Yi-Wen Jiang, a violinist who was, until recently, billed as a member of the Shanghai Quartet, an internationally known chamber group with roots in China, says he didn’t give the pig emoji a second thought. Responding to a post on social media about Chinese-American relations a few months ago, he typed in the image of the smiley pig face — “the cute one,” he said — and went about his day. But his posting soon caused an outcry and he was called a bigot for what his critics said was his effort to deride the Chinese people as pigs. Within days, Mr. Jiang had lost his job and, he said, his reputation. He is suing not only his former partners in the quartet, who his suit says unfairly dumped him once he became a subject of scorn, but also a college in New Jersey, where he lives and where he lost his artist-in-residence post.

Source: New York Times September 13, 2020 18:11 UTC