Marvel Studios' Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings is a milestone when it comes to Asian representation in mainstream cinema. Unsurprisingly, the upcoming film has sparked controversy, for myriad reasons. One of the most easily settled debates is the pronunciation of the superhero's name.
Different pronunciations have been offered by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige and star Simu Liu, but even those don't seem to have settled the question of how to properly say "Shang-Chi." Marvel Comics readers have long pronounced Shang-Chi as "SHANG-chee." Feige tends to pronounce it, "SHONG-shee." Points for trying, but that's not it. How does Asian-Canadian actor Simu Liu pronounce it? The star actually provided his own handy guide for speakers struggling to find the correct way. In a tweet, Liu wrote it out as "SHONG-chee." It's as close as one can get in writing, but let's try and get it even closer.
To its credit, Marvel Studios provided audiences with a more nuanced pronunciation at the end of Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Ring's "Need" trailer, with "Sh-ahn-g-chee." It's certainly acceptable, but it could be even more specific. Shang-Chi was meant to be a Chinese character born in the Henan province. So one can get closer to the correct pronunciation by taking a look at how Mandarin speakers would pronounce that name. It's all in the tone. In Mandarin, a single character can carry a lot of different meanings, depending upon tone.
But if it were just a question of meaning and tone, why is there a debate at all and not many definitive answers? It's partly because the character's name wasn't actually concocted by a Chinese creator; it was imagined by writers who wanted a name resembling what they believed to be Chinese. There's only the intended meaning behind the name to go on, which was shown to be something along the lines of "the rising spirit." Marvel provided Chinese characters to go along with it in the comics: 上氣 (Shàng qì), which roughly translates to "upper air."
An updated transcription provides fans with an alternative. Shang-Chi translates to 尚气 (Shàng qì). The tone is the most important thing here. Depending on where among the Chinese-speaking countries you travel, Shang-Chi can mean one of at least a dozen different things and none of them sound particularly heroic. Shang-Chi sounds like the word for "hernia," "asthma," or again, "upper air."
If you're after the bare minimum in proper pronunciation, the voice-over in Shang-Chi's "Need" trailer is a great place to look. Otherwise, there's an extra step one can take What's important to know, very briefly, is that there are four basic tones in Mandarin: a neutral or level tone, a rising tone, a falling-rising tone or dipping tone, and finally, the falling tone. The tones are marked in the pinyin: Shàng qì.
Directed by Destin Daniel Cretton and written by Dave Callaham, Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings arrives in theaters Sept. 3.