Call Me Shang-Chi

   "Call me Shang-Chi, as my father did, when he raised me and molded my mind and body in the vacuum of his Honan, China, retreat. I learned many things from my father: That my name means 'The Rising and Advancing of a Spirit', that my body could be forged into a living weapon through the discipline of Kung Fu, and that it might be used for the murder of a man called Dr. Petrie.

   Since then, I have learned that my father is Dr. Fu Manchu, the most insidiously evil man on earth... and that to honor him would bring nothing but dishonor to the spirit of my name."

by Paul Gulacy (digitally remastered)

First things first. Honan province is not the same as Hunan province! Honan is the old translation of the modern Henan. Honan is the province in which Shang-Chi was raised. Honan is also the province in which the famous Shaolin Monastery is located. While foreign devils commonly confuse these two provinces, any self-respecting student of the martial arts or Master of Kung Fu fan should know the difference!

Secondly, we should address the proper translation of the character's name. According to Steve Englehart and Jim Starlin, the character creators, Shang-Chi's name means "the rising and advancing of a spirit". It was originally sourced from a translation of the I - Ching. Unfortunately, neither Steve or Jim were fluent in any Chinese dialect, written or spoken. Furthermore, any English translation of the I - Ching from that time period would have used the old Wade-Giles romanization and pronunciation rather than modern standard Pinyin.

Hexagram 46 of the I - Ching is named 升 (shēng).

升 is pronounced "shēng" and literally translates to "rise", "go up", "ascend", and "promote".

尚 is pronounced "shàng" and literally translates to "still" or "yet".

上 is pronounced "shàng" and literally translates to "over" or "above".

升 is the most precise literal translation, but is phonetically incorrect.

尚 is phonetically correct, but possesses an incorrect meaning.

上 is phonetically correct and possesses the correct meaning.

Therefore, 上氣 (traditional Chinese) or 上气 (simplified Chinese) is the superior translation.

'Nuff said!