Process: How to Hand-Carve Mahjong Tiles
Following on from our trip to the city’s oldest barber shop, we continue our exploration of the
Following on from our trip to the city’s oldest barber shop, we continue our exploration of the heritage of Hong Kong by paying a visit to Sister May of Kam Fat Mahjong. An instantly recognizable and undeniably nostalgic sound to native Hongkongers, the click-clacking of mahjong tiles as they are shuffled can be found emanating from open windows around the whole city — a sound that finds its origin in the open-front workshop of Sister May, tucked under a staircase in the Hung Hom district. Using generations-old, but surprisingly ingenious tools, the craftswoman has been plying her trade for some 40 odd years, hand-carving the same 42 tile designs of a standard mahjong set since the age of 13. While we were there, Sister May filled us in on the history of her 53 year-old shop and her thoughts on the future of her craft, while demonstrating to us the deceivingly simply, yet precise process of creating a mahjong tile.
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