The Mahjong Line: Mahjong set company apologizes for game designs

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A Texas company that makes expensive, brightly colored mahjong tiles apologizes after critics called the redesign of the popular Chinese game culturally insensitive.

The Mahjong Line began selling its limited-edition versions of the game – with names like “The Minimal Line,” “The Botanical Line,” and “The Cheeky Line” – in November for between $ 325 and $ 425.

The Cheeky Line replaces traditional Chinese symbols with bubbles, lightning bolts and has tiles decorated with bags of flour and a Whoopie pillow.

The website’s designs and language did not resonate with many people on social media, who said that removing the Chinese characters erased the game’s cultural importance.

“My culture is one of the oldest civilizations in the world. It is a product of thousands of years of tradition and history. My culture is not a cheap coloring book that can be filled out and ‘beautifully made’ by the standards of privileged teenyboppers,” wrote Jeremy Lee in a tweet with thousands of interactions.

The company posted an apology and updated much of the language on its website on Wednesday, removing a photo of the three women who founded the company from its About page. The company has not stopped selling its games.

“While our intention is to inspire and connect with a new generation of American mahjong players, we recognize that we have failed to properly pay tribute to the game’s Chinese legacy. as ‘refresh’ was hurtful to many and we are deeply sorry, “company wrote.

“It is imperative that our followers know that we never want to ignore or misrepresent the origins of this game, and that there are more conversations and steps to take as we learn and grow. We are always open to constructive criticism and continue to have conversations with those who can provide more insight into the traditions and roots of the game in both Chinese and American cultures. “

Why the company decided to ‘refresh’ the tiles

American mahjong is similar to rummy, but is played with tiles instead of cards, according to the National Mahjong League. It is a variation of the game made in China in the 19th century.
Kate LaGere, one of the founders of the company, decided that the “ venerable game needed a respectful freshening up ” because the game’s traditional tiles “ didn’t reflect the fun she had playing with her friends ” and “ not in the game. came close to her style and personality, ”according to an archived version of the company’s website.

Lee, who works for an affordable housing developer in San Francisco’s Chinatown, told CNN he was shocked by the changes.

“This is a product with hundreds of years of tradition and culture and each piece has a meaning, and it’s just a complete disregard for all that,” he said.

Lee said his mother taught him to play mahjong when he was a child.

“Every time my family gets together, we take out the tiles and play,” he said. “It’s a way I stay in touch with my culture.”

Yuelin Ge, a Chinese Canadian graduate student in Toronto, psent an open letter to the founders of The Mahjong Line on Twitter.

“I am more than disappointed in the atrocity you committed. Sorry, was MY CULTURE too boring for you and not trendy enough?” she wrote.

She told CNN they didn’t have to insult the traditional game to justify their designs.

“They said,“ We’re making this based on the fact that we were bored with previous designs, we didn’t feel like they were, you know, exciting enough or fresh enough, ”she said.“ Which completely denies the fact that the original design has been there since, frankly, there have been some variations (of the game) since the 1800s. “

Ge thought the company’s apology was somewhat lackluster, saying she hopes they will listen to the criticism and give Asian people a meaningful role on their leadership team.

The Mahjong line continues to sell all of its sets on its website.

“We stand behind our products and are proud to be one of the many different companies offering a wide variety of tiles and accessories for the game of American mahjong,” LeGere said in a statement. “That said, we take full responsibility that in our quest to introduce new tiles, we have inadvertently recreated an experience shared by many Asian Americans of cultural erasure, and we are working to correct this mistake.”

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