan lukeminen vähän työstä kävikin – vaikka varsinaista sisältöä on vain parisataa sivua, teksti on tiivistä ja kirja siten reippaasti sivumääräänsä tuhdimpi.

[Mallory Shaner · Rating 3 out of 5]

It took me a long freaking time but i finally finished this book. i have some thoughts.
pros: it’s not as long as the kindle says because of the footnotes (which i didn’t realize until i was actually almost done); it does a decent job tracing the history of mahjong in america and its varying cultural ties; it has lots of cool photos that now i wish i hadn’t read on kindle; its thoroughly researched

cons: it is not terribly well organized or structured, and lacks a human component to make it seem less like an academic journal article and more like a book about something so uniquely american. i think the book could have benefited from more narrative throughout—there were often brief mentions of the people who played mahjong by name, but the illustrations never went further than a brief intro. also, the book just felt poorly organized in terms of outline and headings. each sub part of a chapter felt like it was the same material regurgitated slightly differently. i think given the topic, which has the potential to be fascinating yet on the surface could seem dry, a more creative structure and syntax would have taken this book miles.

[Lindy · Rating 3 out of 5]

As a mahjong player for 50 years, playing with my parents set from Hong Kong, I enjoyed the information presented in the book. It would have more enjoyable if the author had had a better editor. It was a struggle to get through the dense sentences, information was repeated in many places, and academic jargon impeded understanding of many of the concepts. Nonetheless, I recommend it for those with perseverance to stick it out. It is crammed full of references and the academic perspective is very interesting and informative.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched, engaging account of Mahjong with a particular focus on the USA. Think Mrs Maisel and the Catskills! Great photos. For mahjong aficionados though of interest to mahjong dabblers like me too. Thanks to R, who thrust this book into my hands as a must read.

[Valerie Real · Rating 4 out of 5]

À comprehensive history of Mahjong in America. Very detailed chronology of the games US origins and iterations. It is enlightening to learn how it has impacted certain groups in the US. The recent resurgence of the game makes this even more pertinent. If you love Mahjong you’ll enjoy this book.

[Jay Sparks · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gets a little dry at times, but for anyone interested in the history and social culture around mah jongg, this is a good book to read -- very thorough.

[Madison Cotherman]

Not the narrative nonfiction I was hoping for but comprehensive history, manufacturing, and cultural context for the game of mahjong.

[Holly Schotz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the history of this game that I play often. Great memories of my parents playing many years ago.