Crazy Rich Asians - Mahjong
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- Опубліковано 29 сер 2024
- Hi there!
I just saw the movie Crazy Rich Asians yesterday and loved it so much I thought I'd do a short video to explain the mahjong scene in terms of the rules of mahjong and how the game is played.
If you haven't seen it yet, or you have and didn't really understand how the game was being played, I hope this video will help.
If you're interested in learning more mahjong, check out my "mahjong with my mother-in-law" playlist.
If you're interested in learning Cantonese, check out the other videos on my channel or my website: www.cantolingo.com.
As always, please like and subscribe if you do ... and turn on the notifications, too! :)
Happy learning,
Sue Marguerite
PS. Follow me on IG and FB: @cantonesecorner
PPS. Again, you can learn more Cantonese with me and open new windows into Cantonese culture by taking my Traditional Characters in Cantonese Pronunciation courses over at www.cantolingo.com.
Learn traditional Standard Written Chinese characters, their Cantonese equivalent (if any), the radicals, proper stroke order, and much more! Classes are on-going and combine online self-study with Zoom sessions. This is a university-level course based on materials from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and is effective and fun!
It is interesting that you spent the time to make this “explanation” video, but did not spend much time looking at the original scene, since you have both of the combinations completely wrong. Eleanor’s winning hand was pong of bamboo nines, pong of bamboo eights, pong of white dragons, eye of red dragons and pong of coin nines which she called earlier in the game. Rachel’s hand was pong of bamboo threes, pong of bamboo fours, pong of north winds, eye of red dragons and the forfeited chow of bamboo 6, 7, 8. Why would you do that? 🤔
Thanks for sharing that and for asking why I would!
The answer is because I did this the moment I returned from the cinema after watching it for the first time -- so I was going off memory :).
Since then, I've seen the movie 15 or more times and it's easily accessible online, so I would of course have used the actual hands had I had access to the movie online.
I definitely need to do another updated video because this scene is the most brilliant in all of movie history! Love it so much 😍
Thanks again for commenting - going to pin this as I'm sure a lot of people wonder the same thing! :)
Rachel gave up her winning tile knowing Eleanor will likely pick it up. Eleanor was probably collecting tiles of the same kind, much like how she wants Nick’s future wife to be the same ‘kind’ as them. Rachel is a professor of game theory so she knows strategy. She wants to prove she’s worthy enough. By giving up the tile it symbolizes how she is willing to sacrifice her love so that Nick won’t lose his mom/family. Eleanor probably was dumbfounded why Rachel gave up the winning tile but Eleanor saw the deeper meaning behind it- just like how Eleanor gave up her law career to be Mrs Young, Rachel knows sacrifice, putting another person’s(Nick’s) interest before her own. And Eleanor approved of Rachel in the end!
Eleanor gave up her beautiful ring to Rachel!
nice job spoiling the best part
The question is, how on earth does Rachel knows what card Eleanor wants?
Ah! Assuming your question isn't rhetorical ... I would first argue that the question is moot given that for the purpose of the movie, it doesn't matter since the point is Rachel giving up her chance to win. However! Given the start of the movie where she plays poker with a student to show her econ professor brilliance at how one plays to win or plays to lose (sidenote: I am continually in awe at how brilliantly this movie connected all its dots!) one could argue that she is so adept at counting tiles and watching what other players are doing that it would be simple deduction to know that 1) Eleanor going for the "pong" (obvious, since she pong'ed the 9 circles earlier in the game) and that 2) there are still 3 of the 8 bamboos out there, so the chance is high that the 8 bamboo would be a winning tile for Eleanor. That's of course assuming that in the discard pile there are no 8 bamboos already and a substantial amount of other tiles, and that Rachel knows enough about the other players' hands from watching them play. In any case, it's so interesting to know how much thought went into this scene and so much fun to speculate on it!
Lophotrochzoans, well explained.
Their mahjong battle was a great metaphor of their battle for Nick.
(SPOILERS) Not quite, but you're really really close. The entire relationship and struggle is played out in that round of MahJong. When they first sat down to play, Rachel played one of the circle tiles that Eleanor immediately "pong", so over the course of the discussion Rachel changed to bamboo tiles. The symbolism is that Rachel was playing the long game slowly building up her hand and even the fact that she drew the 8 bamboo herself is important. Even their seating position is important, where Eleanor and Rachel sit opposite to each other representing their respective worlds, East (Eleanor) vs West (Rachel). The whole round Rachel didn't "pong" or "Seung" which symbolizes that she worked for her win on her own, not through luck, while Eleanor's hand was all about "winning" and winning quickly. So Rachel had built her hand and when she drew the 8 bamboo she could have ended the game and won at that moment (accepted Nick's Proposal), and by drawing the tile herself, she would win even more and it would have been a huge hand that she won ie Nick Yung. But she sacrificed the 8 tile and ultimately the game to prove her point. Eleanor's hand in comparison was comprised of triplets (Pong) of different suits, circle and bamboo, which wins the hand but its a small win, especially in comparison to what Rachel was holding, but remember that was her goal, beat Rachel and get rid of her. If we were to make the comparison to say poker, Eleanor won the hand with 2 pairs but Rachel could have won with a Straight flush; its not the best analogy but that was the scale of difference in their hands, and in mahjong how much you win or lose in a hand is dependent on how big the winning hand is. So Eleanor won the battle but Rachel won the moral war, by surrendering. Its a longer version of the original card game at the beginning of the movie that Rachel discusses why she was able to beat the student, because the student AND Eleanor play to NOT lose, and Rachel plays to win.
Hi there! I just saw the movie again the other day (second time, and hoping to go again for a third time if I get the chance :) and took more notice of the scene. The battle was so intense and like you and @da96103 said: "Eleanor won the battle but Rachel won the war" ... so true! But I'm confused ... Rachel was holding three "north" tiles, two red "centre" special tiles, and the rest were bamboos, so she didn't have a straight flush, and only if it was the north hand of the game (i.e. she was sitting in the north seat for that hand) in the north round would those give her any extra points. But as you said, because Eleanor threw the dice to start the game, she would be the east seat, making Rachel the west (a symbolism I didn't even think of so I'm glad you mentioned that!). Holding north tiles would be useless, for scoring purposes, for Rachel, so I was actually wondering why they chose to have her hold the north tiles instead of the west tiles and likewise why Eleanor didn't hold the east tiles to further signify the 'east-west' divide and give Rachel a higher and more meaningful hand (for the movie) than giving her north tiles. I thought the whole movie was so well thought out and how like you said the whole idea of playing to win and not playing to lose. Can't stop thinking of this movie and all the symbolism and messages in it! Thanks for commenting and giving me more to think about :)
@@CantoneseCorner oh interesting. I didn't catch the wind and eyes (red centre) tiles. My scoring is pretty terrible but I think then only a difference of maybe 3 for Rachel and 1 for Eleanor if Rachel had ended the game on her self draw tile. So I guess not as big of a hand as I had in mind. Good catch on that. Perhaps the director didn't want to be too on the nose with the tiles hence the north wind tiles. It might have been a bit James Bond final hand at casino Royale ish if it had. Either way the point was made that Rachel let Eleanor win. I definitely want to see the film again. There's lots of little components like this scene that has more to give once you think about it more. I'm really glad you made this video though as I wondered if people unfamiliar with the game really understood what was happening beyond just the dialogue. Great work.
Thank you so much! It's been so much fun (and I've learned a lot) from you and others interested in discussing this scene. I haven't watched Casino Royale, but now I'm interested to :) I do wonder if it was a conscious decision to not have them hold their respective east and west tiles .... and is there any significance in the north tiles being used? Hmmmm ... makes me wonder and would love it if an interviewer would ask Jon Chu this! Speaking of scoring, I was just doing another mahjong video with my mom-in-law yesterday (hope to have it up soon, but it takes forever to put together) and now have a greater appreciation for how crazy in-depth the scoring can be ... I always just deferred to family and friends when we play real games ... and just discussing the scoring with her yesterday, I totally get how they say playing mahjong can help stimulate the brain - mine sure got a workout! LOL :)
Cantonese Corner o
@@CantoneseCorner maybe the north tiles in her hand represented that she was taking the high road?
My god, your cantonese IS TOO PERFECT TO BE TRUE.
That's so kind of you to say! I try my best, but just sometimes it's just laughable ... like last week when out with friends at Pizza Express. I wanted to get this dessert called "Summer Meringue" or 夏日蛋白餅 . But instead of pronouncing the last character as béng, which means basically a biscuit, I mistakenly pronounced it as behng (病) which means sickness or illness. So basically I was saying "Ooh! Let's get the Summer Meringue Sickness!" LOL Luckily, they sorted me out by the time the waiter arrived to take our order haha
how do you know that?
Do you mean me? How do I know what? I'm not sure I know what you mean! :)
@WON Home She speaks Cantonese. That’s why her channel name is Cantonese Corner. 😂
@@CantoneseCorner 夏日蛋白病
its like, "you won because of me, you did not break me nor defeat me"
I think there is another message the mahjong game relating to the script of RACHEL. Before RACHEL threw out the 8, she said Nick may take another same level rich girl to be his wife. Then the whole Nick’s family will be happy afterward even extends to the grandchildren generation. To complement all these happiness was because of one girl (Rachel herself) with poor background, insufficient conditions to let go her own chance.
After RACHEL threw the 8, Eleanor won the mahjong game with full confidence & satisfaction. Because Eleanor won a big money (you need to know the rules & techniques of mahjong) with her row of tiles just like her background that she always aims & succeeds on BIG.
But after RACHEL showed her row of tiles, Eleanor felt very embarrassing. The reason why Eleanor could win the BIG money all because of RACHEL gave up her chance to win a comparative very very small of money (just like herself came from the nobody, poor class).
Thank you VERY much for explaining this very important point. I don't play mahjong so I didn't understand most of what was happening. Now I do! Thank you again!!!!😊
Never in my life i remembered I saw a movie in theratre twice. That was that good . so coulourful and so much culture. Interesting Characters.
I want to etch the film in my head.
I know nothing about Mahjong but after watching the delightful movie was interested in more meaning from this scene so I found your video, thank you. My interpretation is, "You can win only if you give up something of value." Rachel gave up the 8 so Eleanor could win, also for giving up Nick. Even though Eleanor won the game she knew she was losing at life in regards to her son, and looking back at her own history saw all that she sacrificed has hurt herself and the ones she loved. So when Nick proposed on the airplane with moms ring she knew Nick's mom's sacrifice was true and honest welcoming her into the family. I write all of this in tears as it all is so beautiful.
I feel the same, no matter how many times I watch it. 💖
I felt that winning tile also represented M-Mother and W-Wife.
Wow ... I would have never thought that far!!
hi sue ! ! i'm an australian-born hong konger / malaysian , and i natively speak cantonese and english . i was so surprised to see you speaking cantonese and it made me smile . thank yoj for explaining the mahjong scene , it's very interesting and i live your content and videos ! ! ! subscribed ! !
Hi Squishy! Thanks so much for commenting and for the compliment and for subscribing! Glad I could make you smile. :) That whole movie made me smile. Can't wait for the sequel!! Will be posting a new video tonight - I hope you like it!
@@CantoneseCorner oh my goodness i can't believe you responded！thank you sooo much！！i love your channel so much，，and yes i couldn't agree with you more，that movie is abosultely soooo relatable and i had a huge grin throughout the whole movie 😊 😊 thanks again！！
I reviewed the scene: she has a pung of "9 Circles" already displayed on the table with 1 "bird"; the rest of her hands are: two "Red Centres" (紅中), three "White Boards" (白板), 2 "8 Bamboos" and 3 "9 Bamboos". So Eleanor's hand is at best "all pungs" (對對糊) which has a base of 3 Fans. Rachel's hand is "semi pure" (混一色), which is also a 3 Fan-based hand. So essentially, Eleanor's hand isn't that big; both of them is on equal footing.
Also, both of them hold a pair of "Centres", which is considered stalemate (對死); they cannot complete the pung of "Red Centres" since both of them hold 2 tiles each... unless one of them gives up their pair (ie. destroy their own hand). Does that imply something?
It does. Neither of them are "the best", but the game promotes -- in the story -- their equality. It's wonderful if you don't know the game. It's incredible if you do. And it's fantastic if you grew up with Chinese culture.
I'm impressed with your Cantonese. Speaking Chinese is very difficult for foreigners to learn. And Cantonese is even more difficult than Mandarin due to it having more tones. But you have lived in HK since 1988 so no wonder you are so fluent.
Your Cantonese is incredible! Well explained video. For your viewers... The MJ game was a great metaphor to the movie. The number 8 also symbolizes wealth in the Chinese culture. This goes to show how much effort and detail was put into this movie.
I have to say I, too, was blown away with just how much effort and detail was put into the movie ... especially having watched a video (from ms mojo) just now that compared the book to the movie (I haven't read the book) and seeing how much thought was put into adapting it. I wanted to get the book and read it anyway, but hearing how Astrid's storyline is much more developed in the book makes me want to read it even more. And thanks for the compliment, too!
Its always great to see someone speaks more than one especially mother tongue languages. It breaks the barrier and get to know the culture much better. Great on you ! Much love from Malaysian (born Chinese) Borneo. Speak Cantonese too.
Hi there and thanks so much! I totally agree...I don't think I could live here (or anywhere) and not try my best to learn to communicate and get to know the "real" place and people. I've never been to Borneo ... and would love to travel to other places in Asia where Cantonese is spoken (I know maybe not whole cities or areas, but where there are pockets and places that still do ... I wonder what differences there are in the language itself compared to Hong Kong). Hopefully in the next few years I'll get a chance to travel more ... for now it's just work, work and more work! Thanks again for leaving a message and have a great day!
Impressive cantonese.
Thank you! I try my best :)
I just saw the movie a few hours ago. Even though I played the game as a kid, it was great that you played out the hand in detail and explained what happened.
Thanks! I'm so glad you found it useful! :)
Thanks for introducing viewers to the game of mahjong and especially that one game in the scene of CRA. One of my favorite scenes.
Mine too! The whole setting was just gorgeous.
glad you enjoyed it! best rom-com I've seen in a while
Thx for explaining the mahjong scene, it kinda flew past me
You're welcome! I really do want to go see it again ... there was so much going on and so many different characters!
did u go have pizza afterwards though? haha
zs9 🤣🤣🤣
Thank you for making this. A lot of my American friends asked me to explain this Mahjong scene. Now I can tell them to look at this video.
You're welcome!! I hope they find it useful ... and then they learn to play - it's such a great game! :)
It was supposed to be an English video but when I first watched it I was so shocked. Your Cantonese sounds pretty native. Since the language is dying I really appreciate the foreigners who can speak Cantonese
Thank you so much! I've been in Hong Kong a pretty long time, so that makes it way easier to learn and speak it like people do here. :) Since I started the channel I'm realising just how much it seems to be fading (books are difficult to find, etc.) ... and so glad to do what little I can to keep the interest alive and to help those who want to learn. It's really helped me get better too...the pressure is on! :) :) :)
Wow. I'm just blown away on your Cantonese skills!! It's better than mines for sure!! The mah jong lessons will come in handy for sure!! I played before, but I haven't played like forever! Would you consider doing Cantonese Film/TV, Asian Film/TV review and recommendations like Crazy Rich Asians. I learned my Cantonese when I was young watching TV and Film; especially, the kung fu movies in period times. I'm subscribing!! A very sincere review and tip!!
Thank you so so much for commenting and for such lovely compliments!! Yes, it would be fun to do reviews of movies/TV shows ... I hadn't watched TV in a long time, and thought I'd better get back into it to help my Cantonese, and now I'm currently kind of hooked on the TVB Jade drama "The Stuntman" (9:30-10:30pm on Jade) haha Watching TV and movies (and listening to radio) is such a great way to learn both the language and the culture!
"Never have I ever" seen Mahjong in such a different way.
Wow, this woman's Chinese is amazing!
Thank you so, so much! (I've been in Hong Kong a very, very long time. :)
According to points. Rachel self picked her winning card so everyone would have had to pay her double, but when she threw out her winning card she actually had to pay double..an even bigger sacrifice
Wow your Cantonese is pretty good, brings back memories when I was young and listened to cable radio ……..haven't been back to Hong Kong for more than 30 years!
Thanks so much!! That's about when I arrived in HK ... I think if you were to come back, I think you'd be shocked at all the changes. (I miss the old days, that's for sure :)
@@CantoneseCorner In the "Crazy Rich Asians" movie, Michelle Yeoh opened with speaking Cantonese in the English hotel. but Cantonese is not the most common dialect in Singapore, Hokkien is. Michelle Yeoh was from Malaysia so she probably don't know how to speak Hokkien,. and the director is American born, so he probably thought all Qweilo wouldn't know the difference.
If you really want to know EVERYTHING about the significance of the Mahjong scene in the movie CRA, definitely go to the website www.vox.com and look up the article from Jeff Yang from one year ago on August 31, 2018. There, he explains so much more about the richness of the symbolism of the scene: how Eleanor is sitting in the "East" seat with Rachel in the "West" seat; how Eleanor's strategy was "kaki lang" (Hokkien)-- like tiles instead of runs; the significance of the 8 of Bamboo; and how Eleanor considered Rachel to be "jook sing" ("empty bamboo" -- yellow on outside but hollow inside) just like all the bamboo tiles scattered around the Mahjong table. The symbolism of this scene is almost unparalleled in modern cinema, and you really should read Jeff Yang's article to fully appreciate it. 😊
Thank you for the reference!
Thank you for explaining the mahjong scene. I loved the movie too and have seen it twice! I’m reading the books and am on the third book now. You must read the books as well. Kevin Kwan writes a lot about the culture of the Chinese and a lot of it takes place in Hong Kong as well as Singapore.
Sanny Wong hi there! I must, I know ... I went and bought the first one but haven’t started it yet. Would love to read more about the parts that take place in HK for sure!
The books are a fun and easy read. You’ll enjoy them. I’m sad that I don’t have anymore of his books to read!
I enjoyed your explanation of the scene, and the very rich and animated exchange that followed. Many people contributed opinions and perceptions that made me see things I didn't, when I first encountered the movie. I thought I would contribute an observation of my own. I must say at the onset that I mean no disrespect to the movie or to the assembling of this awesome mahjong scene when I share what seems to have been an editing error. I commented on it, in another channel on UA-cam, and I have copied it verbatim from there, below.
"There is a little error pertaining the game in the scene. When I saw the movie in the theater, it bothered me to the point that, after Rachel exposed her hand, I was distracted out of the movie narrative for quite a while and didn't manage to get fully into it for a while. Here is the explanation of that little mistake:
"Rachel wins with a CONCEALED hand. It is one which includes a pong of North Winds. And yet, we first see TWO of those North Winds in Eleonore's hand at the point she pongs the 9 of Circles Rachel discarded. It is true that one of them is upside down and only partially visible (and that for only a second or two), to the left of the fully visible one. However, for those of us who know our tiles well, it is clear that it can only be a second North Wind. What we see is enough to ascertain this. The only factor that could have allowed Rachel to build the hand she forfeited would have been the presence of FIVE North winds in the set. Which, as we all know, is impossible. The conclusion is one that any mahjong player knows well: Rachel could have never had a fully concealed hand that included a pong of North Winds, since there were two of those North Winds in Eleonore's hand. Judging from her final, winning hand, she evidently discarded them. The only way for Rachel to have come to count three North Winds in her hand would have been by chowing (or cheeing) one of Eleonore's discarded ones, thus forfeiting her CONCEALED hand."
OOH, thank you! I obviously didn't catch that and now want to rewatch it (for like the 50th time :). You should add this to the "goofs" section of IMDB -- I just checked and the only mahjong goof was the roll of the dice at the beginning -- another thing I'll check out when I rewatch. :)
I was looking for the mahjong scene from C.R.A., and I came across your channel, and this explains it very well. Um Goi Saai!
And to my surprise your Cantonese is VERY good. Even better than mine.
Thank you so much! I appreciate your taking the time to leave me such a nice comment! 🙏😊
It's easy to get the basic meaning of the scene while watching the movie, but thank you for explaining the details!!!
You're welcome! Yes!I thought it was so brilliant how they filmed it so that even if you didn't know how to play mahjong you could understand. I just saw the movie again for the sixth time (or maybe the seventh :) (I was on an airplane which really made the time go quickly :) and now I can't even bear to watch my video again since I recorded it after watching the movie for the first time in the cinema so of course I couldn't really remember a lot of the details. But even though it's not perfect, I love how many comments and discussions it's started. Such a great movie! Can't wait for the next one. Thanks for taking the time to comment!
I’m so happy that I found your channel! I’ve been curious my entire life about this game. When I was like 8 years old I opened a program on my pc called ‘Mahjong Solitaire” because it seemed like an asian game (I was right, yeeei), I didn’t understood how to play it right, I just knew that I needed to put different tiles together in order to win. I played a lot without knowing anything about it because In that moment, I wasn’t a “google everything” person like I am now, so I forgot to look about the game online.
Now I’m eighteen, I saw this movie yesterday. When I saw the green tiles I immediately screamed “THAT’S MAHJONG” and my friend like “what’s that?” And then I got sooooo into the scene because I got a flashback to my childhood, but then I was sad because as I never looked up the game online, I didn’t understood the scene to it’s fullest, so THANK YOU for uploading this + making a Mahjong series teaching how to play it, because now that I got the game back, I’m going to learn how to play it for sure! I’m so excited hahahha
Oh! And I found some things about the East and West, ua-cam.com/video/GreMKU0zCRo/v-deo.html . That it represents east (asia) and west (america)
@@muluavila I'm so glad you did, too, and you're so welcome!! I'm so happy that you're happy to have reconnected with the game! :) Is Mahjong Solitaire the one where it's stacked like a big pyramid and once you match the tiles they disappear? If yes, I used to love playing that! And honestly before CRA, I didn't realise the symbolism in the East and West ... or the fact that (as another commenter wrote) the bamboo was also symbolic of Rachel being "hollow bamboo" - Chinese on the outside and Western on the inside. Also, I don't know why, but when I clicked on the link you shared, it said "Video not available" ... I'll try again on another computer. (BTW, so sorry for my late reply and thanks for commenting!)
You Cantonese is almost PERFECT, much better than mine and that's my native tongue. Congra......
This is way too difficult to explain if one's English is not good enough. Thanks Sue!
You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed it :)
Just saw it for the second time. Still loved and enjoyed it. Never going to the theater to see a movie twice. I m crazy for CRA.
Me too! :) I noticed a lot more the second time ... like the first time I even missed Kris Aquino as the princess ... was too focused on Rachel and the gorgeous decorations LOL
@@CantoneseCorner nice. We are a family of fandom of CRA. That was true. The second viewing was very different with the knowledge of the story plot, I could focus on other aspects of the film.
其實最易做： 混一色，對對糊（牌面唔靚時）
其次混對，小三元，清一色（，混么九牌靚）
清一色加對對糊，大三元，全么九（牌絕靚）
字一色，簡簡糊（奇牌）
Thanks for explaining this scene. I don't play mahjong. Now I understand that it is a great scene!
You're welcome! And you should learn!! It's such a great game. :) If you want to check out my videos on how to play that I've done with my mother-in-law (i'm working hard to get more done ... taking a lot longer than I thought!), then please do check out the mahjong playlist on my channel. Regardless, thanks so much for leaving me a comment! :)
Can you teach us different cantonese words in mahjong we would use to play like sic woo, pong, kong, etc... I forgot all of them 😭
Great idea! I'll add it to the list ... and will see if my mom-in-law wants to do it with me! :)
Its also important to mention that rachel picked that tile from the wall 自摸 while eleanor picked the tile that rachel threw back into the pile.
Hi there! Funny you should mention that! I did say rather off-the-cuff that "she picked it herself" and was going to add a subtitle in there to explain what I meant by that, which was exactly as you say: Rachel picked the 8 bamboo from the "wall" herself (otherwise, had the player to her left discarded it, Eleanor would have been able to "steal" it and win before Rachel even had her turn), but thought it may be a bit too complicated. Thanks for bringing it up! :)
RACHEL got the 8, because it was her turn (anti-clockwise turn for the 4 gamblers) to pick from the wall. Then this is RACHEL ‘s luck to get a fit one from the wall to win the game. But she gave up her sure win chance of winning a small money & gave out the critical 8 for Eleanor to win a BIG money.
Thank you for the simple explanation, cos it's the only scene I didn't get because I never played this game
TheRussianLondoner You’re welcome! 😁
I just want to know what variant of mahjong this is to only be played with 2.
But your demonstration hand has 14, in the movie (nicks mom) has only 11? That's what is confusing me. And Rachael threw down 13 tiles. That makes me think she won. Why were they all dumbfounded over her tiles if she lost? Thank you for taking the time to do this video.
The movie was really good. There were a number of cultural references I didn't quite get. For instance - what was the laughter about at the end of the we chat scene, is food preparation really that significant, and why did they mention Cantonese when asking about the languages Rachel spoke?
Hi John! I'm hoping others will be able to reply since I don't remember the we chat laughter and while food preparation is important, I wonder if they were trying to convey something else, too? And the whole asking about Rachel speaking Cantonese I thought was interesting too, and the fact that the grandma (Nick's dad's mom) spoke Mandarin but his mom, Eleanor, spoke Cantonese was interesting ... since Eleanor said she was "lower class" than the dad when they married, was that then saying that Cantonese was a lower-class language? (which is what so many people think is happening now)? I have more questions than answers LOL so hope more people can chime in! :)
I think the dumpling making scene was used to convey the importance of family to the Asian culture, that regardless of how much or little money someone has, family traditions have priority over a person's passions and family duties are expected to be followed.
I do not think Cantonese is deemed to be a lower class dialect in the movie. The first Chinese immigrants that settled that Malay Archipelago area hundreds of years ago and who later became some of the rich dynasty families there were from Guandong China, where mainly Cantonese are spoken.
I believe the reason they ask if Rachel speaks Cantonese is because they were having conversations in Cantonese and Rachel laughed which made it look like she understood the context, but he actually doesn’t. The scene is trying to explain how different the cultures and background Nick and Rachel grew up from, and how much Rachel would treasure Nick’s family.
Years before 1960, people from Northern China, usually were business men or civil servant, they were Mandarin speaking, comparatively well educated & richer than the Southern Cantonese speakings were usually workers or farmers. That’s why Eleanor was not totally respected by grandma, because of different social class.
Mandarin was more upper class. Cantonese was for commoners.
Yes, i also enjoyed the movie. I hv seen it two times. 😊
If I get a chance to see it a third time this week, I will! :) :) :)
@@CantoneseCorner My ONLY criticism is that the movie is too short. A three-hour movie would be nice. 😊
Except Rachel's hand was not this, it was completely different. It was red sword, red sword, the 3 blue characters, 6 bamboo, 7 bamboo, 4 bamboo, 4 bamboo, 4 bamboo, 3 bamboo, 3 bamboo, 3 bamboo
Yeah .... I was going from memory having just watched it in the theatre and having no video to go watch the replay. (Too excited at how absolutely perfect it was to wait! :)
Interesting how you call them red "swords" .... I've only heard the "special" tiles in English as red/green/white "dragons" -- although I have heard the baahk baan (white dragon) referred to as "soap" so anything is possible! LOL :)
Thank you! i was thinking about this scene a lot!!!!
You're so welcome! It was such an absolutely perfect scene, wasn't it? :)
@@CantoneseCorner The whole film is lovely but this scene was perfect😍
I love the way u speak cantonese. If you spoke to me on the phone, i would think.ur a Hongkonger. Im a Singaporean and we hardly speak cantonese.
Donovan Lee thanks so much, that’s so kind of you to say!! ☺️ I’m so wanting to visit Singapore (and Malaysia and so many other places!) Do you mean you speak Cantonese but hardly speak it just because there’s no real need to in Singapore and not many others do? I hope Cantonese never completely dies out as so many are afraid it will 😢
If we study CRA, we will see it is more than just a film and is worth studying. There is so much into the movie.
I couldn't agree more!!
The hand can complete with 8 or 9 bamboo.
Thank you, it has been a mystery ever since I have seen the movie. I am waiting to buy it when it comes on itunes.
Me too! :)
So I'm Chinese and have played mahjong before... Your explanation is very clear for those unfamiliar with the game. I thought I'd ask if I just saw incorrectly but did anyone else notice that when Eleanor first was showing she too knew how to play when she said pong... Wasn't it on the 9 of dots though? Why would an experienced player settle for a low score mixed hand I guess was what I was wondering...
Oooh! Now I really gotta go see the movie again ... it’s still playing around town but I’m afraid not for much longer! I didn’t notice or remember this ... if she did, it doesn’t seem to make a lot of sense ... and I think would be completely out of character for the otherwise elegant and regal Eleanor (and Michelle Yeoh in real life! :) to win with a “cheap” hand. 🤔
@@CantoneseCorner If you do get the chance, that would be very interesting to know hehe. I guess we can also wait for the DVD! I wonder if anyone else noticed it... Maybe I saw it wrong though... 😀 And yes, your Cantonese is very good hehe. I'm American Born Chinese, so I understand it better than I can speak and I think you speak it better than I could lol
Regardless of whether the hand was cheap or not, Eleanor was seated East. Therefore dealer. If you win a hand, you continue being dealer. (lum joong) Hong Kong Mahjong tends to be very offensive and it is a common strategy to win quickly if you are seated East (dealer), because your payout is doubled AND if you win, you continue to be dealer. If someone else wins, you won't get to be dealer until the wind round changes. I didn't see Eleanor's full starting hand, but an early 'pong' would mean one away or ready to win on the next tile. As well as, she may already have had pairs/triplets, so going for deoi deoi wu would be a sound strategy.
Used to play lots of MJ in high school .. Trick question 1) With Rachel's hand .. other than 8 bamboos .. could she win with another block? Yes - 9 bamboos ....
question 2) If Rachel's hand had a 8 bamboos instead of the 9 bamboos .. which block would she been looking for to win ... Answer is = any of the six blocks - from 2 3 5 6 8 or 9
question 3) If Rachel's hand was all bamboos 1 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 9 9 ... she could win with any of the bamboo blocks (all nine of them)
I cannot tell you how helpful this is! I almost hate it when I have a hand full of the same suit tiles because then my head hurts trying to come up with all the different ways I could win, and it takes me awhile to think, and then everyone knows what I have in my hand, and then they of course then don't throw out what I need to win. LOL
This is why they say Mahjong is so good for the brain ... needing to figure out all of the combinations in an incredibly short amount of time!
September third, MY birthday! I've got another one coming up! I didn't get the mahjong scene because I don't play it.
mahjong scene wasn't in the original book. IMO, it's a better resolution than the book.
James Tao I haven’t read the book yet but I had heard it wasn’t part of it and also how they had to condense a lot down and so think it’s just genius the way the writers used mahjong and finished the ending off so perfectly. I admit I do like movies that are all wrapped up and tied neatly in a bow by the end and this one was one of the best examples of that I’ve seen. I wonder how many drafts they had to go through to arrive at such perfection? 🤔
OMG, you can speak Cantonese?! Love your work :-)
Thankyou very much for explaining this scene. I was wondering if she won or not and you explained this well!
You're welcome! Now that I've seen the movie about 10 more times, I know I could have been more accurate in the tiles, but I'm still glad that my original explanation makes sense! :)
Nice! I hv no clues about mahjong, but good to know the insight. And like you said, i completely understand what went down during that scene, well played by constance wu and michelle yeoh! 🤗
Yes! Wasn't it genius how they could incorporate all of that in one simple scene and make everyone understand it without even knowing the game itself? I'm still in awe of the scriptwriting and directing and acting and yeah, the whole movie! Thanks for taking the time to comment!
"Chickens are bitches"
2000 years of Filial Piety brought right up to the front gate of the 21st century by an E-Con professor and an American.
"Bok bok bitch"
Then Rachel revealed her hand to mother in law showing that she Let her win.
I think Rachel's deck is a little different but this is basically what happened
Wow your Cantonese is impressive! Did you learn it while living in Hong Kong? Good job!
Hi Lily - thanks! 🙏 I did and am still learning and still do live in Hong Kong! 🇭🇰 😁
I’m Asian, but I can understand your explanation much better than that of Asian people I know.
Wow, thank you! I really appreciate it, and did try to make it as straightforward and simple as possible -- I have a tendency to ramble sometimes, but I think I was so in the moment with the whole movie and the whole scene so made it easier to focus lol (And I admit I'm still am thinking about the movie and it's been over a week since I first saw it! :).
May I know where do you get this mahjong set?! It’s very pretty.
Thanks for the vids. It helps me a lot, since I'm teaching myself the language. Have 1 request tho, was wondering if you can do some verbs that are commonly used in a day to day conversation.. thanks again! Keep it up, you're doing great!
Thank you - I'm so glad you find them useful! And yes, I'll do that. They're drilling in the flat above me today :( so as soon as that stops and I'll be able to do some more!
Thank you for explaining this!
That was a great explanation! Also, your Cantonese is way better than mine... and I'm Canton hahah
I'm glad you thought so! And thanks for such a nice compliment ... but I'm pretty sure it's not! LOL :)
Coincidence the lucky number was 8 that they both needed? 8 being Lucky in Asian culture
With all the thought that went into this scene, I have no doubt it was intentional ... but if it WAS a coincidence, then it sure was a "lucky" one! ☺️
thanks for teaching the game to me.
You're welcome! :)
Your Cantonese is sooo much better than my. 👍
I'm not sure about that, but thank you so much for taking the time to leave such a nice compliment! I appreciate it.
First, I just want to say thank you for putting up this explanation video.
I'm sure you had the best of intentions to educate everyone on what was going on in the mahjong scene.
I am by no means undermining your video.
Let me first address your hand.
1112345679nnn
2:03 "What is she waiting for?"
You are correct in saying she is waiting for the 8.
11 123 456 7x9 nnn
However, she would also be waiting for the 9.
111 234 567 9x nnn
In the movie,
Rachel's actual hand was
33344467nnncc
(c - red dragon)
Eleanor's actual hand was
999(dots)(pong'd from Rachel's discard earlier)
yybbb88999
(b - white dragon y - tiles not seen on screen)
I would go into the scoring of both hands, but that's not relevant here.
Good job on your video.
This is awesome! Thank you so much for putting up her actual hand ... you're right, I should have expanded to say she could also win with the 9, but for the purpose of the movie it was the 8 she had, so overlooked the 9. Thanks for the compliment and I actually am curious to know the scoring of their hands ... @Dominic Li went into this on another comment and now I'm curious to know just how far they went into the symbolism of the other pieces and if the score itself was intentional.
Given what we know, I would score it like this: Rachel (had she won with the self-drawn 8 bamboo), would have 3 fàan for the all-bamboo suit, plus 1 fàan for the self-draw and 1 point for having not revealed her hand at all before winning. So a total of only 5 fàan (and possibly 1 more fàan for the north tiles but only if we assume we are in the north round). So possibly 6 for Rachel. Eleanor would have 3 fàan for doing three of a kind, plus 1 fàan for the white dragon tile. The pair not shown onscreen would have no points anyway since she was mixing the suits. So a total of four. Am I missing anything? How would you score it?
Using Hong Kong scoring method
Rachel's hand
moon qing (closed hand), g mor (self draw), waan jat sik (half pure hand), mo faa (no flowers, that I could see)
6 faan.
Eleanor's hand
deoi deoi wu (all triplets and a pair), baak baan (white dragon)
4 faan.
Eleanor threw the dice and took her tiles first from her wall, so I assume she threw a 5. This means she's East. Therefore Rachel is West. And it's the first hand, so we can assume it's East round.
Also, Eleanor had a 'flower' in her hand, a caterpillar.
Caterpillars are only found in Taiwanese mahjong sets, but sometimes used to score, the same way flowers score points. Depending on the rules in Singapore, Eleanor could also have one more faan for having this 'flower' tile.
Also, unlikely as it is a Hong Kong side rule, if Eleanor's pair were 22, 55 or 88, that would also be one more faan.
With points, it depends again which system they are using. One system means everyone pays when Eleanor won off Rachel's tile. Another system, only Rachel pays Eleanor because she discarded Eleanor's winning tile.
Had Rachel declared the win she would receive from every player, regardless of which system they were using.
The system I use, 6 faan equals 32 base points.
Because Rachel won by self-draw, base points are doubled.
Therefore, 64+64+128 = 256 points.
(128 comes from Eleanor because she is dealer and the rule is that payout is doubled, if you are dealer)
Eleanor declared her win on Rachel's discard.
Let's say for argument's sake it was 4 faan, which equals to 16 base points.
Therefore, 32+32+64 = 128 points
(32 points from the other players because East (dealer) won, and the rule is to double if East wins. That's the benefit of being seated East.
64 points from Rachel, because she discarded the tile, so the rule says she has to pay double as a penalty for discard)
The point of the scene was (spoilers)
(***do not read past here if you haven't seen the movie yet***)
if Rachel won, she would have taken away from Eleanor i.e. Nick. But Rachel chose not to, her choice, not Eleanor's, to 'fold a 'winning' hand'.
That Eleanor won, Rachel would still be lower class, but it was because of her, that she left Nick, not because Eleanor pushed her away, but because Rachel loves Nick that much, that he doesn't want Nick to resent her mother.
Thank you so much for such a detailed reply! I had to read it twice and slowly to absorb all of the great info ... I've always heard that Taiwanese sets and method of playing are different, but I've only ever played in HK, so that's all I know. I've always wondered at how they come up with the faan and points ... I know we usually play 8 faan is 64, and we will sometimes play where the person who discards the winning tile pays everything, but have never heard of the other ways, like where the East benefits and payouts are doubled if you're the dealer. So interesting!! Thanks again for taking the time to go into such detail.
I remember Rachel can win with 5 or 8 bamboo. Not just 8 bamboo.
Hi Sue, did Rachel deliberately lose the game?
Hi! Yes, absolutely!! Rachel toyed with the 8 bamboo, held in front of where she knew she could win with it, then let it go just as she had let Nick go ... her discarding the tile was then made all the more powerful when she said that someday Eleanor would know that it was because of her (Rachel) that Nick had gone on to marry someone else and have kids ... Rachel, a poor, immigrant, nobody, who was the reason Eleanor could "win" in life, just as Rachel was the reason Eleanor could win in mahjong - which was made clear when Rachel revealed her hand so that Eleanor could see that Rachel had let her win by discarding the tile. Seriously one of cinema's greatest scenes ever!
Thank Your for making this video. I'm Chinese American and I don't understand Mahjong
You're welcome! :)
That's not what the card in crazy rich asian movie,coz there's no 9 bamboos in the scene, and no 2,3,4 bamboos, only 3 4bamboos
Yeah, I know it wasn't exact and if I were to do the video again, I'd have it correct, but was just going from memory after seeing the movie once. Now I've seen in more than 10 times :) Love it!
i! I havent watched the movie yet. But i grew up at my grandmas ancestral house with 5 tables of mahjong and our neighbors came to play after lunch everyday and learned it myself on my 5th grade. Not sure if this is another way to play it, im from the philippines by the way and i juat think these tiles you have supposedly for eleanor isnt a winning hand just yet. When you pong 8 of bamboos you have to discard 1 more tile since you only got two 6 of bamboos, isnt it to win you should have 3 or 4 of the same kind? On this case when you pong the 8 of bamboos your 6 of bamboos isnt complete yet so you should throw 1 more tile lets say you let go 1 of the 6 of bamboos and one way to win would be to have another tile to complete a total of 4 of either 8 of bamboos, 2 of bamboos, the red one or the green leaf. I dont know just my thought please correct me if im wrong.
Hi! How interesting it must have been to grow up that way! You must go see the movie -- is it still playing in the Philippines? OK, so for the mahjong ... you're right, when you "pong" and you are not yet ready to win, you have to discard a tile and play continues. However, if you are ready to win, then you don't! You play with 13 tiles in your hand and win with 14 (or more if you have "gong-ed" (four of a kind) or if you play with flowers...but the flowers aren't kept in your hand, so don't really count). And every winning hand MUST have a pair of something, so it is correct to win with, say, four sets of three of a kind and then one pair for a total of 14 tiles. Does that make sense?
Of course, this is just how I have learned to play here in Hong Kong, and so maybe in the Philippines it is different and you must win with two 4-of-a-kinds instead of a pair? But wow, that would be super hard to get I would think!
The explanation in the video is correct. She is missing Michelle Yeoh's initial PONG which is laid out in front in the movie. You eat the last piece to win, with no discard...
Yeah, but what does Rachel bring to the marriage?
😂😂😂 gotta love how honest they were in the movie! :)
Although the game is written as mahjong, it is pronounced mah zoek in Cantonese and means sparrow.
Interesting! I didn't know that it was just in Cantonese that it was "麻雀". Do you know if that is that the reason a bird is used for the "one" in the bamboo suit or is it because of the bird that they call mahjong that in Cantonese?
Sorry, don't know about the significance of the bird in the bamboo suit. You are right in that the one is represented by a sparrow according to wikipedia.
Majong is more like a translation from Taiwanese whereas Ma Jiok 麻雀is the Hong Kong way to call the game.
Great video... thank you! May I ask where you purchased your tiles? I'd like to buy a good quality set like the one from the movie. Thanks!
Hi there! I inherited them from my mother-in-law :) But if you're in HK, you can find them at mahjong shops in Jordan and other places. I don't have a specific shop that I know of, but I do know that I need to find one and get our 1 bamboo (the bird) engraved LOL ... we lost the original one and are still using a hand-drawn bird!
@@CantoneseCorner Thanks for the reply. I'm actually in the US, but I can check online... Amazon perhaps. Thanks again!
the concepts the same..but thats not rachaels hand..rachael had a pair of red dragons, melds of north wind, 6-7-8 sou, 4-4-4 sou, and 3-3-3 sou. if she was sitting in the north seat..she would have a 4 han 40fu hand. or 2000/4000 points...a mangan.
Hi there! Yeah, I did this video after seeing the movie for the first time and relying on my memory. Now that I've seen the movie like 10 times (or maybe more!) I realise how much I missed. Which scoring system do you use ... I don't recognise any of it 😅 ... and what is a mangan? 🤔
@@CantoneseCorner oh.. its riichi mahjong..japanese mahjong scoring system. The hand wins are pretty much the same tho...there are a few more winning qualifiers in japanese mahjong though.
Elenor young, nick and Rachel
your cantonese is reallly goood!!!!!!
Thank you! I try my best ... it's such a cool language :)
u really surprised me when you spoke it you sound so HK!!!!
I guess so! :) I've been here quite a long time now ... I love Hong Kong!
Im 11 yrs and i already know how to play mahjong my granpa thougth me in like 3 or 4 months but its still hard heehee
That's awesome! So happy to hear your grandpa is teaching you ... what a great thing to do together. 😍
thanks for the explanation.
You're welcome! :)
Thanks for explaining 😀
You're welcome! :)
I would’ve thrown out the 8 sticks too if that would mean I could have the approval of the mother of the man I love. It’s a small price to pay in return for my happiness.
You could also win in nine bamboo..
how can you be so good in Cantonese and the game ?
Lots of practice! :)
Hey thank you , I was wondering how the game was played on the scene in the movie, thanks again 👍
You're welcome - a year late!! Sorry missed your comment! 😅
How is the movie? Where did you watch it? In 10/10 How much you gonna give to that movie?
Hi there! Honestly, I wasn’t really that into it at first, but it kept getting better and better and by the end it was like “wow!” The characters were really well casted ... there were a few characters thrown in for comic relief and some that weren’t really all that developed (maybe they are in the book - I haven’t read it) but the main guys were so good that it didn’t really matter 😁 I give it a 10! 🎉
Hello, as a Hongkonger, I like Michelle Yeoh (the mother) very much. She's very famous in Hong Kong. Thankfully it's she who utters a few Cantonese in the movie!!!
Thanks for the lesson..
You're welcome!
at the end Eleanor won nothing, because Rachel left without paying, and the other two players realize that Rachel and Eleanor are technically cheating as Rachel pass on the winning tile to Eleanor even though she could have won ! ;-)
bitemyteeth 🤣🤣🤣 that’s so funny - never thought about it that way before!
I see that they don’t number their tiles.
Do you mean like in a set where the "maahn" (萬) characters have the number "1" on them as well?
thanks.
you're welcome! :)
Just a small observation. It’s not bamboo. It’s rope.
You speak really good Cantonese!
Hi there! When I first saw your comment, I was at lunch with a friend (a local Hong Kong friend) and we were like "what? really??" So we had to look it up and found that the "sok" (索) does indeed mean thick rope, but the rope is presumably made of bamboo fibres? We've never ever heard of the sok jí referred to as anything but bamboo, and it sure does look like bamboo stalks on the tiles we have. How interesting the actual meaning though!
Ok. So, they are bamboo ropes then😃. How about the 筒子牌 in English? I think they are cylinders but in English, they are translated as dots or balls. Some things in Chinese are difficult to translate. 😄
Bamboo ropes! I like it :) I've always just called the 筒子 the "circles" ... and I had to look up what they call the 萬子 ... I see it's just referred to as the "character" tiles. I suppose because "the ten thousands" would be harder to say!
Where did you get these?
I inherited this set from my mother-in-law! :) But you can buy them at mahjong shops in Hong Kong or I'm guessing online? They're super heavy though, so I imagine shipping wouldn't be cheap!
She has white dragons-
Do you watch TVB LOL?
She missed a number of symbolism and metaphors from that scene. Read this for a better analysis: www.vox.com/first-person/2018/8/17/17723242/crazy-rich-asians-movie-mahjong
Thanks for sharing!
U r amazing 😉
JJ J Why thank you, kind commenter! ☺️☺️☺️ 🙏🙏🙏
I think Elinor said pong.
I'm hoping to see the movie again before it is taken down, and so will listen carefully to see if she did ... I'm curious to know.
To clarify: Constance Wu who played (Rachel) picked up the 8 bamboo stick tile piece from the wall tile already awaiting to win the game, but stated her speech and dropped the 8 bamboo stick for Michelle Yeoh (Elenor) to pick up the tile and win. This was Rachel's analogy of giving up the engagement and letting Elenor keep her son.
Therefore Elenor would have lost if Rachel didn't give her the 8 bamboo stick tile piece.
PS: Michelle Yeoh didn't say Pong or anything at all she just waved her hand at the lady beside her indicating that was her winning hand, maybe because that lady is hard of hearing as stated in the movie.