There are three pillars that inform ancient Chinese society – Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism – and later, Legalism and Mohism, which informed the shape of society as far back as 1600 BC. When authors Ann Israel and Gregg Swain began playing Mah Jongg, they were unaware of the vintage collections that existed not only in the United States but also in places as far-ranging as Africa to New Zealand. Gregg Swain grew up, and continues to live, in New York City, where she developed her love and knowledge of art.

Years ago when sets were carved, and painted, a great deal of thought was put into their designs, but today much of the subtle symbolism goes unnoticed. To enable personalized advertising (like interest-based ads), we may share your data with our marketing and advertising partners using cookies and other technologies. To calculate the overall star rating and percentage breakdown by star, we don’t use a simple average. Mahjong is still associated with family and friends, one of the most important values in Asian cultures, and as it is commonly played by both young and old together, it is the ideal way to bring people and happiness together. com, the Sell on Etsy app, and the Etsy app, as well as the electricity that powers Etsy’s global offices and employees working remotely from home in the US.Finding few references, Israel and Swain set out to create a book that chronicles the early beginnings of the game and documents Mahjong sets from the most basic, made of paper, to the most precious materials such as ivory and mother-of-pearl. Mahjong is deeply rooted in Hong Kong culture,” Ricky tells us, “it is more than a game with four players in a traditional way of playing. On display will be a precious collection of exhibits, including rare century-old mahjong tiles hand-carved from ox bones; Japanese bamboo-backed tiles dating back to the 1970s; and hand-carved sets from Hong Kong with which production has already ceased, alongside rare catalogues and books that look into the art of the game. One may give rise to the other much like the anima and animus, the sun and moon, north and south magnetic poles, summer and winter.

The root of this ideology stems from cyclicity, an observation of cycles as seen through the seasons, night and day and so on – ideas that seep into mahjong’s gameplay not only through what the tiles represent but also on the formation of its movement, its psychology, strategy and goals. As his hands moulded to the feeling of tools pressing into the hard tiles, it was three years until Ricky became a professional. As part of its effort to perpetuate local culture, Temple Mall invites all to head on a cultural journey with The Art of the Game: Behind Mah-jong Tiles, a campaign jointly organised with The Art of Mah-jong Craft, a studio founded by Ricky Cheung Sing-chung, one of Hong Kong’s last mahjong craftsmen, and his daughter Karen Aruba, who is an illustrator. More than 90 artists are featured in this fully illustrated publication, including Ai Weiwei, Huang Yan, Liu Wei, Wang Du, Weng Fen, Xu Bing, Yue Min Jun, Zhang Huan and Zhang Xiaogang.With Dragon-Mahjongg, test your speed against this fast-paced variant where time is not on your side. Focusing on one stroke at a time, the first step in hand carving was to mark the position on the tile.

For Ricky, there is a deep relationship between how the game is played and the manufacturing process.Keeping the spirit of the practice alive, he hopes Hong Kong mahjong garners more international appreciation for its craft, and the fading skills are preserved in turn. She has been writing Advice for the Lawlorn, a weekly syndicated column for attorneys, published by American Law Media since 1994. No mean feat considering traditional tiles are made of sturdy bamboo, or the more controversial bone or ivory.

He learnt to carve the characters without drafting their position first, an impressive feat considering each tile must be totally identical to the next. Along with the exhibition's themes of urbanization, globalization and alienation, China's underground tradition and its current cultural renaissance are addressed in essays by leading Chinese art historians Julia F.Fuk Hing Lung Mahjong Factory was one of the largest manufacturers of mahjong tiles before it closed in 2009. And like many Hong Kong residents, Ricky understands mahjong making as part of its “intangible cultural heritage,” though one that is gradually disappearing with its retiring elders. Ricky’s daughter, Karen, spends much of her time keeping the story alive through the art brand Karen Aruba Art, encouraging younger generations to learn its value alongside the Hong Kong story and culture.