A Dallas-based company that sells redesigned mahjong tiles apologized after being accused of cultural appropriation by social media users.
The Mahjong Line – founded in November by Kate LaGere and two friends – replaced some traditional Chinese characters and symbols with images of cherries and rays in brightly colored tiles.
However, many people were particularly concerned about the company’s website, where the founders explained how they were inspired to give the ancient Chinese game a “respectful update”.
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Although the page was changed, a screenshot of it was posted on Twitter Monday night.
“In a quest to buy her first Mahjong set, Kate found that the art of traditional pieces, while beautiful, were all the same – and did not reflect the fun of playing with her friends,” said the website, according to the image. “And nothing came close to mirroring your style.”
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The Twitter user who posted the screenshot also included a comment from himself.
“My culture is one of the oldest civilizations in the world,” he wrote. “It is a product of thousands of years of tradition and history. My culture [is] not a cheap coloring book that can be filled in and look ‘pretty’ by privileged teen standards. “
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Another Twitter user directly accused the company’s founders of cultural appropriation.
“What is happening?” the person tweeted. “The colonizers Annie, Bianca and Kate discovered a new and improved game of tiles, formerly known as mahjong, but now it is a reflection of their individual style and fun. This is a classic example of # cultural appropriation for everyone happy in 2021.”
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On Tuesday, The Mahjong Line posted an apology on its website and social media platforms, saying the founders created the company “with pure intentions and a shared love for the American game Mahjong, which carries a rich history here in the States United.”
A Dallas-based company that sells redesigned mahjong tiles apologized after being accused of cultural appropriation by social media users. (iStock)
The company said it wants to be part of the evolution of American mahjong tiles “in the most respectful and authentic way possible”.
“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.”
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In an emailed statement to Fox News, founder LaGere said the company will work to ensure that the “rich history and cultural significance of the game is properly represented in our promotion and description of the game”.
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“We stand for our products and are proud to be one of the many different companies that offer a wide range of parts and accessories for the American mahjong game,” said LaGere. “That said, we assume full responsibility in our quest to introduce new tiles, we unintentionally recreated an experience shared by many Asian Americans of cultural erasure and are working to correct this error.
“This will be an ongoing process that will take some time as we continue to expand and implement new policies in line with our goals of educating ourselves as entrepreneurs in this space,” added LaGere later.