A Texas company apologized on Tuesday after being criticized for replacing traditional Chinese mahjong pieces with redesigned game pieces covered with images of items like bubbles and bags of flour.
The Dallas-based Mahjong Line was the brainchild of Kate LaGere, one of three founders who are all white women, after she “discovered” that traditional tiles had the same designs and “did not reflect the fun” she had while play the game, according to the company’s website.
The company launched its neon colored mahjong tile sets at a price between $ 325 and $ 425 on November 5, according to the company’s website. Among his brand changes were words like “BAM!” and images of bar soap and palm trees – drawing the ire of many social media users who accused the company of erasing the historic relationship between Chinese Americans and the century-old game.
“What makes this CULTURALLY insensitive is that they felt the need to ‘update’, also known as” whiten “the game to make it * worthy * to play,” wrote a Twitter user.
Another Twitter wrote: “There’s an ‘What if mahjong, but for whites?’ company … The color palettes are shocking and ugly. Also calling a line ‘minimal’, but marking it with symbols and numbers, defeats the issue ”, referring to the tiles printed with Chinese and Arabic numbers.
Mahjong Line said in an email on Tuesday that the company had “pure intentions and a shared love for the American mahjong game”.
“While our intention is to inspire and interact with a new generation of American mahjong players, we recognize our failure to pay adequate homage to the game’s Chinese heritage,” said the company. “Using words like ‘refresh’ has hurt many and we are deeply sorry.”
“We are always open to constructive criticism and continue to conduct conversations with those who can provide more information about the traditions and roots of the game in Chinese and American cultures,” said the company.
American mahjong – often compared to the gin rummy card game – is a 144-piece game that normally consists of four players, according to the National Mah Jongg League.
Annelise Heinz, a mahjong historian and assistant professor of history at the University of Oregon, told NBC News that while gameplay and pieces vary around the world, mahjong sets are often engraved with references to traditional Chinese costumes, including bamboo , circles or dots and Chinese characters.
American mahjong was popularized across the country in the 1920s, but, Heinz said, the game is based on a complex story tangled with racism and anti-Asian colonialism.
“There was this paradoxical fascination,” said Heinz. “White Americans embraced the game because marketers attributed the game to the ancient Chinese courts that were seen as highly esteemed, but also distanced themselves from the Chinese-American people who were blackened and caricatured and subject to nativism and anti-Asian sentiment.”
A bottom line can be drawn from its complicated past to the company’s controversial repackaging, according to Heinz.
“There is a lack of genuine and real engagement with the Chinese people connected to this culture and history,” she said. “What we are seeing here is a real ignorance of this story that remains ignored in American education.”
Heinz added that the company’s critics, in turn, reflect a different blind spot: gameplay and mahjong pieces have evolved over decades across the country and the world.
In the early 20th century, Chinese sculptors drew a wide range of intricate designs on mahjong tiles, ranging from political messages against Japanese imperialism in China to elaborate scenes from classical Chinese operas, according to Heinz.
Mahjong has also gone through many iterations and shaped itself into a wide variety of gameplay in different regions of Asia, according to Heinz.
She acknowledged the long history of white entrepreneurs in America profiting from “things they see as culturally valuable”, but warned against the establishment of strict limits around mahjong – and its tiles – that change constantly over time.
“I don’t think there is any doubt that there is ignorance and erasure of Chinese-American history here,” she said. “The history of mahjong is global – it is a dynamic story of play and changes both from a history of appropriation and erasure.”
