The chop suey letterform and cultural hegemony in global representation of visual Chineseness

Abstract

Lettering styles mimicking the brushstrokes of Chinese calligraphy, known collectively as the ‘chop suey’ letterform, have featured prominently in the construction of visual Chineseness in global linguistic landscapes. This study examines and critiques the worldwide circulation of the chop suey letterform as a form of cultural hegemony. Drawing on visual data from both commercial and cultural domains, it reveals how the lettering style serves to manufacture and maintain representations of Chineseness that exoticize, otherize, and commodify the Chinese culture, serving the interest of a global power structure with Whiteness at its center. The analysis focuses on two mechanisms through which cultural hegemony functions: the dominant group dictates cultural norms, and cultural norms reinforce themselves and the power structure. The author argues that homogenization and commodification of the Chinese ethnocultural identity through the chop suey letterform not only reinforce a narrow, biased, and monolithic view of what it means to be Chinese, but also, by instituting marketable and consumable stereotypes, sideline and diminish opportunities to engage with more nuanced and complex articulations of the Chinese culture in non-Chinese societies.