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Gweilo

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"Gwailo" redirects here. For the 2006 movie by Nick Broomfield see Ghosts (2006 film).
Look up 鬼佬 or gweilo in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Gweilo (鬼佬; Jyutping: gwai2 lou2; Cantonese IPA: [kwɐ̌ɪ lə̌ʊ]; sometimes also spelt Gwailo) is a Cantonese term for Caucasian people (generally men), considered derogatory by some people. It literally means "ghost", "ghost man" or "ghost chap"[1] and arose to describe the pale complexion, the sometimes "red hair and green/blue eyes" (紅鬚綠眼; Jyutping: hung4 seoi1 luk6 ngaan5) of Caucasians. When the term is translated into English, it is often translated as foreign devil. The term arose in the 19th century and is associated with the demonization of Europeans during the occupation of China by foreign powers.

The inaccurate translation, foreign devil, is probably coined by a non-Chinese European missionary translator, because there is no such word as "devil" in Chinese. The Chinese meaning of gwei (鬼) can only mean "ghost" in Chinese, because Chinese religion is based on Buddhism and there is no such beliefs as in the Christian "God" or "Devil". However, the Chinese do believe in ghosts, spirits, and reincarnation. The reason for calling Europeans as "ghost men" was probably because during the 1800s, when the Chinese first saw the Europeans with a comparatively much paler complexion, they thought that the Europeans were actually ghosts. There are demons and monsters in Chinese beliefs. However, they have different names and are not called "gwei" (鬼) or ghosts. The Chinese term for demons is xiémó (邪魔), and monsters are yāoguài (妖怪).

Nowadays, term is often exploited by some people to justify that Chinese people use "Gweilo" as a derogatory term, and therefore the Chinese have a racist and isolationism mentality towards non-Chinese people. This is a misconception based on the faulty and biased translation of the term as "foreign devil", which was probably translated by a non-native Chinese speaker. The reasoning is first because the term "Gwei" (鬼) always refers to the meaning of ghost in Chinese. Secondly, "Gweilo" (鬼佬) definitely does not contain the word or meaning of "foreign", which means that the person who translated the term into "foreign devil" tried to stereotypically make all Chinese people seem like racists and to make a justification to condemn the Chinese people as not the victim of racism but the instigator. This inaccurate translation of the term has let people consider the term offensive and to use it as an excuse to justify hatred against Chinese people.

It is pejorative only when the term is delibrately prefaced by the Chinese word sei (死, jyutping: sei2, meaning: death[2], damnation) as in sei gweilo (死鬼佬), literally meaning "dead ghost man", using the translation "dead" for "sei" (死) because it is only correct to be used as an adjective. However, the word "sei gweilo" is not really a term, but an adjective added to the term in order to describe the person or people referred to by the term as bad. When the word "sei" (死) is used as such to describe a living person, it means "bad". "Sei" (死) is commonly added to other terms in order to describe the person or people being referred to as "bad", such as "sei lo" (死佬), meaning literally "dead man" or "bad guy" and "sei chai lo" (死察佬), literally "dead policeman" or "bad policeman". Chinese people also can call each other "Sei gwei" (死鬼), literally meaning "dead ghost", but refers to a bad man also.

Gweilo is the most generic term, but variations include:[3]

  • To refer specifically to Caucasian women: gweipor (鬼婆; jyutping: gwai2 po4, literally: "ghost woman") which is also often spelt "gwai-poh"
  • To refer specifically to Caucasian boys: gweijai (鬼仔; jyutping: gwai2 zai2, literally: "ghost boy")
  • To refer specifically to Caucasian girls: gweimui (鬼妹; jyutping: gwai2 mui1, literally: "ghost younger-sister")

Due to its widespread use, the term gwei, which means devil, demon, or ghost, has taken on the general meaning of "foreigner" or "westerner" rather than just Caucasian.[3] This use can be seen in the following terms:

  • To refer to a white foreigner: bakgwei (白鬼; jyutping: baak6 gwai2, literally: "white ghost")
  • To refer to a black foreigner: hakgwei (黑鬼; jyutping: haak1 gwai2, literally: "black ghost")

In 1999, CFMT-TV in Toronto had a cooking show named Gwai Lo Cooking. It featured a Cantonese-speaking Caucasian chef as the host, who was also the show's producer and the person who named the show. In response to some complaints, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council ruled [4] that

... While historically, "gwai lo" may have been used by Chinese people as a derogatory remark concerning foreigners, particularly Caucasian Westerners, the persons consulted by the Council indicate that it has since lost much of its derogatory overtone. The Council finds that the expression has also lost most of its religious meaning, so that "foreign devil" no longer carries the theological significance it once did. Based on its research, the Council understands that the expression has gone from being considered offensive to, at worst, merely "impolite".

According to CFMT-TV, "Gwei Lo" was used as "a self-deprecating term of endearment". [5] Others, however, particularly foreigners living in Hong Kong, find the term demeaning and/or racist. However, it is also used by some non-Chinese (sometimes jocularly) to address themselves.

While "gwailo" is commonly used by some Cantonese speakers in informal speech, the more polite alternative sai yan (西人; jyutping: sai1 jan4, literally: "western person") is now used.[3]

The term is often considered racist by non-Cantonese people.[6] Many Cantonese speakers, however, frequently use the term to refer to white people and westerners in general and they consider the term non-derogatory, a controversial notion.[7]. The term was commonly prefaced by sei (死; jyutping: sei2, meaning: death[8], damned) as in sei gweilo, meaning "damned ghost man", and used pejoratively with sei as the pejorative suffix.

Use of the term "gwei" to refer to Westerners is frequently referenced in Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior.

A Boxer Rebellion pamphlet, circa 1899, that refers to foreigners as guizi.

In Mandarin, guizi (Chinese: 鬼子; pinyin: guǐzi) is a similar term to gweilo. Guizi, however, can be used to refer to either the Japanese (specifically, 日本鬼子 rìběn guǐzi "Japan ghost" or 东洋鬼子 dōngyáng guǐzi "east ocean ghost") or Caucasians (洋鬼子 yáng guǐzi "foreign ghost"). Laowai (老外 lǎowài "old out" or "old outsider") is a word usually used for Caucasians, and is a less pejorative term in Mandarin than guizi. Also, cf. Ang Mo (Hokkien) meaning 'red haired devil.'

See also

  1. ^ Larry Feign. Gweilo cartoon.
  2. ^ meaning to die (verb) or dead (adjective) in the Chinese language.
  3. ^ a b c Yip, Virginia (2001). Intermediate Cantonese: A Grammar and Workbook. London: Routledge. pp. pp. 168-70. ISBN 0-415-19387-7. {{cite book}}: |pages= has extra text (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ CFMT-TV re Gwai Lo Cooking, CBSC Decision 99/00-0220. Decided July 6, 2000
  5. ^ Appendix to 'CFMT-TV re Gwai Lo Cooking ', CBSC Decision 99/00-0220. Decided July 6, 2000
  6. ^ Oriental Expat. Gaijin, Farang, Gweilo - Confused? Retrieved December 10, 2006.
  7. ^ Irene Yu. MP shouldn't generalize. Richmond News. November 7, 2006. Retrieved December 10, 2006.
  8. ^ Wishing death on someone is a curse in Chinese languages.
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