What I Learned from Playing Mahjong

Mahjong as a metaphor for a multi-passionate life

A quick exciting update! Karen Yi of EnVi Media wrote a beautiful article about my practice here. Check it out! : Hyungjin Lee: Award-Winning Animator on the Preservation of Life

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Last December, my boyfriend’s mom taught me how to play Riichi Mahjong - a Japanese variant of the Chinese game. I was a bit overwhelmed at first, but soon I saw that the game’s objective is actually very simple. I will try to explain it quickly here (please forgive me if I am not 100% correct! I am still a Mahjong newbie <3 )

Riichi Mahjong is played with 34 different tiles, of which there are four of each type. The majority of the tiles consist of the numbers 1 to 9 in three ‘suits’, which are:

After being each given a random set of 13 tiles, players go around the table, picking a new tile and discarding one. The goal is to be the first player to make a winning hand. Some winning hands win more points than others. At the end of all the rounds, the points are summed up and whoever has the most points wins.

Thank you for staying with me through this explanation, are you still with me? (please say yes)

Now, how to make a winning hand? Well, there are many, many ways, as shown in the image below. The easiest, most straight forward hands are not worth many points. The rarer, more difficult ones are worth more.

That’s all the explanation!! Back to the story.

I was playing Mahjong with my boyfriend’s family for almost four hours at a time. I was completely immersed in the game. From the beginning of each round when each player is dealt 13 random tiles, my mind was running through all the different combinations I could create with what I had. After hours had passed, I suddenly got a realization that Mahjong is the perfect metaphor for a life with multiple passions.

Like I said in my last article, I thought that I must pick one thing and become very, very good at it to have a fulfilling life. All in or nothing. In this logic, once you know what your ‘thing’ is, you must devote yourself to becoming very, very good at it - a lot like collecting a hand full of the same kind of tile.

While it is possible to win with all of the same kind of tile (all bamboo, all circle, or all character), it isn’t the only way. In fact, one of the rarest and most valuable winning hands is the Thirteen Orphans - for which you need tiles from all types: Bamboo, circle, character, east wind, south wind, north wind, west wind, red dragon, green dragon, and white dragon.

There are so many ways to build a beautiful, fulfilling life. In my particular case, I have been given a set of 13 ‘tiles’ that are quite different from one another. It doesn’t make sense for me to try to make a winning hand that needs all the tiles to be the same type. And that’s alright. In fact, this seemingly weird set of tiles is an opportunity for me to be creative and build a rare, valuable hand.

If you are someone who is passionate about one thing and is devoting your whole life to it - that is incredible and very rewarding as well. The point I am trying to make is that there are so many ways to get to a winning hand.

You could choose one thing and become an expert for the rest of your life. You could have eight different passions and combine them in a surprising, unique way. One is not better than the other - just different.

Mahjong has many, many rounds. I have a tendency to try and hold onto everything I love at the same time. I don’t want to sacrifice anything. However, I can’t do three very different things at the same time without 1) being mediocre at all of them 2) getting burnt out 3) time making the choice of what to focus on for me.

In my mind, choosing to focus on one thing meant giving up on another. For example, choosing to focus on animation this year means giving up on playwriting. However, that’s not the case. Like Mahjong, life can have many rounds, many chapters. Maybe for this round, it makes sense to focus on a winning hand around animation. Discarding a playwriting tile doesn’t mean I’m throwing that away for the rest of my life. It means I will not pursue my passion for playwriting in this specific time. I am putting it aside with intentionality. That is an active choice, unlike holding onto 8 things at once and leaving it up to gravity to decide which one drops and which one stays.

What tiles have you been given for this round? Take a look. What makes sense for you to build right now? You’re not giving up by choosing a path, don’t worry. There will be more rounds. There will be more time.

Thank you for staying with me through this long-winded metaphor and what I learned from it. I mainly wrote this piece to keep for myself and look back on when I need it. I hope this metaphor gives you some peace and confidence in your life as well. I know you will build a beautiful, fulfilling life, even if it doesn’t make complete sense how things will come together right now. I’m right there with you.

Until next time,

Hyungjin

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Images/words used to explain Mahjong taken from:

https://mahjong.guide/a-beginners-guide-to-riichi-mahjong/

worldriichii.org

https://mybrainiscompletelyempty.wordpress.com/2021/10/13/a-simple-and-easy-guide-to-mahjong/

https://www.resetera.com/threads/japanese-mahjong-ot-not-the-tile-matching-one.221326/