One of the myths of the origin of Mahjong suggests that Confucius,^[1] the great Chinese philosopher, had developed the game in about 500 BC. According to this myth, the appearance of the game in the various Chinese states coincided with Confucius' travels at the time he was teaching his new doctrines. The three dragon tiles also agree with the three virtues bequeathed by Confucius. Hong Zhōng (中 , lit. middle) the Red, Fā Tzai (發 , lit. prosperity) the Green, Bái Pi (白 , lit. white) the White represent Benevolence, Sincerity, and Filial piety respectively, again under this myth. In fact, the "middle" is likely a reference to 中国 (zhōngguó) — China's name in Chinese.

Also, this myth claims that Confucius was fond of birds, which would explain the name "Mahjong" (sparrow). However, there is no evidence of Mahjong's existence before the Taiping era in the 19th century, which eliminates Confucius as a likely inventor.

The general consensus is that the game was developed from existing Chinese card and domino games sometime around 1850.Many historians believe it was based on a Chinese card game called Mádiào (馬吊) ; or Yèzí (葉子), lit. Leaf) in the early Ming dynasty. This game was played with 40 paper cards similar in appearance to the cards used in the game Ya Pei. These 40 cards, numbered 1 to 9 in four different suits along with four extra flower cards, are quite similar to the numbering of Mahjong tiles today.

One theory is that Chinese army officers serving during the Taiping Rebellion created the game to pass the time. Another theory is that a noble living in the Shanghai area created the game between 1870 and 1875. Others believe that around 1850 in the city of Níngpō two brothers had created Mahjong from the earlier game of Mádiào.