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Chinaman

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This article is about the slang term "Chinaman", for other uses, see Chinaman.

Chinaman is a term used to refer to a Chinese man. It is an outdated term, considered derogatory and offensive by Chinese people and Asian American organisations.[1][2][3][4] It is also defined as such by modern-day dictionaries,[5] but was, at one time, a standard English term used to refer to Chinese men, similar to Dutchman, Welshman, Scotsman, Irishman, Frenchman and Englishman,[6] and was not defined as offensive by the Webster's Dictionary of 1913.[7]

Controversy

The use of the term Chinaman in public platforms and as names of geographical locations has been reported as controversial.

On 1998-04-09, television sitcom show Seinfeld aired an episode in which a character referred to opium as "the Chinaman's nightcap". The episode prompted many Asian American viewers, including author Maxine Hong Kingston, to send letters of protest. In her letter, Kingston wrote that the term is "equivalent to niggers for blacks and kikes for Jews". Media watchdog Media Action Network for Asian Americans (MANAA) called on NBC, broadcasting network for the show, to issue a public apology. NBC did not issue an apology, but it removed the offending term from the episode in the episode's rerun in May 1998. NBC's executive vice president for broadcast standards and content policy sent MANAA a letter stating that the network never intended to offend. MANAA was pleased with the studio's response despite the lack of an apology, and Kingston, while disappointed there was no apology, was pleased that the term was removed from the episode.[1]

On 1998-07-09, Canada's province of Alberta renamed a peak in the Rocky Mountains from "Chinaman's Peak" to "Ha Ling Peak" due to pressure from the province's large Chinese community. The new name was chosen in honour of a railroad labourer who scaled the peak's 8,793-foot-high summit in 1896 to win a $50 bet.[2]

In 2001, the Chicago Sun-Times was chastised by William Yashino, Midwest director of the Japanese American Citizens League, for using the term Chinaman in two of its columns. Yashino wrote, in a letter to the editor on 2001-05-16, that the term is derogatory and demeaning to Chinese Americans and Asian Americans, and that it marginalises these communities and inflames public sentiment.[3]

In March 2007, media mogul Ted Turner used the term in a public speech before the Bay Area Council of San Francisco, California. Community leaders and officials objected to his use of the term, and immediately called for an apology. In a statement released by his spokesman on 2007-03-13, Turner apologised for having used the term, stating that he was unaware that the term was derogatory. Vincent Pan, director of the organisation Chinese for Affirmative Action, said it was "a bit suspect" for someone involved in domestic and world politics like Turner to be unaware that the term is derogatory. Yvonne Lee, a former commissioner of the U.S. Civil Rights Commission, said the apology was the first step, but wanted Turner to agree to further "dialogue between different communities".[4]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "'Seinfeld' Edits Out Anti-Asian Joke". AsianWeek. 1998-07-09. Retrieved 2007-03-21. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ a b "World News Briefs; Alberta's New Name For Peak in Rockies". The New York Times. 1998-07-09. Retrieved 2007-03-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ a b "Chicago Sun Times - discrimination in reporting". The Chicago Reporter. 2001. Retrieved 2007-03-20. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help)
  4. ^ a b "Ted Turner apologizes for remarks on Chinese". San Francisco Chronicle. 2007-03-14. Retrieved 2007-03-20. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Please see the section Dictionary definitions for a list of dictionary references.
  6. ^ Ravitch, Diane (2004). The Language Police: How Pressure Groups Restrict What Students Learn. Vintage Books. p. 271. ISBN 1-4000- 3064-1.
  7. ^ "Chinaman". Webster Dictionary, 1913. Retrieved 2007-03-20.

Dictionary definitions

Look up Chinaman in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.
  • "Chinaman". Dictionary.com. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
  • "Chinaman". The Free Dictionary. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
  • "Chinaman". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
  • "Chinaman". Encarta. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
  • "Chinaman". Compact Oxford English Dictionary. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
  • "Chinaman". RhymeZone. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
  • "Chinaman". AllWords.com. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
  • "Chinaman". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. Retrieved 2007-03-20.
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