Matchang Or Mahjong Game

Rare game of Matchang. 1933. Beijing. Text in French. Illustrated in color. Original soft cover preserved. Slight watermark on some pages. Overall in very good condition. Illustrated with 17 color plates, "The Game of Matchang, Its Origin - Its Rules its Combinations with Explanatory Tables", compiled by KT Liou, fifth edition published by Albert Nachbaur Publisher in 1933. A rare publication on the Chinese game Mahjong. Mahjong or mah-jong (Chinese pinyin: majiang) is a tile-based game that was developed in the 19th century in China and has spread around the world since the beginning of the 20th century. It is usually played by four players (with some three-player variants found in parts of China, Japan, South Korea, and Southeast Asia). The game and its regional variants are widely played throughout East and Southeast Asia and have become popular in Western countries as well. The game has also been adapted into a popular online entertainment. Similar to Western Rummy, Mahjong is a game of skill, strategy and luck. To distinguish it from mahjong solitaire, it is sometimes called mahjong rummy. Albert Nachbaur (1879-1933) was born into a family of French architects and decorators. He emigrated to China after the start of World War I and arrived in Beijing in February 1916. He first worked as editor of the "Journal de Beijing", a socialist-leaning French newspaper. Then created his own French-speaking press agency ensuring the link between the Russian, French and Chinese governments. At the same time, he worked as a publisher, bookseller and journalist. He is particularly interested in Chinese religion as well as popular customs and traditions. The game is complete, clean, rarely used and therefore in very good condition. The game pieces are of a very beautiful invoice as well as the decorations. This game is part of the last year of publishing by Albert Nachbaur.