Hallmark recently shared a poster for the film on Instagram<\/a>, which does not include Asian actors and features a mahjong set that varies from the traditional style. The post drew comments criticizing the network for excluding Chinese culture from the story.<\/p>\n \u201cAh yes, nothing says Happy AAPI Month like appropriating Asian culture,\u201d one person wrote, referring to the month of May, which honors Asian American and Pacific Islander cultures. Another added, \u201cBut no Asians are in the movie? Not even as the quirky best friend?\u201d<\/p>\n A third shared, \u201cWhere are the Asian voices and actors tied to the culture this comes from? And changing the mahjong tiles on this poster too? It\u2019s giving cultural appropriation more than appreciation.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement to Yahoo, a spokesperson for Hallmark said, \u201cAll\u2019s Fair in Love & Mahjong is a love story with connection at its core, highlighting family, friendship, and motherhood with warmth and humor. The movie honors the heritage of Mahjong by recognizing the game\u2019s Chinese origin and its unique ability to connect cultures, generations, and communities.\u201d<\/p>\n What is mahjong?\u00a0<\/p>\n Mahjong is a tile game that originated in China in the mid-1800s. Today, there are multiple ways to play the game, with Japanese, Filipino and Cantonese styles, each having its own rules.<\/p>\n In the 1920s, marketers began framing mahjong as a cosmopolitan activity<\/a>, allowing it to gain popularity in elite circles in the United States \u2014 despite strong anti-Asian sentiment in the country at the time. In 1937, Jewish American women formed the National Mah-jongg League, standardizing what became known as American mahjong, a version of the game with its own rules and simplified scoring system.<\/p>\n In an interview with Time, Mahjong: A Chinese Game and the Making of Modern American Culture<\/a> author Annelise Heinz said that the reason the game has \u201cfostered various and rich game cultures around the world\u201d is due to the \u201crhythm\u201d of the game, which involves pausing between rounds to wash or shuffle the tiles, which allows time for brief conversation with the other players.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that tempo is perfect for building new relationships,\u201d she explained. \u201cWhen you\u2019re in a new community or connecting across a generational divide, maybe you don\u2019t want to have deep heart-to-heart or can\u2019t have one, but you can have a little bit of conversation and over time, those rhythms, especially if you\u2019re playing with the same group of people, can build incredibly deep, long-lasting relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n Mahjong is growing in popularity \u2014 and it\u2019s stirring controversy\u00a0<\/p>\n While mahjong has long been played in the United States, its popularity has surged in recent years, with some people pointing to a desire to connect with others sans screens. The game was part of a pivotal scene in the 2018 romantic comedy hit Crazy Rich Asians<\/a>, in which Constance Wu\u2019s character, the daughter of a Chinese immigrant to the United States and a math professor, bests her wealthy Singapore-based mother-in-law-to-be, played by Michelle Yeoh. Stars like Julia Roberts have also praised the game, with the actress telling Stephen Colbert in 2019 that mahjong helps her make sense of the \u201cchaos.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n And just earlier this month, the New York Post<\/a> reported that the rich and famous in Los Angeles are turning mahjong parties into hot social gatherings, with private parties at the members-only club San Vicente Bungalows.<\/p>\n Yet as mahjong becomes buzzier than ever, so, too, has conversation around \u201cwhitewashing\u201d of the game \u2014\u00a0or removing the original Chinese cultural context. A recent article<\/a> in the New York Times<\/a>, which featured the founder of Oh My Mahjong<\/a>, a company that sells expensive luxury mahjong sets and courses to learn how to become an instructor, was criticized for promoting the gentrification of the game. (The article also featured Jackie Moy, the owner of Greenwich Mahjong Club<\/a>.)<\/p>\n Melissa Peterman, Yan-Kay Crystal Lowe, Fiona Gubelman and Tamera Mowry-Housley.<\/p>\n (Halmark)<\/p>\n![\"Melissa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/love-and-mahjong_1156.jpg\"\/)
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