Marvel star Simu Liu recently taught Twitter how to correctly pronounce his name as well as his superhero identity Shang-Chi.
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” is Marvel’s upcoming superhero film that will feature a 98% Asian cast, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige said at a New York Film Academy event.
(More nuanced is ‘Sh-ahn-g’, but ‘Sh-on-g’ is nearly identical in a standard American dialect)
— Simu Liu (@SimuLiu) May 5, 2021
Liu posted the tweet in honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.
Twitter users were shocked to find out that they’ve been saying Shang-Chi’s name the wrong way this whole time.
I never knew shang was pronounced shong, thanks for that, I wonder how many other words we butcher without even realising.
— EvertonViking (@EvertonViking) May 2, 2021
Wait. I’m studying Chinese at school and I’ve always said 上 kinda like sh•ah•ng and my professor has never corrected me 😩 😭 wondering what other words I haven’t been corrected on🙃
— Mayra lopez (@_Mayra_Lopez_) May 2, 2021
This is literally why we’re WONG-fu despite my actual last name. 7th grade me didn’t know better. 😓
— philipwang (@philipwang) May 3, 2021
The Marvel star stated in a recent interview with TIME100 Talks he feels the need to “take up space” and be an advocate for the AAPI community.
“I can be someone I didn’t have as a kid. I loved comics as a kid, I loved superheroes, but I really didn’t see myself represented in that space,” Liu said. “I really hope with this movie, kids who are like me, who grew up similarly, can have that.”
In an interview with Observer, “Shang-Chi” director Destin Daniel Cretton shared he does not want the film to perpetuate Asian stereotypes.
“We’re hoping to just show some different sides to both Asian-Americans and Chinese-Americans and Mainland Chinese characters,” he said.
“Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings” will open in theaters on Sept. 3.
Featured Image via @MarvelStudios (left), Marvel Entertainment (right)
