Ching chong is an ethnic slur used to mock people of Chinese or other southeast Asian ancestry, an onomatopoeia to represent chinese language speech patterns by speakers unfamiliar with them. Many public commentators on recent usage of the term have deemed it derogatory and referred its derogatory usage in history.[1][2] The following is a list of ethnic slurs that are, or have been, used to refer to members of a given ethnicity (or in some cases, nationality, region, or religion) in a derogatory or pejorative manner. ... Look up onomatopoeia in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Chinese (written) language (pinyin: zhōngw n) written in Chinese characters The Chinese language (汉语/漢語, 华语/華語, or 中文; Pinyin: H nyǔ, Hu yǔ, or Zhōngw n) is a member of the Sino-Tibetan family of languages. ...

Origin

The most probable origin of the phrase “ching chong” is a mimicking of the Chinese language by those unfamiliar with it. Many Asian languages have sounds in them which to the untrained ear might sound like ching or chong. In Mandarin alone, there are more than 27 different characters (or words) that are pronounced as qing/ching. These include: 清, 靜, 請, 慶, 情, 青, 輕, 晴, 卿, 傾, 氫, 擎, 氰, 箐, 頃, 磬, 罄, 苘, 鯖, 蜻, 勍, 圊, 廎, 檠, 綮, 謦, and 黥 (However, of these, only 庆, 青, and 顷 number among the 1,000 most frequently used characters.[3]). Similar sounds include at least 45 characters pronounced as "qian", at least 37 pronounced as "qu", 34 as "chan", 33 for "zhen", 33 for "cheng", etc. In total, there are more than 1,000 characters that are pronounced similar to ching or chong.[4] Standard Mandarin, also known as Standard Chinese, Modern Standard Chinese or Standard spoken Chinese, is the official modern Chinese spoken language used by the Peoples Republic of China, the Republic of China (Taiwan), and Singapore. ...

Historical usage

The prevalent usage of this phrase began as an insult during the gold-rush eras of the 19th century in Ballarat, Australia, when the Chinese gold-prospectors were of Ching (also spelled 'Qing,' with the same pronunciation) Dynasty origin. [5]. Ballarat is a city in regional Victoria, Australia, approximately 120 kilometres north-west of Melbourne, with a population of 84,000 people. ... A California Gold Rush handbill A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers into the area of a dramatic discovery of commercial quantities of gold. ... Flag (1890-1912) Anthem Gong Jinou (1911) Territory of Qing China in 1892 Capital Shengjing (1636-1644) Beijing (1644-1912) Language(s) Chinese Manchu Mongolian Government Monarchy Emperor  - 1636-1643 Huang Taiji  - 1908-1912 Xuantong Emperor Prime Minister  - 1911 Yikuang  - 1911-1912 Yuan Shikai History  - Establishment of the Late...

While usually intended for ethnic Chinese, the slur has also been directed at other East Asians. Mary Paik Lee, a Korean immigrant who arrived with her family in San Francisco in 1906, writes in her autobiography that on her first day of school, girls circled and hit her, chanting:

Ching Chong, Chinaman,
Sitting on a wall.
Along came a white man,
And chopped his head off.^[1]

A variation of this rhyme is repeated by a young boy in John Steinbeck's novel Cannery Row in mockery of a Chinese man. Cannery Row is the waterfront street in the New Monterey section of Monterey, California (36. ...

In 1917, a ragtime piano song entitled "Ching Chong" was co-written by Ted Baxter and Max Kortlander. Its lyrics had, e.g., the following words: 1917 (MCMXVII) was a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar (see link for calendar) or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 13-day slower Julian calendar (see: 1917 Julian calendar). ... Look up ragtime in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Ted Baxter was a fictional character on the long running situation comedy, The Mary Tyler Moore Show. ...

"Ching, Chong, Oh Mister Ching Chong,
You are the king of Chinatown.
Ching Chong, I love your sing-song,
When you have turned the lights all down;

In recent years, there has been a growing debate over the degree of offensiveness of the term "ching chong". Some non-speakers of Chinese adopted the term "ching chong" as a way to pretend to speak Chinese.

Contemporary usage

The film Cannonball Run II had a scene where Jackie Chan was called 'Ching-Chong' by a motorcycle thug - Chan's character beats up the entire motorcycle gang. See also Cannonball Baker Sea-To-Shining-Sea Memorial Trophy Dash Cannonball Run II is a film that was released in 1984. ... Chan Kong-Sang (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ), also known as Jackie Chan Sing Lung (Simplified Chinese: ; Traditional Chinese: ; pinyin: ) or Jackie Chan SBS, (born on April 7, 1954) is a Chinese martial artist, action star, actor, director, screenwriter, film producer, singer and stunt performer. ...

In December 2002, the term gained international notoriety when NBA star Shaquille O'Neal directed it, apparently in jest, at fellow NBA star and Chinese Yao Ming, during an interview on Fox Sports Radio. O'Neal was quoted as saying, "You tell Yao Ming, 'Ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh.'" Yao responded with: "Chinese is a hard language to learn." After a public outcry, O'Neal apologized for making the comment, insisting that no prejudice or malice had been intended. December 2002 : January - February - March - April - May - June - July - August - September - October - November - December - → // Events December 31, 2002 United States troops get into a brief gun battle with paramilitary forces of the Warzirstan Scouts of Pakistan, in a remote tribal area along the undefined Afghan/Pakistani border, in Paktia Province... “NBA” redirects here. ... Shaquille Rashaun ONeal (pronounced shak-keel) (born March 6, 1972 in Newark, New Jersey), frequently referred to simply as Shaq, is an American professional basketball player, generally regarded as one of the most dominant in the National Basketball Association (NBA). ... This is a Chinese name; the family name is Yao (姚) Yao Ming (Chinese: ; Pinyin: ) (born September 12, 1980, in Shanghai, China) is a Chinese professional basketball player and is arguably the best center in the National Basketball Association (NBA) today. ... Fox Sports Radio is a service of Premiere Radio Networks (a subsidiary of Clear Channel Communications). ...

On January 24, 2006, comedian Dave Dameshek created an audio parody of the Asian Excellence Awards for the Adam Carolla Show. The premise of the parody was using the words "ching" and "chong" to mimic the awards show [6]. The awards honor Asian Americans in media who have made a difference in the United States and were conducted in English. Branding the segment as demeaning and racist, several Asian American organizations threatened to ask advertisers to withdraw their support from the show if the station does not issue an apology. [7] [8] On February 22, 2006, Carolla read a brief apology for the segment [9]. On April 26, 2006, Carolla invited the head of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans, Guy Aoki, to further explain that when he aired the bit, he had no idea that "ching chong" was a racial slur [10] (clip). is the 24th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A comedian, or comic, is an entertainer who amuses an audience by making them laugh. ... William David Dameshek (born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is a Jewish American television writer and radio personality from Pittsburgh, PA. Dameshek is best known as the former sports reporter on the syndicated morning radio program The Adam Carolla Show. ... In contemporary usage, a parody (or lampoon) is a work that imitates another work in order to ridicule, ironically comment on, or poke some affectionate fun at the work itself, the subject of the work, the author or fictional voice of the parody, or another subject. ... Adam Carolla The Adam Carolla Show is a syndicated morning radio program. ... is the 53rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 116th day of the year (117th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... An editor has expressed a concern that the subject of the article does not satisfy the notability guideline or one of the following guidelines for inclusion on Wikipedia: Biographies, Books, Companies, Fiction, Music, Neologisms, Numbers, Web content, or several proposals for new guidelines. ...

On December 5, 2006, comedian and co-host of The View, Rosie O'Donnell, used a series of ching chongs to imitate newscasters in China [11]. She later apologized on The View, saying "To say 'ching chong' to someone is very offensive, and some Asian people have told me it's as bad as the n-word. Which I was like, 'Really? I didn't know that.' I'm sorry for those people who felt hurt or were teased on the playground. But I'm also gonna give you a fair warning that there's a good chance I'll do something like that again, probably in the next week, not on purpose. Only 'cause it's how my brain works." December 5 is the 339th day (340th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... A comedian, or comic, is an entertainer who amuses an audience by making them laugh. ... The View is a multiple Emmy award winning American daytime talk show that airs on the ABC network. ... Rosie ODonnell (born March 21, 1962 in Bayside, Queens, New York) is an 11-time Emmy Award-winning American talk show host, television personality, comedienne, film, television, and stage actress. ...

In November 2006, Bryn Mawr cancelled a performance by the independent band "Ching Chong Song," both of whose members are white, after protests from various campus groups, including the Asian Students Association. The situation escalated one month later when a band member wrote an inflammatory letter to the student newspaper, claiming that the university had mistreated them while lobbing profanities at the student body. [12] Some critics considered the outrage to be inconsistent, because in January 2005 two Asian comedians hired by the college, joked during the university's comedy night that the Chinese language sounds like "ching chong." However neither comedian was Chinese (Amy Anderson is Korean and Dan Gabriel is half-Filipino) and the performance was considered controversial. [13] Look up November in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday (link displays full 2006 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... Brynmawr (Bryn-mawr) is a market town in the county borough of Blaenau Gwent, traditional county of Brecknockshire, mid Wales. ...

On February 14, 2007, "Ching Chong Song" performed at New York University. Members of NYU's Asian Heritage Club demonstrated, and the band agreed to change its name to Church of Lurch [14] [15]. is the 45th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era. ... New York University (NYU) is a private, nonsectarian, coeducational research university in New York City. ...

See also

• List of ethnic slurs

A slur can be anything from an insinuation or critical remark to an insult. ...

References

External links

• "Group wants sincere apology, diversity in NBA", ESPN.com, January 17, 2002.
• "Shaq's Apology Not Good Enough", The San Francisco Chronicle, January 14, 2002.
• "Shaq says mock accent was used jokingly", ESPN.com, January 10, 2002.
• "apology demanded from adam corolla", Hyphen Magazine, February 1, 2006
• "rosie mocks asians with ching chong joke", racialicious.com, December 7, 2006.