User:Meismi/Wonton font

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A wonton font (also known as Chinese, chopstick, chop suey, or kung-fu) is a mimicry typeface with a visual style intended to express an East Asian, or more specifically, Chinese aesthetic.

Styled to mimic the brush strokes used in Chinese characters, wonton fonts often convey a sense of Orientalism. In modern times, they are sometimes viewed as culturally insensitive or offensive.

History[edit]
The first commercial typeface of this style was patented in 1883 by the Cleveland Type Foundry, under the name "Chinese", which became "Mandarin" in the 1950s. Many variations of this style of font have been created by typeface designers since its inception.

'''this style became popular in the United States during the 1930's chop suey culinary craze. It also was used on postcard and matchboxes in the US, form the 1930's to the 1960's '''

Controversy[edit]
Some Asian-Americans find wonton fonts amusing or humorous, while others find them offensive, insulting, or racist. The font's usage is often criticized when paired with caricatures that hark back to the Yellow Peril images of the late 19th and 20th century. In 2002, the clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch faced controversy when it produced a series of T-shirts with buck-toothed images and wonton font slogans. The Chicago Cubs were hit with backlash from the East Asian Americans after a similarly offensive T-shirt was produced by an independent vendor in 2008. The questionable use of such fonts was the subject of an article in the Wall Street Journal by cultural commentator Jeff Yang.