Cultural Appropriation: Mahjong Edition

The Mahjong Line, a Dallas based company founded by three white women, is facing controversy after its blatant cultural appropriation of a traditional Chinese game. The founders simultaneously criticized traditional Mahjong and used it to turn a profit, selling their own versions of the game for much higher prices. 

Mahjong most likely originated near Shanghai in the mid-1800s, according to a Stanford article by Ashley Walters and Annelise Heinz. Though Mahjong was brought to America in the 1920s, Heinz says that it is still “very much a Chinese game.” Historically, Mahjong was vital to Chinese Americans in the 1920s and 30s because it gave them “a cultural bond” during a time when other Americans saw them as “perpetual foreigners.” Heinz remarks that even now when “walking through the alleys of San Francisco’s Chinatown, you can still hear the clicking of tiles through windows almost any time of day.”

Given this history, the words and actions of The Mahjong Line’s white founders are even more shocking. The Mahjong Line’s website originally featured a story on its About Us page from co-founder Kate LaGere describing traditional tile artwork as “all the same” and not mirroring her own “style and personality.” The page went on to state that The Mahjong Line gave the game a “modern makeover” and would “bring Mahjong to the stylish masses,” essentially saying that traditional Mahjong was boring and outdated.

Moreover, the website failed to credit or even mention Mahjong’s Chinese background. Instead, its “Mahjong Tales” page offered to feature some haikus about the game for free marketing, thereby muddling aspects of Chinese and Japanese cultures to produce something being passed off as American. 

While the About Us and “Mahjong Tales” pages have since deleted offensive commentary and while a brief apology has been issued, the company is still profiting and ignoring Chinese tradition.The Mahjong Line’s “Cheeky Line” and “Botanical Line” are priced at $425.00, around 200 dollars more than the average Mahjong set. However, the two lines are missing the traditional artwork and Chinese characters that Mahjong tiles have always had, replacing these characteristics with images of items like whoopie cushions, flour jars, feathers, and bubbles. 

Besides the small apology note, the founders of The Mahjong Line do not seem to have taken any accountability. In fact, they have removed a picture of themselves and their names from the website and have changed the Contact Us page so that the company’s email address, phone number, and location are no longer listed. There is also no mention of the founders on Mahjong Line’s Instagram page. 

Additionally, the company plans on selling a playing mat that features the slogan “Not your mama’s mahjong,” attempting to differentiate their products. However, the saying takes away from the intergenerational bond that Mahjong is known for creating. As an Instagram post that circulated through the School’s student community written by @dearasianyouth put it, “Many Chinese-Americans have nostalgic memories of our older relatives spending hours bonding, laughing, and talking while playing Mahjong late into the night. For many of us, it is not just a game, but a vital part of our cultural identity.”