Starbucks' Tiger Year Couplets Font Criticized by Netizens for Ruining Traditional Culture... Foreign Brands Embrace "Guochao" Design

The Rise of "Guochao": Traditional Chinese Elements in Modern Design

With the emergence of "Guochao" (national trend) as a popular movement in recent years, an increasing number of brands have incorporated simplified versions of traditional elements such as patterns, fonts, and decorative motifs—once dismissed as "old-fashioned" by younger generations—into modern designs. "Guochao" has thus become a representative of niche culture with distinct characteristics.

Chinese New Year: The Prime Time for Guochao

Due to the extensive incorporation of traditional design elements, the Lunar New Year each year represents the peak time when "Guochao" is most prominently displayed. Whether domestic or international brands, many take advantage of this festival highly valued by Chinese people to use "Guochao" as a bridge connecting the public with traditional Chinese culture, transforming historical heritage into tangible brands and products.

Starbucks' Guochao Strategy

For Starbucks, which never misses the most important festivals in both Eastern and Western cultures (Lunar New Year & Christmas) as marketing opportunities, embracing "Guochao" is essential! To better integrate this foreign coffee concept into the traditional setting of Chinese Lunar New Year, besides introducing holiday-themed pastries, beverages with "New Year flavor," and various zodiac-themed merchandise, Starbucks this year collaborated with trendy calligraphy artist Zhu Jingyi to launch "Guochao" calligraphy couplets. Using a pun on the phrase "年在一起" (sticking together during the New Year), they convey to consumers that regardless of where or how you celebrate the New Year, Starbucks will always "stick together" with you...

Starbucks' Previous Guochao Attempts

This isn't Starbucks' first attempt at utilizing "Guochao." In 2020, they launched the "Three Good Star Youth" series as a trial to test consumer reactions and purchasing power toward foreign brands adopting "Guochao" elements. The seemingly lukewarm reception revealed that Chinese people weren't opposed to this approach, but without proper contextual support, subsequent "Guochao"-themed merchandise launches received limited promotion. It wasn't until the 2022 Spring Festival series that Starbucks fully committed to "Guochao" as the central theme, with significantly increased promotional efforts and contextual application compared to previous attempts.

Unconventional Calligraphy Collaboration

When it comes to "Guochao," one can't be conventional and uncreative—even for couplets, something unique is needed! Thus, Starbucks collaborated with Zhu Jingyi, known as the "mudslide" of the calligraphy world, to create two sets of couplets without adhering to traditional rules of "level and oblique tones" or "conventional writing." (Starbucks explained this approach as not being limited by tradition to make it more interesting! A new interpretation of Spring Festival couplet text, a new form of calligraphic art.)

The Controversial Calligrapher

This "calligrapher" is quite unconventional himself, known as the "madman" of the calligraphy world. His calligraphic works resemble jokes or snippets, with various content that lacks any rhyme or rhythm. His writing style bears some resemblance to the street graffiti style of Tsang Tsou-choi, who called himself the "King of Kowloon" in Hong Kong.

(This is a sample of the "King of Kowloon's" street handwriting)

(Hong Kong Starbucks also incorporated this graffiti style in their store decor)

Cultural Appropriation Concerns

It's that kind of unrestrained style—writing wherever one pleases, not limited to paper, with asymmetrical characters and spontaneous content—to emphasize one's uniqueness. However, his actions have also drawn criticism from netizens... who believe he's using the concept of "new calligraphy art" to forcibly integrate foreign "street graffiti" culture into traditional Chinese culture, constituting an act of "cultural invasion"... Regarding Zhu Jingyi's style, netizens expressed that he doesn't deserve to be called a "calligrapher," lacking reverence for culture and understanding of tradition.

(Zhu Jingyi's calligraphy works)

Public Reaction to Starbucks' Couplets

As for the Spring Festival couplets launched by Starbucks this time, netizens certainly couldn't remain silent. While writing on white paper, walls, or other places might be considered art, writing on traditional couplet paper is unacceptable! Netizens' criticisms mainly focused on "lacking any calligraphic beauty and being extremely disrespectful to traditional Chinese culture." The content is also quite awkward to read... "仰望星空享优哉游哉 脚踏山河盼再接再栗" (Gazing at the starry sky to enjoy leisure, Treading across mountains and rivers hoping to continue with chestnuts) "念长念短就爱粘在身边 忙东忙西也要忙里偷闲" (Whether thinking long or short, just love to stick by your side, Whether busy east or west, must still find time for leisure).

The Cultural Misstep

Starbucks' launch of "Guochao Spring Festival Couplets" was likely an attempt to reinterpret traditional Spring Festival elements with a trendy style, while also breaking traditional frameworks with content that appeals to younger generations' preferences for expressive text, bridging two seemingly unrelated concepts: "coffee" and "celebrating the New Year."

A Failed Experiment

Clearly, Starbucks went too far this time... More precisely, Starbucks chose the wrong collaborator. Because Spring Festival couplets are not just decorations—they are an important component of traditional Chinese culture. Couplets themselves carry blessings and good wishes, yet these two sets from Starbucks, while maintaining consistent character counts, are somewhat frivolous in both content and writing style.

Image source: Internet, Weibo

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