MovieChat Forums > Se, jie (2007) Discussion > mah jong symbolism

mah jong symbolism

posted 16 years ago by brandall-7
10 replies | jump to latest

As a mah jong player and collector, I noticed some things in Lust, Caution that I thought I should share.

1.) There are two mah jong sets in this movie, both made of bone dovetailed to bamboo. The more valuable type of this set has a thick bone layer in proportion to the bamboo. In the first scene of the movie (at the end of the story, as it turns out), you'll see they're playing with a valuable set -- the bone layer is quite thick. At an earlier point in the story (when the Yees would have been less wealthy) they play with a less valuable set. Look for the scene that begins with one of the women complaining that the family has just lost their cook. You'll see that the bone layer on the mah jong tiles they're playing with is much thinner.

2.) One of the honor tiles in a mah jong set has the character "zhong". It's drawn in red on the tile. "Zhong" means "center" and is the first character in the word for "China" ("center kingdom"). In the first mah jong scene, one player (Ma Tai Tai?) gets all four ("kai gang") of these tiles, turns them face down, and draws another tile. In the second mah jong game, one of the women remarks that another's husband must be about to get a promotion. Yee Tai Tai then draws a "zhong" tile, turns it over for everyone to see, and throws up her hands and lets out an exaggerated feminine scream. I think the idea here is that drawing the tile that represents China is a good omen for the husband's promotion to a high place in government.

3.) In the one mah jong game where Mr. Yee plays, notice that after Wong Chia Chi wins a hand, Mr. Yee pulls out a drawer of the table which contains little bone sticks. These sticks are counters that are used like poker chips, to keep track of a player's winnings. Mr. Yee will award counters to Wong Chia Chi, depending on the value of her winning hand.

4.) In China, mah jong is usually played for money. All of the usual gambling metaphors apply -- "she played for her life and lost", etc. I think the last line of the movie is brilliant -- "keep playing".

[–] jnagarya-1 15 years ago

Having reread this thread, and on further thought, I note that there are two things going on regarding this issue.

1. The different mah jong sets, distinguished between "poverty" and "wealth," and Chinese and Japanese, is not symbolism. Rather, it reflects the prop department being on top of the small details. All that difference shows is that the prop department chose the correct mah jong set in each instance.

Certainly it reflects a cultural knowledge we in the West (and perhaps many in the East) wouldn't have. But if symbolic, it is symbolic of how much care Ang Lee takes in getting relevant but "insignificant" details right.

2. Symbolism: though it appears the tie-ins between tiles showing "good luck" or "prosperity," and Taiwan president and vice-president names, may have been deliberate -- and it may have been -- if one watches the extras on the DVD it is said in interview that none of those who played mah jong in the film had known how to play it, so Ang Lee required they learn it. Further, and the central point, when they shot a scene playing mah jong, and the shooting of the scene ended, they continued to play because they were so into the playing.

So it's probable that the specific tiles showing "prosperity" and "good luck," and the Tawain president and vice-presidents' names were deliberately chosen. But it could have happened by chance.