Why was the Marvel film ‘Shang-Chi’ banned in China and how is it related to Fu Manchu?

After Marvel announces the ‘Shang-Chi’s release, China refuses to allow the movie to open in its theaters. On the other hand, ‘Shang-chi’ was a massive success in other places of the world, receiving positive reviews.

There is a reason behind why China reacted to the movie in such a way. The “Shang-chi” has a very racist origin due to its relationship with the fictional character “Fu Manchu”. Fu Manchu has a long history of cultural appropriation of Asian culture by Western culture.

Fu Manchu is a character created by British novelist Sax Rohmer in 1913. 1973, Marvel got its copyright to portray Fu Manchu as Shang-chi’s evil father in the Marvel universe.

Even if the final movie tried to erase the mark of “Fu Manchu,” many believed that there was no way they could get off the racist history and let people completely forget about the past.

The situation worsened when the famous Hongkong actor Tony Leung was reported playing Shang-chi’s dad. Tony Leung was later aroused heated discussions and doubts in internet public opinion. Some Marvel fans were happy that he could be part of the Marvel universe, but most of the internet was filled with skeptical voices that questioned Tony Leung’s appearance for the movie. Being as a Chinese, people think Tony Leung shouldn’t attend a film that puts his race in such a position.

 

Shang-Chi screenwriter Dave Callaham tells Inverse he wanted to change those perceptions.

“It’s way easier to be violent or hateful to someone you don’t see the same as you,” Callaham says. “With [the history of] Asian representation in the media, it’s not just that we’ve been invisible for a long time. It’s beyond that. We’re the butt of jokes and stereotypes that are damaging. It’s not nothing.”

Knowing Fu Manchu will make it easy to understand why Disney-owned Marvel Studios would delete him from its sandbox universe.

 

Due to the inability to enter China, the world’s largest film market, the film’s box office revenue may be highly affected.

The actor choice of the movie led to a backfire in the Chinese media. As soon as the trailer was released, it caused heated discussions among fans and netizens. In addition to the plot and story discussion, the most talked about is the casting of ‘Shang-Chi’ this time. Many people complained that Liu’s looks were “too ugly” and unsuitable for a superhero’s role. Some think that Liu’s appearance was not the most significant issue but that his appearance was not in line with the beauty standard of the current Chinese. Some believed that Marvel should have picked more suitable and recognizable actors such as Andy Lau and Daniel Wu.