Where Mah Jongg Came From
From 19th-century China to American living rooms
- Place the game's origin in time and place
- Explain how it reached the United States
- Recognize the 1920s “craze”
Mah Jongg began in China in the 1800s, during the Qing dynasty. It started among the well-off and slowly spread until it became a beloved pastime across Chinese society.
The game rewards patience, memory, and reading your opponents — qualities people admired then and still admire now.
China · 1800s
Mah Jongg is invented during the Qing dynasty and becomes a treasured pastime across the country.
Tap a pin, or trace the route to watch the game cross the ocean.
In the early 1920s, the tiles crossed the ocean. American shoppers were enchanted by the carved symbols and the satisfying click of the pieces. The retailer Abercrombie & Fitch was among the first to import sets, and demand exploded into a full “Mahjong craze.”
A tax on tiles
So many sets poured into the country that, in 1924, the United States placed a tax on imported Mahjong sets.
The game found a special home in social clubs, where friends gathered weekly to play — a tradition that still thrives today.
Where and roughly when did Mah Jongg begin?
- Mah Jongg was born in 1800s China.
- It reached the U.S. in the early 1920s and became a craze.
- Social clubs helped the game put down roots in America.
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