Crazy Rich Asians has been an absolute phenomenon.

And for those who've watched it, one of the main standouts of the movie is the mahjong scene.

According to Vox, director Jon M. Chu shared that a mahjong expert was specifically engaged to help choreograph the game in this scene.

In fact, it left such an impression, that one Singaporean wrote an incredibly detailed explainer breaking down all the symbolism and foreshadowing of the scene.

*The rest of this article contains major spoilers. You have been warned. Do not read any further if you do not want the movie spoiled for you.*

As a deterrent, here are two ads:

You've been warned.

Context to the Mahjong Scene

The mahjong scene is the epic showdown between Rachel and Eleanor (played by Michelle Yeoh).

After discovering Rachel's family background, Eleanor was strongly against the relationship between Rachel and her son.

After about 120 minutes of trials and tribulations, Rachel is bent on heading back to America.

But before departing, Rachel decides to meet Eleanor at a mahjong parlour for an intense round of conversation over an equally intense game of mahjong.

It was here that Rachel revealed to Eleanor that Nick proposed to her and how he was willing to walk away from his family and their wealth.

The mahjong scene explained

Foreign media such as Vox and The Washington Post have all given really good explainers.

But a Singaporean, Lim Yi Sheng, might have one of the most comprehensive explainers to this scene, as he added on to what Vox had provided based on this piece written by Jeff Yang.

[related_story]

Analysis

Here are some really impressive snippets from his note posted on Aug. 22.

On power and sitting

Lim first takes a look at the scene's seating arrangement, specifically Eleanor's role, and Rachel's seat in relation to her.

"When Eleanor arrives, she actually takes the role of the dealer, or the East role. Rachel sits opposite her in the West role. This firstly represents the symbolic difference, Eleanor represents the traditional Eastern values, and Rachel is her Westernized, American counterpart.

However, also in traditional mahjong, if the person is sitting to the right of you, you have control and domination over the other party (because you can choose what to discard to the person below you, and the person below you is reliant on you for certain combinations). In this case, Rachel and Eleanor are sitting opposite each other. They are peers, equals, with no one dominating the other."

On bamboos and culture

Another point Lim focused on was the scene building up to the penultimate bamboo reveal, and the significance of using bamboos as metaphors.

It is then that the camera cuts to the table, (or the discard pool composed of tiles which no one wants) and we see the discarded, unwanted mahjong tiles, which comprise mainly of bamboos. In Cantonese, 竹升 or juk sing, or bamboos, is used as a pejorative term to refer to Westernized American-born Chinese.

As bamboos are hollow, but compartmentalized, water can enter but cannot flow out; thus Westernized Chinese people are unable to reflect on the source of water, or the source of their culture. Ergo, ungrateful.

Which also leads to the notion of them not belonging to any culture in general.

But these tiles are carelessly placed between a tile representing the West wind, and the East wind. And now we see the juk-sing for who they really are. Stuck between the East and the Western world, discarded, and belonging to nowhere.

On bamboos, Henry Golding, and finding your culture

Another reading of the scene zeroes in on how the game revolves around attaining the 8 of bamboo, or Nick.

"It is then, that we see Rachel draw her winning tile. The 8 of bamboos. Bamboo tallies were used in ancient China as a form of currency. The 8 also stands for 发 or to mean prosperity. Hence the 8 of bamboos, actually means pretty damn prosperous without hitting you overtly in the nose with it.

Take note that Eleanor also wants this, which means that Eleanor already has two of the four 8 of bamboos. Rachel’s chances of drawing the winning tile is awfully slim. In this case, we can see the 8 of bamboo as the thing that Rachel and Eleanor are fighting over: Nick."

And, if you've watched the movie, you will know that Rachel initially gives up on Nick, for his own good.

A plot point played out on the mahjong table.

And then, Rachel discards the 8 of bamboos. The player underneath her rushes to claim the discarded 8 of bamboos (after all, who doesn’t want to prosper. Who doesn’t want a piece of sweet, sweet Nick.). But Eleanor stops the player, because the discarded tile will complete her winning hand, giving Eleanor priority in claiming the discarded tile.

As Eleanor shows us her winning hand filled with pongs, Rachel explains to Eleanor that she has rejected Nick, and is willing to sacrifice her prosperity, her winning hand, just so that Nick can remain happy.

She also wanted Eleanor to remember, should Nick ever find happiness with someone Eleanor approves, that this can only happen because of Rachel: a “poor, raised by a single mother, low-class immigrant nobody”.

And she shows her hand. A half colour, juk-sing, self-made hand, a combination of green bamboos mixed with the red dragon and the blue North wind. And then Rachel walks out like a bawss.

Brilliant.

Both the scene and the explainer.

You can, and should, read the entire thing here:

Top photo collage from Crazy Rich Asians trailer