Ma Er Fu
Summary
This Lunar New Year, Draco Malfoy became an unlikely mascot for many in China. Thanks to the Chinese translation of his name, Malfoy, Ma-Er-Fu, Tom Felton's on-screen character has become an auspicious symbol, signifying the arrival of fortune in the year of the Horse. Harry Potter is hugely popular in China; a hundred million of Rowling's books have been sold.
Application
Cultural syncretism refers to the process by which elements from different cultures are blended and reinterpreted to produce new meanings and symbols. Rather than preserving traditions in a fixed or “pure” form, societies actively adapt foreign ideas and weave them into existing belief systems. Malfoy’s appearance in China as an auspicious symbol clearly reflects this process. A character rooted in Western fiction is detached from his original narrative and reimagined through a Chinese cultural lens, where visual traits and symbolic readings link him to fortune or status. This transformation shows that culture is dynamic rather than static. Meanings are not permanently attached to a symbol; they evolve according to how communities interpret and repurpose content in their own contexts. Cultural syncretism, therefore, demonstrates that culture is constantly negotiated.