A Dallas-based company that sells redesigned Mahjong tiles has apologized after being accused by social media users of cultural appropriation.
The Mahjong Line – founded in November by Kate LaGere and two friends – has replaced some traditional Chinese characters and symbols with images of cherries and lightning bolts on brightly colored tiles.
However, many people were particularly upset about the company’s website, where the founders explained how they were inspired to give the ancient Chinese game a “respectful refreshment”.
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Although the page has since been changed, a screenshot of it was posted on Twitter on Monday night.
“In an attempt to acquire her first Mahjong set, Kate discovered that the artwork of the traditional tiles, although beautiful, was the same – and did not reflect the fun played with her friends,” the website said. according to the screenshot. “And nothing reflected her style.”
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The Twitter user who posted the screenshot also has a comments of his own.
“My culture is one of the oldest civilizations in the world,” he wrote. “It’s a product of thousands of years of tradition and history. My culture [is] not some cheap coloring book that can be filled out and ‘made beautiful’ by the standards of privileged teenage boppers. ‘
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Another Twitter user directly accused the company’s founders of cultural endowment.
“What’s going on?” the person tweeted. “The colonizers Annie, Bianca and Kate have discovered a new and improved tile game, once known as mahjong, but it’s now a reflection of their individual style and fun. It’s an example of #cultural allocation so happy in everyone in 2021 . “
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The Mahjong Line on Tuesday posted an apology on its website and on social media platforms, saying the founders founded the company ‘with pure intentions and a shared love for the American Mahjong game, which has a rich history here in the United States bears. ‘
A Dallas-based company that sells redesigned Mahjong tiles has apologized after being accused of cultural endorsement by social media users. (iStock)
The company said it wanted to be part of the evolution of American Mahjong tiles in the most respectful and authentic way.
“While we intend to inspire and engage with a new generation of American Mahjong players, we realize that we are not properly honoring the Chinese heritage of the game,” the company said. “The use of words like ‘refresh’ has hurt a lot and we are deeply sorry.”
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In a statement sent to Fox News by email, founder LaGere said the company would work to ensure that the game’s “rich history and cultural significance are properly represented in our promotion and description of the game. “
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“We stand by our products and are proud to be one of the many different companies offering a wide variety of tiles and accessories for the American Mahjong game,” said LaGere. “That being said, we take full responsibility that, in our quest to introduce new tiles, we inadvertently recreate an experience shared by many Asian Americans of cultural extinction and we try to correct this mistake.
“It will be an ongoing process that will take some time as we continue to expand and implement new policies in line with our goals to further educate ourselves as teachers in this space,” LaGere later added.