Mahjong Tiles
Generally when you see Mahjong being played it is with tiles that from a distance resemble Dominoes. Mahjong isn't always played with tiles as there are Mahjong playing cards (usually spelt kards to distinguish them from the list of standard hands in American mahjong). Playing cards are generally used when traveling as they are lighter and take up less room than their tile counterparts. However they do not last as long as their quality is lower.
Along with the playing tiles, most Mahjong sets include a set of bone tiles or chips for scoring, indicators for the Prevailing wind and the dealer. You may also find that the set contains a rack for holding the tiles, one rack will be of a different colour to denote the dealer.
Although Mahjong sets will differ from place to place they usualy have at least 136 tiles but more commonly 144 tiles. American and Japanese Mahjong sets typically have more than 144 tiles. These tiles are split into three categories; suits, honor and flower.
The suit tiles can be further broken down into their respective suits, which are:
* Dots: Each tiles consists of a number of circles. These circles are believed to represent old copper coins with a square hole punched in the middle.
* Bamboos: Each tile in the suit has a number of Bamboo sticks on it's face except the 1 Bamboo. The 1 Bamboo generally has a bird sitting on a bamboo stick. It is elieved that the bamboo stick represents a string that holds 100 coins.
* Characters: Each tile represent ten thousand coins, or one hundred string of on hundred coins.
Like the suit tiles, honor tiles can be further broken down into sub groups.
* Wind: North, East, South, West.
* Dragon: There are three Dragon tiles which are, red, green and white. It is believed that Babcock coined the term Dragon Tiles in his 1920's book 'Introducing Mahjong to America'. Originally these tiles are believed to have something to do with the Chinese Imperal Examination. The red tile meant that you had passed the examination and thus would be appointed to a Government Official. The Green tile meant you would become financially well off, and the white tile meant that because a person is doing well they should be a good incorrupt official.
There are other interpritations for what the tiles mean. In Chinese Mahjong the tiles represent elements in archery. The red tiles represents a hit on the target. A green tile reperesnts one releasing the draw, and white tile represents a failure.
In all cases the white tile is bordered usually by a blue line to distinguish it from a replacement tile and to prevent a player from altering it to a different tile by adding lines to it.
The Flower tiles are typically optional components of a mahjong set and often contain artwork. The 4 tiles of the Flower tile group are Plum, Orchis, Chrysanthemum and Bamboo.
There are also 4 tiles that make up the Seasonal Tile set. These tiles represent Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter.
