What started out as criticism now makes Asian Americans share stories and images of their family and community playing mahjong together.
Three white founders of a Dallas-based company called Mahjong Line are compensating for giving the pieces of the ancient Chinese game a “mid-century modern design” and charging more than $ 425 for their sets.
According to the company’s website, which is already down, one of its founders, Kate LaGere, decided to give the game a “respectful update” because the traditional pieces “did not reflect the fun” she was having while playing.
The site, which also included curated Spotify playlists and personality quizzes on how to play mahjong, made very little mention of the game’s traditions and origins in China and East Asia.
After people online accused LaGere and the company’s two other founders, Annie O’Grady and Bianca Watson, of cultural appropriation, they released a statement on Tuesday saying they “deeply regret” for neglecting to pay tribute and trying to “refresh” the mahjong.
“While our intention is to inspire and engage with a new generation of American mahjong players, we acknowledge our failure to pay due homage to the game’s Chinese heritage,” the founders said in an emailed statement to BuzzFeed News. They then shared the statement on their Instagram page.
LaGere told BuzzFeed News in a later statement that she, O’Grady and Watson plan to “have conversations with experts closely linked to the game’s origins to ensure that its rich history and cultural significance are properly represented” in their product.
Anger and criticism quickly grew against the company this week, after people discovered Mahjong products and the language they were using to promote them on social media.
“Three white women with no respect for Chinese culture or the traditional game of mahjong are winning trendy mahjong sets for $ 325. In 2021,” he wrote @AlyseWhitney on twitter. “Traditional symbols are not ‘fun’ or ‘stylish’ enough for you. How was that done ??? FIND ANOTHER GAME!”
“I can’t believe I’m watching MAHJONG’s gentrification,” said the user @SPRlNGBAE.
The game of mahjong dates back to the Qing dynasty, where its popularity has spread throughout East and Southeast Asia. Different variations were introduced in Europe hundreds of years later. The game is played with 144 pieces that are engraved with exclusive Chinese symbols and designs that players draw and discard to create sets.
The Dallas company redesign of the mahjong blocks in what some call “aesthetics of the white girl” – and charging hundreds of dollars for – was what was particularly disheartening to the Asian American community.
The Mahjong Line has given some of its western redesign sets names like “Minimal Gal” and “Skylight Blue Cheeky Gal”. Her Instagram page, which remains active but with comments disabled, praised her mahjong sets as “incredibly chic” and branded hashtags like #townandcountry and #southernliving.
LaGere told BuzzFeed News that they disabled comments after receiving “threatening messages” amid the reaction. She assured users that comments will later be enabled to “continue this dialogue”.
“We realized that many people are frustrated that we have disabled our comments, however, this was only done after threatening messages started to be sent to our followers and customers,” she said. “Comments will come back soon to continue this dialogue and ensure that all voices are heard.”
When asked about viable measures that LaGere and the other founders are taking after her apology, she said that, in addition to consulting experts, the company “will launch new policies … for more education [sic] ourselves.”
“We will continue to have conversations with experts closely linked to the game’s origins to ensure that its rich history and cultural significance are properly represented in our promotion and description of the game,” she said in another email statement on Wednesday.
Despite disappointment with the Mahjong Line, Asian Americans online are now using the opportunity to share stories and memories of their families playing mahjong together. It is one of the most common and popular forms of meetings between Chinese and Asian families and friends.
@SPRlNGBAE As I grew up, I remember my parents having mahjong nights with friends every Friday. With the regular style of the tiles, if you were advanced, you didn’t even need to look at them, just rub your thumb over the pattern and KNOW what that tile was. Can wyt ppl just NOT?!?
That mahjong potluck party was one of the last group outings I went to in 2020. I won several rounds using the strategies my cousin taught me, which he learned from my grandmother. I made a steamed egg recipe that I found on the internet.
This viral tweet showing a modern mahjong table proves that you can innovate while respecting and preserving the culture. [Writer’s personal note: My grandmother in China also recently invested in this table, which makes shuffling and arranging tiles easier.]