Editing Mahjong tiles (section)

== Development ==
[[File:28.779 SL1 s.jpg|thumb|[[George B. Glover|Glover]]'s set (early 1870s)]]
The earliest surviving mahjong sets date to the 1870s when the game was largely confined to [[Zhejiang]], [[Shanghai]], and [[Jiangsu]].<ref name=Before>Stanwick, Michael, 'Mahjong(g) Before Mahjong(g): Part 1'. In: [[The Playing-Card]], Vol. 32, No. 4, 2004, pp. 153–162.</ref> They already exhibited various traits found in modern sets. The core of the set is the 108 suited tiles which were inherited from [[Chinese playing cards#Money-suited cards|Chinese money-suited playing cards]]. The Wind honor tiles and the Four Seasons tiles were also found in the earliest sets. The honor tiles known as Arrows (Dragons in English) developed to their current form by 1890 concurrent with a new style of play called ''Zhōngfā'' (中發).<ref>Stanwick, Michael, 'Mahjong(g) Before Mahjong(g): Part 2'. In: ''The Playing-Card'', Vol. 32, No. 5, 2004, pp.&nbsp;206–215.</ref> Flower tiles, once known as Outer Flowers ({{zh|c=外花|p=wàihuā|j=ngoi<sup>6</sup>faa<sup>1</sup>}}), were not universally accepted until the 1920s. In contrast, many early sets contained [[Wild card (card games)|wild cards]] with specific powers known as Inner Flowers ({{zh|c=裏花|p=lǐhuā|j=loei<sup>5</sup>faa<sup>1</sup>}}) which disappeared from most of China but are still found in Vietnam and Thailand.<ref name=Flowers>{{cite journal|last1=Stanwick|first1=Michael|last2=Xu|first2=Hongbin|title=Flowers and Kings: An Hypothesis of their Function in Early Ma Que|journal=[[The Playing-Card]]|date=2008|volume=37|issue=1|pages=29–40|ref=Flowers}}</ref><ref name=Complete>Sloper, Tom. [http://www.sloperama.com/majexchange/tutorial.htm Is my set complete?] at sloperama.com. Retrieved 16 May 2016.</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=（七）中国国外に残る花牌麻雀 - 日本かるた文化館 |url=https://japanplayingcardmuseum.com/010-5-mahjong-flowertiles-asiancountries/ |website=Japan Playing Card Museum |access-date=2 September 2023 |language=ja}}</ref>