Mahjong History

One of the myths of the origin of Mahjong suggests that Confucius, the great Chinese philosopher, had developed the game in about 500 BC. This assertion is likely to be apocryphal. According to this myth, the appearance of the game in the various Chinese states coincided with Confucius' travels at the time he was teaching his new doctrines. Also, this myth claims that Confucius was fond of birds, which would explain the name "Mahjong" (sparrow). However, there is no evidence of Mahjong's existence prior to the Taiping era in the 19th century which eliminates Confucius as a likely inventor.
This traditional Chinese game was banned in its homeland in 1949, when the People's Republic of China was founded. The new Communist government forbade any gambling activities, which were regarded as symbols of capitalist corruption. After the Cultural Revolution, the game was revived, and once again Mahjong has become one of the favorite pastimes of the Chinese. In Hong Kong, Macao and elsewhere however, mahjong has always been popular, particularly amongst the Cantonese.
Standardization came with the formation of the National Mah Jongg League in 1937, along with the first American mahjong rulebook, Maajh: The American Version of the Ancient Chinese Game.