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by emptybits·3y ago·view on hn ↗
I'm neither Jewish nor Asian, but I do always have a large tin of this delicious Chinese vegetarian barbecue sauce in the fridge with a prominent 卍 on it.[1] It's a fantastic marinade, among other things.

Anyways, it resembles a Nazi swastika enough for the uninitiated to look twice when opening the fridge. It causes me some cringe when I think about it but my Chinese friends and family assure me it's common, has nothing to do with hateful values, and long predates the Nazi use, and ... shrug?

[1] https://www.kuohua.ca/shop/p0540023/

2 comments
It's pronounced wàn in mandarin.

Indeed, it predates the Nazis by centuries if not millenia and has nothing to do with the Nazis. So why should Chinese (and East Asians in general) change their ways because a crazy foreigner in a small country on the other side of the world used a similar symbol?

Vegetarian barbecue sounds like an oxymoron.
Cooking food over fire. Vegetables or meat. Traditional everywhere and all kinds of delicious! :-)