Re: Why a bird on 1 bamboo?


Nath Krismaratala wrote:
> > Blank? Not always (which may deserve a thread of its own).
>
> It was initially blank, too much for the taste of Westerns, so a frame
> was added to make it less naked.
>
> > Anyway,
> > wouldn't it be strange to have a tile named White Dragon with an image
> > of a bird on it?
>
> As strange as having a tile named One Bamboo with an image of a bird on
> it. By the way, the name White Dragon is an American invention. In
> Japan, it's called the White Element, and White (Blank) Board in China.
>
> After the Pacific War, the Japanese started to read a lot of American
> books about Mah-jongg. They discovered and liked a lot the new word
> Dragon (DORAGON, transcribed in Japanese). It became DORA.
>
> > Call it artistry. For sure, real sparrows are particularly plain and
> > drab.
>
> Yes. Also it tells us that the actual bird specie doesn't really
> matter.
>
> What disturbs me is pictures of precursors of Mah Jong with fishes
> instead of birds : http://museum.takeshobo.co.jp/houmotsu/up/b06.html
> or worms on a stick : http://www.asamiryo.jp/ZeniTori.jpg
>
> On the last picture, one can see birds heads of other bamboo tiles.
> Maybe the bird ate the worm...

First of all it depends of which dialect of Chinese your translate the
word Mah Jongg from. It mandarin, the second character means war. So, I
guess it was like some type of battle or something. In Cantonse the
word for Mah Jongg is "mah jurk" which literally means sparrow. That's
probably why the idea for the bird.

All the tiles with the name dragon are actually something derived from
Westernizations. The name of the so called white dragon is Chinese is
"bahk bahn", which means white board, so putting anything there would
just be silly.

As for why the bird on the 1 of bamboo, I don't really know. Hmmmm...I
guess it's like one of those chicken or egg questions.

.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Why a bird on 1 bamboo?
    ... As strange as having a tile named One Bamboo with an image of a bird on ... the name White Dragon is an American invention. ... the Japanese started to read a lot of American ... What disturbs me is pictures of precursors of Mah Jong with fishes ...
    (rec.games.mahjong)
  • Re: Why a Sparrow ?
    ... "Why a bird on 1 bamboo?" ... Mahjong is closely link, a descendent, of money card games. ... By the way, the etymology ofsparrowis "hemp bird", not bamboo bird. ...
    (rec.games.mahjong)
  • Re: Why a Sparrow ?
    ... I can only identify it is a bird. ... The name of the game is "Sparrow", ... with the cards available. ... Sparrows live in bamboo ...
    (rec.games.mahjong)
  • Re: Why a bird on 1 bamboo?
    ... That's a very convincing. ... All we need to find is a money card with ... Bamboo looking like a bird. ... I've seen strings of coins looking like bamboo sticks. ...
    (rec.games.mahjong)
  • Re: Why a Sparrow ?
    ... Why do you think it is a sparrow on ... the Bamboo One tile? ... I can only identify it is a bird. ...
    (rec.games.mahjong)