| Mainland Mahjong | Overview | Gameplay | Scoring | List of Xi |
|---|
Xi (喜) are a type of meld unique to Mainland Mahjong variants outside of South China. They can only be declared at the beginning on the player's first turn, but can be upgraded as the Hand progresses. To declare or upgrade a Xi, the player says "Shee" or "See".
The initial Xi may only be declared before a player discards their first tile of the Hand. If the player wins, they'll score an extra point. If a player later draws a tile that matches any within their exposed Xi they can add onto it, and then draw a replacement tile from the dead wall. Each additional tile increases the value of the Xi by 1 point.
Some groups say that a Great Winds Xi made without any Jokers can be declared at any time.
These 4 are historically the most commonly used Xi.| Name | Description | Depiction |
|---|---|---|
| Great Winds | One of each Wind |     |
| Dragons | One of each Dragon |    |
| Peacock Flies Southeast | 1 Bamboo + South + East |  |
| Beating the Drum to Curse Cao | 2 Bamboo + 1 Dot + White Dragon |   |
| Name | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Two Winds Surround 1 | Any Wind, Any 1, Any Wind |  |
| Two 1s Surround Wind | Any 1, Any Wind, Any 1 | |
| Ones | One of each of the three 1s | |
| Fives | One of each of the three 5s |    |
| Nines | One of each of the three 9s |    |
| Small Winds | Three different Winds | |
Note: Peacock Flies Southeast is also Two Winds Surround 1. Some play that Peacock Flies Southeast is worth 2; others just mention the special name and score it as 1 point.
These Xi are uncommonly used.| Name | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Magpie Bridge Meeting | 1 Bamboo, 7 Character, 7 Dot |   |
| Executing Tojo | 7 Dot, East Wind, Any Bamboo |  |
| 10 Scenes of West Lake | West Wind, Any two Dots whose sum equals 10 |  |
| Zhong-Yuan Zhu-Lu | Red Dragon, 7 Dot, Green Dragon | |
| Northwest Drift | North Wind, West Wind, White Dragon | |
Historical references
- Peacock Flies Southeast is in reference to the ~200 AD poem of the same name. The 1 Bamboo represents a peacock, and each Wind represents the direction.
- Beating the Drum to Curse Cao is in reference to a scene in Chapter 23 of Romance of the Three Kingdoms. The 2 Bamboo represents drumsticks, the 1 Dot a drum, and the White Dragon the tyrant Cao Cao (who is depicted in a white mask in stage adaptations).
- Magpie Bridge Meeting is in reference to a scene from Chinese mythology where two lovers, The Cowherd and The Weaver, are able to meet one-another by crossing a bridge formed by a flock of magpies. The 1 Bamboo represents the magpies and each 7 represents the Cowherd and the Weaver.
- Executing Tojo is in reference to the execution of imperial Japanese prime minister Hideki Tojo and 6 other officials.
- 10 Scenes of West Lake is in reference to a standardized set of ten scenic places around West Lake in Hangzhou.
- Zhong-Yuan Zhu-Lu means "Hunting Deer in the Central Plain", a Chinese idiom. The three tiles act as a very clever visual pun. This idiom and the three tiles that represent it deserve their own essay.
- Northwest Drift's meaning is ambiguous, but the White Dragon is often referred to as 'snow'.