Mahjong: A Chinese Game and the Making of Modern American Culture
A Game That Crossed Oceans. A Culture Shaped at the Table.
This groundbreaking work explores how mahjong became woven into the fabric of American life, shaping communities, identities, and social worlds across the twentieth century. Rather than focusing solely on rules or play, Annelise Heinz examines what happened around the game. Who gathered at the table, where they played, and what the game came to mean in different moments and places.
Tracing mahjong’s journey from China to the United States, Heinz reveals how a mass-produced game carried deeply personal and cultural significance. Mahjong connected American expatriates abroad, urban Chinese American communities, Jewish American women in postwar suburbs, Japanese Americans during wartime incarceration, and military families navigating constant relocation. In each setting, the game helped people create belonging while also preserving distinct identities.
This book shows how mahjong became a form of respectable leisure, particularly for women, offering space for friendship, mutual support, philanthropy, and community organizing. Through shared play, players forged relationships that lasted decades and built organizations that reached far beyond the table.
Drawing from photographs, advertisements, popular media, and extensive oral histories, Heinz presents the first comprehensive cultural history of mahjong in the United States. The result is a richly layered account of how one game could simultaneously unite and distinguish, offering insight into American modernity, immigration, gender, and cultural memory.
This is an essential read for anyone interested in mahjong not just as a game, but as a social force that shaped American communities across generations.
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Important Note:
Ozark Mah Jongg is an independent retailer of The Great Mahjong Book by Jelte Rep. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or in partnership with Jelte Rep or any associated entities. All copyrights and trademarks related to The Great Mahjong Book are the property of their respective owners.
Ozark Mah Jongg does not claim authorship or ownership of this publication and offers it solely as a reseller for the convenience of our customers.
