Mahjong is rumored to have originated in the court of the king of Wu. This was roughly the time period in which Confucius lived, about 500 years before the Christian era. A beauty lived in seclusion in the court. To keep herself from utter boredom, she invented a game. She began to carve domino-shaped pieces of ivory and bamboo. When she was finished, she invited three of her maids to play her newly invented game.
