Doubling Honors
| For three (or four) green dragons, | double total score once. |
| For three (or four) red dragons, | double total score once. |
| For three (or four) white dragons, | double total score once. |
| For three (or four) of own wind, | double total score once. |
| For having all one suit except honor pieces, | double total score once. |
| For all one suit, | double total score 3 times. |
| For all honor pieces, | double total score 3 times. |
| For winning on original hand as drawn from the wall, | double total score 3 times. |
See [page 65] for scoring values when hands are played with a limit.
INTRODUCTION
Out of China has come this stately game with the lure of Oriental mysticism to whet jaded appetites and with possibilities for study that challenge the keenest intelligence.
There is a mysticism about the Oriental and his mode of life that challenges the imagination and induces a curiosity hard to decipher. The dress of the Chinese, their strange customs, their difficult language, and their apparently impenetrable mask-like faces appeal to the fancy and throw a veil of mystery around even the commonplace.
The origin of this game is lost in the mist of centuries past. There is, though, an oral tradition to the effect that it was originated in the Court of the King of Wu, now known as Ning-Po, during the year of 472 B.C. to entertain his consort and her court ladies and to help them while away the time which lay heavily on their hands. This was about the time of Confucius. It is, however, known to have been the Royal game, restricted to the use of Emperors and their friends of the Mandarin class for two thousand years. To them it was known as Pe-Ling (pronounced Bah-Ling) taking its name from the "bird of a hundred intelligences," the lark-like creature sacred in the Chinese faith which now may be seen reproduced on most Chinese tapestries and embroideries. The penalty paid by one of any other class for playing Pe-Ling at that time, was the loss of his head. Later—no one knows just when—the privilege of playing this wonder game was extended to the merchant or middle classes—and when, some 70 years ago—a social uprising threatened, one of the concessions granted to calm the unrest was the universal privilege of playing this game. In this way was caused the confusion of names for the game which exists even to-day in China; for, with the abolishing of Pe-Ling, each province applied their own name and pronunciation to the game, with the result that now we have from twelve to eighteen different names, by which the game is known. A few of these are Ma-Cheuk, Mah-Jong, Mah-Juck, Mah-Diao and Mah-Jongg.