NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Chink

Chink is a derogatory ethnic slur for someone of Chinese descent, now used as an epithet against East Asians. Chink may also mean a small crevice or opening, often referring to a weakness, such as a "chink in the armor." The latter term is uncontroversial, since it predates the ethnic slur, though the slur may have origins from the original meaning. However the usage of the ethnic slur has sparked contemporary controversies in public and popular media. Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. ... Wiktionary (a portmanteau of wiki and dictionary) is a multilingual, Web-based project to create a free content dictionary, available in over 150 languages. ... Chinese Handball (also known as Ace-King-Queen, King(s), and Slugs), is a form of American handball popular on the streets of New York City during the 1960s and 70s, and is still played today. ... 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. ... East Asia is a subregion of Asia. ...

Etymology and history

A number of dictionaries have provided different suggestions as to the origin of chink. Some of these suggestions are that it originated from the Chinese courtesy, ching-ching,^[2] that it evolved from the word "China",^[3] or that it was an alteration of 'Qing',^[4] as in the Qing Dynasty. A final explanation posits that the word evolved from the other meaning of chink, which is a small crevice, being a simile for small or slanted eyes.^[5] The slur's first usage appears in 1878,^[6] originally as chinkie, perhaps as a mispronunciation of Zhongguo, which means China. Chinky is still used in Britain as a nickname for Chinese food.^[7] Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... The Chinese Exclusion Act may be: The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 passed in the United States in 1882 banning Chinese from entering American soil. ... Flag (1890-1912) Anthem Gong Jinou (1911) Qing China at its greatest extent. ... Look up chinky in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... China has one of the richest culinary heritages on Earth. ...

During the turn of the 20th century, Asian immigration was seen as a threat to whites in North America. Chinese were seen as invasive, culminating into Yellow Peril hysteria. The Chinese Exclusion Act was passed, banning Chinese immigration, within a few years after the first recorded use of chink. The dehumanizing use of the word Chink is argued to be a racist justifier for the passage of the Exclusion Act.^[8] The Yellow Terror In All His Glory, 1899 editorial cartoon Yellow Peril (sometimes Yellow Terror) was a color metaphor for race that originated in the late nineteenth century with immigration of Chinese laborers to various Western countries, notably the United States, and later to the Japanese during the mid 20th... The Chinese Exclusion Act may be: The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 passed in the United States in 1882 banning Chinese from entering American soil. ...

However, labor shortage on the west coast still required Chinese and other Asian laborers. Alaskan fish canneries were so short on workers, appeals to congress to amend the Exclusion Act progressed. The Iron Chink, an early 1900s fish preparation machine, was racially marketed during the shortage as a mechanical means and replacement (hence the name) to keep Chinese population low, utilizing anti-Asian fears as selling point to the product. The name of the product is both shockingly bold and now symbolic of anti-Asian racism during the era.^[9]^[10] Usage of the word continued liberally, such as with the story The Chink and the Child by Thomas Burke, later adapted by D.W. Griffith. Griffith cleaned up the story to be more racially sensitive and renamed it to Broken Blossoms. For other uses, see Alaska (disambiguation). ... Thomas Burke may refer to: Tom Burke (Australian politician) (1910â€“1973), Labour MP for Perth 1943â€“1955 Thomas Burke (author) (1886â€“1945), British author and poet from London Thomas Burke (Clare politician) (died 1951) Irish farmer, bone-setter, and TD for Clare 1937â€“1951 Thomas Burke (governor) (1747â€“1783), American... David Lewelyn Wark Griffith (January 22, 1875 - July 23, 1948) was an American film director (commonly known as D. W. Griffith) probably best known for his film The Birth of a Nation. ... Broken Blossoms (also called The Chink and the Child, Scarlet Blossoms and The Yellow Man and the Girl) is a 1919 film which tells the story of a Chinese man who goes to England to enlighten Christians about the teachings of Buddha. ...

Although chink originally referred only to those of Chinese descent, the meaning expanded sometime in the 1940s to include other people of East Asian descent.^[11] During the Vietnam War, the word was frequently used to refer to Vietnamese soldiers, with numerous examples of news reports attesting to this. In addition, literature and film about the Vietnam war, also contain examples of this usage of chink, including the 1986 film Platoon and the 1970s play (and later film) Sticks and Bones.^[12]^[13] Combatants Republic of Vietnam United States Republic of Korea Thailand Australia New Zealand The Philippines National Front for the Liberation of South Vietnam Democratic Republic of Vietnam Peopleâ€™s Republic of China Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea Strength US 1,000,000 South Korea 300,000 Australia 48,000... Platoon of the German Bundeswehr. ... Sticks and Bones is a Tony Award-winning play by David Rabe. ...

Offensiveness and reclamation

Chink has been compared in degree of offensiveness to terms such as nigger. Like other ethnic slurs, association with violence and discrimination are made, which may be considered hate crimes.^[14] Chinese people considered it offensive from an early time. In the 1920s, a Chinese merchant in Singapore said that he did "not like to be called a 'bloody chink,'" but that he accepted it "because that is the way of the white man" and that he would lose business if he protested against its use.^[15] // Nigger is a racial slur used to refer to dark-skinned people, especially those of African ancestry. ... A hate crime (bias crime), loosely defined, is a crime committed because of the perpetrators prejudices. ...

Racially motivated violence and harassment has disturbed Asian communities and families, often performed in conjunction with slurs such as chink and at the expense of Asian youth. Asian American community members believe chink and other slurs are not taken seriously enough by public officials. A federal government investigation found deliberate ignoring of severe and violent harassment upon Asian students at Lafayette High School, Brooklyn, New York, including an honor roll student who had been beaten to unconsciousness. In 2004, Bang Mai, a Vietnamese teenager residing in Boston, was stabbed and killed after a confrontation where he and other Asian youths were called "chinks". The incident was believed to have been built up over a series of incidents involving harassment between youths.^[16] Kenneth Chu has been used as an example of the seriousness of the slur, when he was found murdered with the word "chink" scratched into his car.^[17] This article is about the borough of New York City. ... Nickname: City on the Hill, Beantown, The Hub (of the Universe)1, Athens of America, The Cradle of Revolution, Puritan City, Americas Walking City Location in Massachusetts, USA Counties Suffolk County Mayor Thomas M. Menino(D) Area - City 232. ...

Similar to the controversial reclamation of the word "nigger", the word "chink" has been used in a positive spin. When targets of the slur use it in positive light, they are allegedly making the word less offensive or turning it towards their favor. Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... Image File history File links No higher resolution available. ... To reclaim is to bring a word back to a more acceptable course. ...

Wang Lee Hom, a Taiwanese American musician, named his Asian hip-hop fusion genre "chinked-out" in order to put positive light on the word. Eventually Wang hopes the word will become "cool."^[18] Punk rock band The Chinkees, led by Mike Park, a Korean American, was named so to point out that current day racism against Asian Americans still exists.^[19] Please wikify (format) this article as suggested in the Guide to layout and the Manual of Style. ... Mike Park Mike Park is a Korean American musician and progressive activist. ...

Chink-O-Rama, a New York City play in the vein of In Living Color, similarly uses chink and other epithets throughout the show to "disempower" the words through parody, humor, and satirical analysis. Kate Rigg, co-creator of the show, named the title using chink due to racists assuming "that all Asian people are/look the same," therefore having the single slur representing all Asians.^[20] Co-creator and actor in Chink-O-Rama, David Jung, created his character MC Chink Daddy, shortened to C-Diddy, as a parody of Asian stereotypes. He competed in the 2003 Air Guitar Championships, appearing on talk shows and news stations after his world victory.^[21] New York, New York and NYC redirect here. ... In Living Color is a sketch comedy television series which ran on the FOX Network from April 15, 1990 to May 19, 1994. ...

Controversies

In the United States

New York City radio station, Hot 97, came under criticism for airing the Tsunami Song. Following the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, in which over an estimated 200,000 people died, the song sought to racially mock such victims, where the phrase "screaming chinks" was used along with other offensive lyrics. The radio station fired a co-host and producer, and indefinitely suspended radio personality Miss Jones, who was later reinstated. Members of the Asian American community believed that real change needed to be done at the station, calling Miss Jones' reinstatement a sign of condoning hate speech.^[22] WQHT also known as Hot 97 is a New York based radio station. ... USA for Indonesia is a parody sung to the 1985 tune We Are the World, which was performed by USA for Africa; a parody of charity supergroup songs, it ridicules the victims of the 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake. ... The 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, known by the scientific community as the Sumatra-Andaman earthquake,[1] was a great undersea earthquake that occurred at 00:58:53 UTC (07:58:53 local time) December 26, 2004 with an epicentre off the west coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. ... This biographical article or section needs additional references for verification. ...

Sarah Silverman appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien in 2001, stirring up controversy when the word chink was used without the usual bleep appearing over ethnic slurs on network television. The controversy led Asian activist and community leader Guy Aoki to appear on the talk show Politically Incorrect along with Sarah Silverman. Guy Aoki alleged that Silverman did not believe the term offensive.^[17] Sarah Kate Silverman (born December 1, 1970) is an American comedian, writer and actress. ... Late Night with Conan OBrien is an Emmy Award-winning American late night talk show that is syndicated worldwide. ... This article is about the beep sound. ... 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. ... Politically Incorrect was a late-night, half-hour political talk show hosted by Bill Maher that ran from 1993 to 2002. ...

A Philadelphia eatery, Chink's Steak, created controversy, appearing in Philadelphia Daily News and other newspapers. The restaurant was asked by Asian community groups^[23] to change the name or even spelling, which the current owner outright refused. The restaurant was named after the original white owner's nickname, "Chink", derived from the ethnic slur due to his "slanty eyes".^[24] The Philadelphia Daily News is a tabloid newspaper that began publishing on March 31, 1925, under founding editor Lee Ellmaker. ...

During early 2000, University of California, Davis experienced a string of racial incidents and crimes between Asian and white students, mostly among Greek fraternities. Several incidents included chink and other racial epithets being shouted among groups, including the slurs being used during a robbery and assault on an Asian fraternity by 15 white males. The incidents motivated a school wide review and protest to get professional conflict resolution and "culturally sensitive" mediators.^[25] The University of California, Davis, commonly known as UC Davis, is one of the ten campuses of the University of California, and was established as the University Farm in 1905. ... While the term fraternity can be used to describe any number of social organizations, including the Lions Club and the Shriners, fraternities and sororities are most commonly known as social organizations of higher education students in the United States and Canada but there are fraternities in the whole world (for...

The American band The Bloodhound Gang had a song on their album One Fierce Beer Coaster called Yellow Fever, describing a sexual relationship with an Asian woman, that was highly controversial. The chorus of the song goes "Chinky chinky bang bang, I love you/Chinky chinky bang bang, I know you love me too." The Bloodhound Gang performing live in Germany The Bloodhound Gang are a comedic American rapcore synth-pop band, mixing an alternative/punk sound with hip-hop. ... One Fierce Beer Coaster is a December 3, 1996 (see 1996 in music) album by alternative rock band The Bloodhound Gang. ...

In the United Kingdom

The 1969 top 3 hit single for Blue Mink, Melting Pot, which talks of how the world would be happier if everybody was coffee-coloured, sings "Take a pinch of white man, Wrap him up in black skin. [...] Mixed with yellow Chinkees. You know you lump it all together And you got a recipe for a get along scene Oh what a beautiful dream If It could only come true". It would have been unthinkable to use 'nigger' in the same context. The lyric was also included on the 2003 reissue of 1983 multi-platinum Culture Club album Colour by Numbers, which included a cover of the song as a bonus track. The 1994 Boyzone album, A Different Beat, omitted the lyric however. Blue Mink was a British five-piece pop group from 1969 to 1973. ... Culture Club is a popular English new romantic rock group, that achieved considerable global success in the 1980s. ... Colour By Numbers is an album by New Wave band Culture Club, released in 1983 (see 1983 in music). ... In terms of recorded music, a bonus track is a piece of music which has been included on specific releases or reissues of an album. ... Boyzone are a popular Irish boy band of the 1990s. ... A Different Beat is a 1999 album by Gary Moore. ...

In 1999, an exam given to students in Scotland was criticized for containing a passage that students were told to interpret containing the words 'chinky' and 'who flung dung.' This exam was taken by students all over Scotland, and Chinese groups were deeply offended at the inclusion of the said passage. The examinations body was forced to apologize, calling the passage's inclusion "an error of judgement."^[26] This article is about the country. ...

The term "chinky restaurant" or simply chinky is sometimes used in the UK to refer to a Chinese restaurant, and is likely a similarly offensive term to the use of paki shop for convenience store. Look up chinky in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... China has one of the richest culinary heritages on Earth. ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

The musical CATS originally contained the lyric, "with a frightful burst of fireworks, the Chinks, they swarmed aboard!", but in recent times, all productions of the show revised the lyrics to, "with a frightful burst of fireworks, the Siamese swarmed aboard!". Cats is an award-winning musical composed by Andrew Lloyd Webber based on Old Possums Book of Practical Cats and other poems by T. S. Eliot. ...

See also

A wrist spin ball bowled by a left handed bowler in cricket. ... 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. ... The following is a list of ethnic slurs, also known as ethnophaulisms, 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. ... Shinajin ) is often regarded by the Chinese people as an ethnic slur for them in Japanese, in exactly the same manner as Chinaman or Chink in English. ...

Compare

For other uses, see Honky (disambiguation). ... // For other uses, see Cracker. ... // Nigger is a racial slur used to refer to dark-skinned people, especially those of African ancestry. ... Spic (also spelled spik, spick, or spig) is an offensive ethnic slur used in the United States and occasionally in the United Kingdom[1] for a person from Latin America or of Latino/Hispanic descent, sometimes including Spanish and Brazilian persons. ...

References

Notes

^ Automated salmon cleaning machine developed in Seattle in 1903. HistoryLink.org (2000-01-01). Retrieved on 2007-07-20.
^ (November 2005) Cassell's Dictionary of Slang. Orion Publishing Group. ISBN 0304366366.
^ (December 2003) The Oxford Dictionary of Slang. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0198607636.
^ (1994-01-01) 21st Century Dictionary of Slang. Random House, Inc.. ISBN 978-0-440-21551-6.
^ Chink. Collins Online Dictionary. Retrieved on 2007-03-22.
^ (2005-05-12) in Tom Dalzell, Terry Victor: New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. Routledge. ISBN 9780415212588.
^ Chink (chingk). Interactive Dictionary of Racial Language. Retrieved on 2007-03-22.
^ Quon, Myron Dean (2007-01-10). Written Testimony to Local School Council at Senn High School. Asian American Institute. Retrieved on 2007-04-04.
^ Klingle, Mathew W. (na). A History Bursting With Telling: Asian Americans in Washington State. Center for the Study of the Pacific Northwest, University of Washington. Retrieved on 2007-04-04.
^ Wing, Avra (2005-01-14). Acts of Exclusion. AsianWeek. Retrieved on 2007-04-04.
^ Random House Slang Dictionary
^ http://www.imsdb.com/scripts/Platoon.html Accessed March 31, 2007.
^ New York Times, April 26th, 1971, pg. 10.
^ Guillermo, Emil (2004-08-24). Is SF Soft On Hate Crime?. Hearst Communications Inc. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
^ Foster(1930), p.222
^ Tang, Irwin (2004-08-13). Protect Your Children. AsianWeek. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
^ ^a ^b ABC's Politically Incorrect Tackles Comedian's 'Chink' Joke. AsianWeek (2000-08-24). Retrieved on 2007-03-22.
^ Pop Stop. Taipei Times (2006-01-13). Retrieved on 2007-03-22.
^ label it... chink. gURL. Retrieved on 2007-03-22.
^ Kate's Chink-O-Rama. Kate Rigg (2003). Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
^ Rigg, Kate (2003). Chink-O-Rama: Bio: David Jung aka MC Chink Daddy aka C. Diddy. Retrieved on 2007-04-04.
^ Fang, Jennifer, James Fujikawa (2005-02-16). "Tsunami Song" Host Miss Jones Returns. Yellowworld.org. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
^ The OCA approves Chink's Steaks resolution. Organization of Chinese Americans - Greater Philadelphia Chapter (January 2004). Retrieved on 2007-03-22.
^ Only 21, she's leading steak-shop fight. The Asian American Journalists Association - Philadelphia (2004-04-01). Retrieved on 2007-03-22.
^ Banerjee, Neela (2001-02-16). Hate Crimes Galvanize U.C. Davis Students. Asianweek.com. Retrieved on 2007-04-03.
^ Chinese 'slur' wins apology. BBC News (June 29, 1999). Retrieved on 2007-04-06.

Categories: Anti-Chinese sentiment | Asian American issues | Ethnic slurs Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 1st 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 in the 21st century. ... is the 201st day of the year (202nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1994 (MCMXCIV) The year 1994 was designated as the International Year of the Family and the International Year of the Sport and the Olympic Ideal by the United Nations. ... is the 1st 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 in the 21st century. ... is the 81st day of the year (82nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 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Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 14th 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 in the 21st century. ... is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 236th day of the year (237th in leap years) 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 in the 21st century. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 225th day of the year (226th in leap years) 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 in the 21st century. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2000 (MM) was a leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full 2000 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 236th day of the year (237th in leap years) 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 in the 21st century. ... is the 81st day of the year (82nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 13 is the 13th 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 in the 21st century. ... is the 81st day of the year (82nd in leap years) 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 in the 21st century. ... is the 81st day of the year (82nd in leap years) 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 in the 21st century. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) 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 in the 21st century. ... is the 94th day of the year (95th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 47th 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 in the 21st century. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) 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 in the 21st century. ... is the 81st day of the year (82nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) 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 in the 21st century. ... is the 81st day of the year (82nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2001 (MMI) was a common year starting on Monday (link displays the 2001 Gregorian calendar). ... is the 47th 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 in the 21st century. ... is the 93rd day of the year (94th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 180th day of the year (181st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... Year 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the AD/CE era in the 21st century. ... is the 96th day of the year (97th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

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