Unfortunate mistake for leading publishing house
The circled Chinese character is huo (祸) or misfortune, mistaken for the calligraphic writing of fu (福) or fortune.
A leading publishing house apologized and is offering refunds after it mistook the calligraphy of the Chinese character “祸” (misfortune) for “福” (fortune) and included it in the company's Chinese New Year gift pack.
The gift pack sold at the People’s Literature Publishing House online store contained five calligraphic writings of 福, as it is a tradition to decorate with the auspicious character during Chinese Lunar New Year — which falls on February 12 this year.
The publishing house apologized for the mistake yesterday in a WeChat post, saying it would refund people's money or send extra gifts.
"This is a painful lesson for us, and we are very grateful to every reader who pointed out the problem," the post read.
Netizens said the mistake was serious for a major publishing house but applauded its candid response.
Some also said the error reflected an ancient Chinese philosophy that good fortune has its roots in disaster, and disaster lurks with good fortune.
The gift pack — consisting of five writings of 福, a pair of spring couplets, painting of a door god, New Year's card, a pair of socks, painting, gift box, handbag, six red envelopes and poker cards — is priced at 99 yuan (US$15) and completely sold out.
