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My Hong Kong | Keep your meddling hands off our Mahjong tiles! Show some respect to the game that teaches us about life and ourselves
- The recent attempt by three US women to ‘respectfully refresh’ the classic Chinese tile game has caused outrage around the world
- Mahjong is more than a game, it symbolises familial bonds and exposes our true nature
Reading Time:3 minutes
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As far as cultural appropriation goes, the recent case of a Dallas-based company, founded by three Caucasian women, giving mahjong tiles a “modern makeover” has got to take the cake.
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Upon hearing the news, I instinctively shouted out “blasphemy” and wish I could scream out the word directly in their faces as loud as I can muster.
Thankfully, many people in Hong Kong and those with Chinese and Asian ancestry overseas did that on my behalf anyway. The Dallas trio was immediately confronted by a tsunami of criticism from around the world after they launched their reimagined, brightly coloured sets of mahjong tiles. They said their intention was to give this centuries-old tile game a “respectful refresh” and “modern makeover”.
What’s most excruciating is that on the one hand, they claimed they were motivated by respect, but on the other hand, they said they wanted to introduce the game to the “stylish masses.”
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I could feel my fellow Hongkongers seething with anger and collectively asking the obvious question: why do we need anyone to bring our ancient game to the stylish masses?
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