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Is this ‘unlucky’ Lunar New Year chocolate mahjong set a sign of cultural appropriation?

A Hong Kong-based chocolate company is facing criticism for its Lunar New Year set, which features a winning hand known as ‘13 Orphans’

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A box of Conspiracy Chocolate’s latest Lunar New Year collection showcases “mahjong tiles” displayed in a winning “13 Orphans” hand. The chocolate set has sparked a cultural appropriation debate over its unlucky symbolism. Photo: Conspiracy Chocolate
Ashlyn Chak

Mahjong has been an integral part of Chinese social life since its invention in the mid-1800s, during the late Qing dynasty. It took less than a century to reach the West, with a simplified playing system developing in the United States in the 1920s.

In modern-day Hong Kong, many older people play mahjong socially and to improve their brain health. The game is often played by people of all ages during festive occasions, as well as between strangers during competitive sessions at dedicated parlours.
With China’s soft power gaining pace in recent years, there has been a resurgence of appreciation for Chinese culture and the tile-based game has become popular in unexpected corners outside East Asia.
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However, just as bubble tea – created in Taiwan in the 1980s – was at the centre of a cultural appropriation debate in October 2024, mahjong has suffered a similar fate.

Earlier this month, Hong Kong-based company Conspiracy Chocolate released its yearly limited-edition Mahjong Chocolate set to celebrate the coming Year of the Horse, featuring a winning hand known as sap saam jiu or “13 Orphans”.

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Learn to play mahjong in 2.5 minutes

Learn to play mahjong in 2.5 minutes

The chocolate maker, founded in 2018 by a Swiss and Israeli couple based in Hong Kong, called it the “royal flush of mahjong” in its press release. But while sap saam jiu is a famously strong winning hand, “13 orphans” sounds unlucky to even the least feng shui-inclined.

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