WHILE the presence of over 80 foreign players in the World Mahjong Championship held in Chongqing in late October surprised many Chinese, public opinion was about evenly divided when thousands of mahjong lovers signed a petition after the event in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, to support mahjong. The petition was aimed at applying the title of intangible cultural heritage to mahjong.

“We are still busy combating gambling. How can mahjong become a national cultural heritage?” wrote Wu En, a university professor in Beijing, on his Sina Weibo account.

Zhou Xiaofeng, a consultant at a cultural exchange center in Beijing, offers a different opinion. Recently, he wrote a blog post saying that instead of being on the edge of extinction, mahjong is developing a wide range of fans around the world. However, national cultural heritages are usually identified as being in danger and in need of government protection.

Sheng Qi takes a lighter view, saying he sees mahjong as a hobby. It is also a connection with his hometown Ningbo, Zhejiang Province, and had a strong influence on his childhood.

Sheng, 79, said mahjong is suitable for all ages and helps exercise the mind.

“Other games like chess and bridge pit opponents against each other or perhaps two against two, but in mahjong, one player needs to fight against the other three at the same time. It’s more challenging and trains players in strategic thinking skills,” he said.

Xing Xiaoquan, an official at the Chinese Leisure Sports Administrative Center, General Administration of Sports of China, is in favor of reforming mahjong. In fact, he has been pushing for it since 1996.

Xing said mahjong and gambling are two different things, like the difference between playing football and gambling on the result. “Any activity in which there is a winner or loser can be gambled on, this includes election campaigns,” he said.

Xing explained that mahjong has long been associated with gambling because people have been doing it for centuries, and because the game has stakes, it’s easy to apply the gambling impulse.

Therefore, the right guidance is necessary, according to Xing, who categorized the game into three types: competition, leisure (played for entertainment only) and gambling mahjong.

“Upgrading the game into a competition is the best way to develop mahjong in a healthy way,” Xing commented.

The recent submission of the petition is not the first time mahjong fans have tried to make it a national cultural heritage. The same thing was attempted in 2007, but gained no feedback from related government departments.

Shanghai-based Xinmin Evening News recently reported that Liu Kuili, an official in the Department of Intangible Cultural Heritage, Ministry of Culture, said he was not in favor of including mahjong, though it was only his personal opinion.(SD-Agencies)