Chinaman (disambiguation)

Chinaman refers to:

• A Chinese male (and occasionally female, especially in the plural "chinamen"). The term, still used occasionally, is considered offensive by some people, [1][2][3]. The term was as one time (and to some still) a standard English term for Chinese people, similar to Dutchman, Welshman, Scotsman, Irishman, Frenchman or Englishman. It today survives in the stock phrase Chinaman's chance.
• A figurine depicting a Chinese male in traditional clothing.
• A wrist spin ball bowled by a left handed bowler in cricket. See Left-arm unorthodox spin
• The Anglicized title of the Danish film Kinamand.
• "The Chinaman" is a special pair of glasses with short and slanted rims. Made in the UK, these glasses are marketed primarily in Asia.
• In 20th century Chicago politics, "Chinaman" had a specific, non-ethnic and non-derogatory meaning. A junior politician or government worker's political patron was their "Chinaman" (or "chinaman" without the initial capital), regardless of their actual ethnic heritage or gender. An example from a story titled "From trouble to patronage job, and now to bigger trouble" in the January 27, 2004 Chicago Sun-Times: "Before the age of political correctness, Munoz would have been called Torres' chinaman, and in City Hall, that's still what they'd call him, but if you prefer, you can stick with mentor or patron."[4]
• In 19th Century Vancouver, British Columbia, a North American Chinaman was a derogatory epithet for "Canadians" (people from Ontario) because of their observed habits of taking advantage of the generosity of local customs (especially bar etiquette) without contributing anything themselves.