Marvelâs first Asian superhero, Shang-Chi, has debuted in the live-action Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings, with Chinese-Candian actor Simu Liu at the helm. Awkwafina, Michelle Yeoh, and Tony Chiu-Wai Leung also star in the action-packed Phase 4 spectacle.
As Shang-Chiâs standalone film is predicted to drive a wave of new fans towards the lore of the character, we wanted to highlight what Shang-Chiâs name actually means in Marvel Comics, and how it ties in with his heritage.
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What Does Shang-Chi Mean?
Created by Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin, with a first appearing in Special Marvel Edition #15 in 1973, Shang-Chi, the Master of Kung Fu, was developed as the unknown son of Dr. Fu Manchu - a character from Sax Rohmerâs novels.
With a visual style inspired by the iconic Bruce Lee, Englehart stated that Shang-Chiâs name was a by-product of studying I-Ching - translated as Book of Changes containing ancient Chinese divination text. Some sources report the Chinese character å (shÄng) means âascendingâ, combined with âchiâ which means âvital energyâ.
Shang-Chiâs name is written as ä¸æ°£ with Traditional Chinese reading å°æ°£. Shang-Chi is also romanized by the Hanyu Pinyin as "Shà ng qì" (pronounced "Sh-ah-ng chee") in Mandarin and "Seung hei" in Cantonese.
Marvel Comics stated that Shang-Chiâs name had the literal translation of "the rising and advancing of the spirit," however, the Chinese characters of the martial artistâs name were queried down the line.
Shang-Chiâs Chinese Characters
According to Australian-Malaysian actor and comedian, Ronny Chieng, Shang-Chiâs Chinese characters, ä¸æ°£, are incorrect. Marvel has stated that, in short, Shang-Chiâs name translates to âRising Spiritâ. However, Chieng has politely raised an issue with this translation.
Within a Twitter post from 2019, Chieng tagged Marvel Studios to supply a âhumble suggestionâ. Chieng asked that Shang-Chiâs Chinese characters be changed because they actually read âUpper Airâ, instead of âRising Spiritâ. Chieng recommended changing his characters to ç¥å¥ (Shen Qi), which means âmiraculousâ and keeps relitvely close to the original version of the name. Additionally, Chieng highlighted that Shen ç¥ means âGodâ or âGod-likeâ, and while the Chinese characters could be changed, Shang-Chi could still retain this as his English name.