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Lufsig

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Five Lufsig dolls inside an IKEA store in Taipei, Taiwan

Lufsig is a stuffed toy wolf sold at Swedish furniture chain IKEA. The toy, designed by German designer Silke Leffler [de], is inspired by the fairy tale "Little Red Riding Hood" as a representation of the Big Bad Wolf. The plush was sold as part of IKEA's annual Soft Toys for Education campaign, where the company donates a portion from each toy sold towards various causes. The name "Lufsig" is derived from the Swedish verb "lufsa", meaning "to lumber", and its transliterated Chinese name sounds similar to a profanity when pronounced in Cantonese.

In December 2013, the toy became a symbol of opposition to the Hong Kong government, after an incident during a town hall event where a Lufsig was thrown by a protester at Leung Chun-ying, the Chief Executive, who had been nicknamed "the wolf" by his critics. Following the incident, Lufsig experienced a surge in popularity, selling out at IKEA stores in Hong Kong, as well as in several outlets in mainland China.

Development

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Lufsig was designed by German designer Silke Leffler [de],[1] drawing inspiration from the fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood.[2] The toy consists of a wolf, wearing a red checked shirt and braces, and the diminutive grandmother which fits inside the wolf's belly.[3] Lufsig was sold as part of the company's 10th annual Soft Toys for Education campaign, where IKEA would donate a portion of the profit from their stuffed toys and accompanying storybooks sold during the holiday season to UNICEF and Save the Children.[2][4]

The product was sold as "Lufsig" in Hong Kong and Taiwan, but was named "路姆西" (pinyin: Lù mǔ xi) within Mainland China.[5][6] The name of the toy means "lumbering" in Swedish, as the adjective form of the verb "lufsa". According to IKEA representative Carin Wengelin, the company maintains a naming schema for its products, with woven fabric products named after feminine given names, bathroom products named after Scandinavian lakes, and products for children named after animals, birds, insects or "descriptive words".[7]

Symbolism in Hong Kong

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The Hong Kong rap duo Softhard with a Lufsig doll

Leung Chun-ying, the former Chief Executive of Hong Kong, has suffered low popularity ratings since his election in 2012. Of particular criticism was the election process itself, where the new Chief Executive was chosen by the Election Committee, a group of 1200 individuals, many of whom belong to the pro-Beijing camp. The election of Leung, combined with speculation during the campaign that Leung was connected to the Chinese Communist Party, brought about a pro-democracy movement and protests calling for the adoption of universal suffrage in Hong Kong.[8][9] His approval ratings among citizens reached a record low in December 2013.[10][11] Leung's critics have nicknamed him "the Wolf", alluding to his perceived cunningness, and as a pun of his name and the Chinese word for wolf.[2]

On 7 December 2013, during a town hall meeting, a Lufsig plush toy was thrown at Leung by an anti-government protester.[2] Following the incident, it was also discovered that the transliteration of Lufsig's name as listed on IKEA's Mainland Chinese website, "路姆西" (pronounced as louh móuh sāi in Cantonese), could be misinterpreted as profanity; in particular, louh móuh sāi could be read as a pun on lóuh móu hāi ("老母閪", lit. "mother's vagina"), and that the expression "丟你路姆西" (dīu néih louh móuh sāi, lit. "throw your Lufsig" or "throw a Lufsig at you"), could be a pun on the vulgar phrase "𨳒你老母閪" (díu néih lóuh móu hāi), which can be translated as "fuck your mother's vagina."[6][10][12][13]

Following the incident, Lufsig experienced a surge in popularity in Hong Kong; people lined up outside IKEA's three Hong Kong locations the next morning to purchase the toy, which were sold out within hours.[2][6] The popularity soon extended overseas. In China, buyers flipped Lufsig dolls for a quick profit, with some Taobao sellers selling the toy for CN¥ 188, up from the official price of CN¥ 59 in Chinese IKEA stores.[14] In Canada, the toy went out of stock at several Toronto- and Vancouver-area IKEA stores.[15] A Lufsig Facebook page amassed over 50,000 likes,[16] and Lufsigs were being put up for sale in auctions for a symbolic HK$689 – 689 being the number of votes Leung received in the election.[2][13][17][18]

On 11 December 2013, Leung posted a picture of himself with a Lufsig he bought as a Christmas present for his daughter, and praised the "creativity" of Hong Kong people. IKEA called the unintended pun "unfortunate" the same day, and changed the official Chinese name to "路福西" (pronounced as "Lufuxi" in Putonghua and as "louh fūk sāi" in Cantonese), incorporating a Chinese character meaning "good fortune".[3][11]

References

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  1. ^ LUFSIG – Soft toy, wolf $99.9 Archived 13 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. IKEA Hong Kong.
  2. ^ a b c d e f "Ikea toy wolf becomes Hong Kong protest symbol". BBC News. 10 December 2013. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  3. ^ a b "CY gobbles up critics' wolf cries" Archived 10 May 2015 at the Wayback Machine. The Standard, 12 December 2013
  4. ^ "Ikea and Unicef ensure soft toys are an education". Irish Independent. 6 December 2013. Archived from the original on 4 January 2014. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  5. ^ Friendly (10 December 2013). "Hong Kong Most Wanted Toys: IKEA Lufsig" Archived 13 December 2013 at archive.today. Invasion Magazine.
  6. ^ a b c Chan, Yuen (9 December 2013). "IKEA Toy Wolf Becomes Unlikely Anti-Government Symbol in Hong Kong". Huffington Post. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  7. ^ "瑞典宜家：路姆西原意「伐木」" (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Ming Pao. 10 December 2013. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
  8. ^ Liu, Juilana (6 July 2013). "CY Leung: The troubles of Hong Kong's unloved leader". BBC News. Archived from the original on 18 July 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  9. ^ "CY Leung elected Hong Kong's new leader". BBC News. 25 March 2012. Archived from the original on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 4 January 2014.
  10. ^ a b AFP (10 December 2013). "Ikea stuffed wolf sells out amid Hong Kong fury". The Local. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  11. ^ a b Lee, Simon (11 December 2013). "Ikea Wolf Toy Gets Renamed in China After Old One Deemed Vulgar". Bloomberg. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 12 December 2013.
  12. ^ Chan, Candy; Chong, Tanna (10 December 2013). "Hong Kong toymakers upset over stuffed symbol of protest Lufsig the wolf". South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 13 December 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  13. ^ a b McBain, Sophie (10 December 2013). "How Lufsig the cuddly wolf became a Hong Kong protest symbol – A short lesson in the art of mistranslating names into Chinese." Archived 30 November 2016 at the Wayback Machine The New Statesman.
  14. ^ "內地路姆西斷市淘寶炒價高見188人仔". Apple Daily (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). 10 December 2013. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 17 February 2020.
  15. ^ "IKEA toy wolf popular in Canada after being thrown at HK chief executive". Want China Times. 15 December 2013. Archived from the original on 16 December 2013.
  16. ^ McKirdy, Euan (31 January 2014). "Protest symbol or plush toy? IKEA's Lufsig makes Hong Kong comeback". CNN. Archived from the original on 17 February 2020. Retrieved 21 February 2020.
  17. ^ Streder, Ruth (12 December 2013). "Lufsig Or How A Wolf Taught A Communications Lesson". Archived from the original on 20 December 2013.
  18. ^ Luo, Qi (11 December 2013). "Cuddly wolf sinks teeth into Leung". The Standard. Archived from the original on 14 December 2013. Retrieved 24 February 2020.
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