The history of mahjong is shorter than most people think. The game took shape in southern China in the mid to late 1800s, toward the end of the Qing dynasty. Within 60 years it had spread to America, Europe and the Chinese communities of Southeast Asia. Today it is a fixture of Chinese New Year in Malaysia.
This page sets out what the sources agree on, where they disagree, and where the record goes quiet. That last part matters for Malaysia, because the local story is thinly documented.
Where is mahjong from?
The history of mahjong starts in China. However, historians still argue over which part of China it came from. There are two main theories, and both point to the coast.
The Ningbo theory
In 1914, Yifan Shen wrote an illustrated mahjong guide. He said the game was born "roughly thirty years earlier in Ningbo". That would place its birth in the 1880s. Ningbo is a port city south of Shanghai.
The earliest Western record also points to Ningbo. F.E.B. Harvey, a British consul, served there in the 1860s. His papers describe the game, and he learnt it from a local official named Chen Yumen.
The Fujian theory
In 1933, Yaquan Du offered a different view. He wrote that "mahjong was originally popular among fishermen in Guangdong and Fujian". So the game may have grown up further south, among sea-going communities.
The oldest surviving tile sets do not settle the matter. They date to around 1870, and collectors bought them in Fuzhou, Shanghai and Ningbo. In short, the early history of mahjong sits along the east and south coast of China, but no single town can claim it for certain.
From cards to tiles
The history of mahjong also reaches back into older games. Mahjong grew from draw-and-discard card games of the 1700s and 1800s. These games used "money-suited" cards, and mahjong's three suits grew out of them. National Geographic says mahjong is believed to derive from an older card game called madiao (馬弔).
So the tiles are, in effect, playing cards made solid. In fact, paper mahjong cards also exist, as the Malaysian section below shows.
The Confucius myth
Some retellings of the history of mahjong claim that Confucius invented it thousands of years ago. That story is false. In fact, National Geographic traces it to marketers who wanted the game to sound ancient and exotic. Confucius lived around 2,500 years ago, while the oldest tiles date only from the 1870s.
Of course, a good legend sells sets. But if someone at the table repeats it, you can now gently correct them.
The 1920s mahjong craze in the West
The next chapter in the history of mahjong took place in the West. In 1920, Joseph Park Babcock published Rules of Mah-Jongg, often called the "red book". In the same year, Abercrombie & Fitch began selling the first sets in the United States.
The result was what National Geographic calls an "enormous national fad". For more detail, see National Geographic's history of mahjong as a global phenomenon.
Decline and revival in China
Back in China, the game had a harder time. After 1949, the new government banned gambling, and mahjong play declined. Then, during the Cultural Revolution (1966 to 1976), the game itself was off limits.
The revival came through sport. In 1998, a Chinese publisher released an official competition rulebook. These Mahjong Competition Rules, or MCR, scored 81 patterns and set an 8-point minimum to win. Later, mahjong groups from China, Japan, America and Europe formed the World Mahjong Organization. Its rulebook says this happened in October 2005, while Wikipedia gives 2006 in Beijing.
The first world championship took place in Tokyo in 2002, before the WMO existed. Then the first WMO championship followed in Chengdu in 2007, with 148 players from 16 nations. You can read about today's events in our guide to mahjong competitions for Malaysian players.
Mahjong in Malaysia: history and the overseas Chinese
Here the history of mahjong becomes harder to trace. Chinese migration in the late 1800s and early 1900s carried the game to Chinese communities overseas. One history blog names the British colonies of Hong Kong and Singapore as examples. However, that blog is not a strong source, and it also gives an earlier origin date than other sources.
What the evidence shows
The clearest early evidence comes from Singapore. In the 1930s, Singapore makers produced anti-Japanese propaganda mahjong sets, and one set names both Singapore and Shanghai. Also, a collector's article notes that Singapore developed its own version with "capture" flower tiles. The National Museum of Singapore holds a mid-20th-century set of paper and bone. Its owners played "only with close friends".
There is also a Malaysian link. The World of Playing Cards describes mahjong cards "almost certainly printed in Malaysia" and sold to Singapore. Still, we found no source that says when mahjong first arrived in Malaya. We also found no 1920s or 1930s Malayan newspaper reports. So any exact date you read elsewhere should be treated with care.
We found no source linking mahjong itself to Peranakan (Baba-Nyonya) culture. However, Peranakans did play Cherki, a card game that the Peranakan Association calls "popular amongst Nyonya ladies". The Star notes that, "Similar to mahjong, Cherki is played with two decks of 60 cards". In 2026, two Malaysian Peranakan sisters turned it into a board game.
Mahjong in modern Malaysia
The latest chapter in the history of mahjong is local. Today, the game is part of everyday life for many Malaysian Chinese families. In 2012, The Star described Chinese New Year as "A time for family reunions, the lion dance, firecrackers, mahjong, mandarin oranges and giving/receiving ang pow". People also play in homes, cafés and community centres for fun.
Malaysia also has its own style of play. The four-player game uses animal and flower tiles, and a fast three-player game uses a smaller set with fly jokers. Our guides to mahjong tiles and mahjong etiquette and Chinese New Year customs explain both.
Why is mahjong so popular?
Several things keep the game alive. First, it is social: being invited to play is seen in some cultures as a sign of acceptance. Second, it ties into festivals, above all Chinese New Year. Third, new players keep arriving. For example, the 2018 film Crazy Rich Asians sparked fresh interest among tourists in Singapore.
Malaysia has its own recent signs too. In 2025, a group of friends launched MyJong, a set themed on local culture and snacks. Then, in April 2026, Jom Mahjong started in Kuala Lumpur as a social club. Its monthly sessions draw about 48 players.
Timeline: key dates in the history of mahjong
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| 1700s–1800s | Money-suited card games, the ancestors of mahjong, are played in China |
| 1860s | British consul F.E.B. Harvey records the game in Ningbo |
| c. 1870 | Oldest surviving tile sets, from Fuzhou, Shanghai and Ningbo |
| 1914 | Yifan Shen's illustrated guide places the game's birth in Ningbo |
| 1920 | Babcock's "red book" and the first US sets from Abercrombie & Fitch |
| 1933 | Yaquan Du links the game to Guangdong and Fujian fishermen |
| 1930s | Anti-Japanese propaganda sets made in Singapore |
| 1949 | Gambling ban in China; mahjong declines |
| 1966–1976 | Mahjong banned during the Cultural Revolution |
| 1998 | Mahjong Competition Rules (MCR) rulebook published in China |
| 2002 | First world championship, Tokyo |
| 2005 or 2006 | World Mahjong Organization founded (sources differ) |
| 2007 | First WMO world championship, Chengdu |
| 2018 | Crazy Rich Asians boosts interest in Singapore |
| 2026 | Jom Mahjong social club starts in Kuala Lumpur |
For the full scholarly record, the Wikipedia article on mahjong lists its sources.
Frequently asked questions
Where is mahjong from?
Mahjong is from China. It took shape in the mid to late 1800s, near the end of the Qing dynasty. One theory places its birth in Ningbo, and another in Guangdong and Fujian. The oldest surviving tiles date from around 1870 and came from Fuzhou, Shanghai and Ningbo.
Did Confucius invent mahjong?
No. That story is a myth. National Geographic says marketers spread the idea that the game was thousands of years old. In fact, the oldest tiles date from around 1870, and the game grew out of earlier Chinese card games such as madiao.
When did mahjong come to Malaysia?
No source we found gives a date. Chinese migrants carried the game to Southeast Asia in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Also, Singapore makers produced mahjong sets in the 1930s. But there are no records of when mahjong first reached Malaya, so treat any exact date with care.
Why is mahjong so popular?
Mahjong is social, and an invitation to play can be a sign of acceptance. In Malaysia, it is part of Chinese New Year alongside reunions and ang pow. It also keeps drawing new players, from the 1920s American craze to the film Crazy Rich Asians and new clubs like Jom Mahjong.
Is mahjong Chinese or Japanese?
Mahjong is Chinese. It began in Qing-dynasty China in the 1800s. Japan later developed its own version, riichi mahjong, which has its own world championship. Malaysian mahjong, with its animal tiles and three-player game, follows the Chinese game, not the Japanese one.
