Yi Wang

"Sparrow Mahjong"

Section MS12, Riccardo Badano

Keywords: publishing

Mahjong is a traditional Chinese board game introduced in the 19th Century. Although the game became very popular in the West during the 20th Century, few people know its meaning. In Chinese, mahjong is also called “sparrow”, and the pronunciation of "play mahjong" in Chinese is similar to “fight sparrows”. While this sentence might not mean much to the Western audience, behind the mahjong is hidden a history of blood and tears revolving around sparrows, the modernisation of agriculture and a nation caught amid a cultural revolution. Can you find out the hints hidden in this set?