"Gong xi fa cai. Happy New Year."
I had been taught as a child that “Happy New Year” in Chinese was pronounced “Gong Hay Fat Choy.” In a childlike spirit of newness and joy, I have been gaily cavorting around Mather, hailing my Chinese friends with, “ah! Gong Hay Fat Choy!” only to receive looks of confusion in return.
Now I understand why— this article reiterates that not only has America mutilated Chinese food into sodium- and msg-loaded fried stuff, but more generally it reminds readers of the distortion cultures continue to undergo when business is more honorable than truth, and traditions exit the realm of the everyday and enter the world of appropriable kitsch.
