While not specifically referring to mahjong (or Ningbo, etc.), the
following is a quote about gambling during the Qing Dynasty from this
web site: http://www.unesco.org.mo/eng/law/19Gamble.html
Article 10 of the "Provisions on Dealing with Problems Arising from
Incidents in Macao" signed in 1749 by Zhang Rulin, magistrate of
Haifang and the highest administrative chief in Macao dispatched by
the Qing Dynasty, said, "Harbouring bandits is forbidden and giving
shelter to young ruffians for gambling and stealing is banned." This
demonstrates that gambling affected public order in Macao so seriously
that China's officials proscribed gambling by formal decree. The Macao
local authorities issued an official notice in 1829 once more laying
stress on the banning of gambling.
When Hong Kong opened its ****t to the outside world, Macao suffered a
drastic decline in its gambling business. The Macao-****tuguese
authorities announced the legalization of gambling in 1847 and began
to rely upon gambling as its main economic pillar. The local
government issued numerous gambling licenses to collect takings.
"Alarmist Talk in a Flouri****ng Age" written by Zheng Guanying, stated
that Macao had as many as 2,000 gamble houses and raised 100,000
patacas in gambling taxes annually. The situation was very confused
due to varied gambling regulations and fighting among sects.
In 1896 when the ****tuguese government announced a ban on gambling,
the Macao-****tuguese authorities had to cancel the licensing system.
However, gambling dealers continued to engage in the business in a new
way by offering donations to the government. Thus did gambling flirt
with the law for more than 60 years.
Gambling was rampant in Guangdong in the late Qing-Dynasty and the
province was dubbed "the Kingdom of Gambling." Gambling was forbidden
then permitted intermittently due to the changeable political
situation. Macao profited from the gambling activities because of its
super stable policy on gambling. The gambling industry was the product
of the late Qing-Dynasty's decline and the only industry which is
still retained today in Macao.
And this from "The Brotherhoods and Secret Societies in Early and Mid-
Qing China" (p. 154):
"Qing discussions of brotherhood associations and secret societies are
permeated with the same moral condemnation that marks discussions of
feuds, gambling, excessive litigation, and a host of social ills that
beset the rural society of Southeast China."
Dan
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