Fenqing

Fenqing (abbreviation: FQ), derived from the Chinese language 愤青 (pinyin: fèn qīng), is an abbreviation for 愤怒青年 (pinyin: fènnù qīngnián), which literally means "angry youth". It mainly refers to youth who display a very high level of Chinese nationalism.

This term first appeared in Hong Kong in the 1970s, referring to those young people who were not satisfied with Chinese society and sought reform. Nowadays it is less commonly used in Hong Kong, but it has become a special Internet slang term in the mainland Chinese community, and has taken its present meaning.

The fenqing generally take pride in their beliefs and passion, considering themselves patriotic. Their critics, however, may consider them obnoxious or even fascist, and refer to them using a pun: "粪青" (lit. shit-youth, same pronunciation), which can be changed further to "粪粪" (lit. shit-shit). In response, fenqing refer to their most vehement opponents as hanjian (汉奸 lit. "traitor(s) of China") or tewu (特务 lit. "spy/spies [of the enemy]").

Overview

Fenqing is a special phenomenon after the "reform and opening up" of the Chinese government, during the period of fast economic development that occurred in China. Compared with those who subscribed to the ideals of liberalism during the 1970s in the United States (known as "hippies"), fenqing differ greatly:

They are usually under the age of 30, mainly male, and are able to access the Internet. Most of them are undergraduate students.
They are usually nationalists and ultra-patriotic. They are very much concerned with political issues, often having strong reactions to issues relating to Japan, Taiwan or the United States. They often harbour negative attitudes towards Japan, and propose to be "tough" towards the Japanese. For example, some believe that the Japanese government's apologies for war crimes in the Second Sino-Japanese War are insincere and inadequate. More recent incidents, such as the Prime Minister's annual visit to the Yasukuni Shrine to honor both war dead & war criminals in WWII, the territorial dispute surrounding the Senkaku Islands, or the revisions of Japanese history textbooks by Japanese right-wing nationalist groups which some critics claim whitewash the atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese Army, lead these young people to conclude that the Japanese government is again seeking to expand militarily. These anti-Japanese sentiments are not necessarily only directed against the Japanese government and military, but also towards the Japanese economy, people and culture.
They generally support a boycott of Japanese goods, and dislike Japanophiles and Koreanophiles; some radicals describe these as ""traitors to the Han people" or "spies".
They are also usually of the opinion that Taiwan is a part of China, and that Taiwanese independence should be prevented by any means necessary. Many fenqing tend to consider war to be feasible, if not immediately necessary.
On Sino-American relations, most believe that China needs to learn from America; a minority believe that is unnecessary. Most believe that the United States and China will ultimately develop a balance of power with their own spheres of influence, with competition as well as cooperation, while the extreme minority believes a war with the United States is impending, the most likely spark being Taiwan.
They generally view American or Western attention to issues such as human rights, Falun Gong, Tibet etc. as attempts to undermine the rise of China. Some support the ideal of democracy, while others view these with suspicion as subversive propaganda, though few truly believe in Communism.
They usually have the view that the Chinese government is invincible and justified at all cases. Fenqings defend all actions set by the Chinese Communist Party regardless of the situation.
They are generally very passionate about irredentist claims. In addition to the claims also made by the People's Republic of China, such as Taiwan, Arunachal Pradesh, the Diaoyu Islands and the islands of the South China Sea, some fenqing also make irredentist claims to Outer Mongolia, Tuva, Outer Manchuria, the Ryukyu Islands, the Hukawng Valley of northern Myanmar, parts of Central Asia east of Lake Balkhash, Bhutan, Ladakh, Sikkim, Vietnam and Korea.
They generally abhor corruption within government organizations. They also generally perceive the government as being too nice or ineffectual in a variety of issues, such as the Taiwan Straits, relations with Japan or the U.S., and Tibetan and Xinjiang independence.
Their role models are Lu Xun and the activists of the New Culture Movement. A number of fenqing believe if Lu Xun was still alive today, he would continue fiercely criticizing the government, but ironically they often call today's pro-democracy critics "traitors."

This article was originally translated from Chinese Wikipedia 愤青. However, it has since been modified.

Overview

See also