Sick man of Asia: Difference between revisions
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The phrase originated as a parallel to the "[[sick man of Europe]]", referring to the weakening [[Ottoman Empire]] and later to the Austrian-Hungarian Habsburg Empire during the same period. After World War l the phrase was applied to various European countries including France, Italy, the UK, and Germany<ref>{{cite book| title = China and the international system, 1840-1949: power, presence, and perceptions in a century of humiliation| first = David | last = Scott| publisher = [[State University of New York Press]] | year = 2008 | page = 9| isbn = 978-0-7914-7627-7}}</ref> |
The phrase originated as a parallel to the "[[sick man of Europe]]", referring to the weakening [[Ottoman Empire]] and later to the Austrian-Hungarian Habsburg Empire during the same period. After World War l the phrase was applied to various European countries including France, Italy, the UK, and Germany<ref>{{cite book| title = China and the international system, 1840-1949: power, presence, and perceptions in a century of humiliation| first = David | last = Scott| publisher = [[State University of New York Press]] | year = 2008 | page = 9| isbn = 978-0-7914-7627-7}}</ref> |
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According to [[Duke University]] Professor [https://history.duke.edu/people/nicole-elizabeth-barnes Nicole Barnes] in one of her books, the frequent use of the phrase "Sick man of East Asia" in media in the 19th century, when racism was common, “Initially applied to the Manchu Court” quickly turned it into a "universal epithet for all Chinese." “Sick Woman of East Asia”, she goes on, “therefore most accurately” described the Chinese male elites’ view of “the home as a source of national pathology rather than of national health”. Barnes label of "sick" refers to Chinese society or culture, not |
According to [[Duke University]] Professor [https://history.duke.edu/people/nicole-elizabeth-barnes Nicole Barnes] in one of her books, the frequent use of the phrase "Sick man of East Asia" in media in the 19th century, when racism was common, “Initially applied to the Manchu Court” quickly turned it into a "universal epithet for all Chinese." “Sick Woman of East Asia”, she goes on, “therefore most accurately” described the Chinese male elites’ view of “the home as a source of national pathology rather than of national health”. Barnes' label of "sick" refers to Chinese society or culture, not a physical "race".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Barnes|first=Nicole Elizabeth|url=https://books.google.com.hk/books?id=tatvDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA14&dq=sick+man+of+east+asia&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjg7KfI4N3nAhUBH3AKHXdSD5oQ6AEIMTAB#v=onepage&q=sick%20man%20of%20east%20asia&f=false|title=Intimate Communities: Wartime Healthcare and the Birth of Modern China, 1937-1945|date=2018-10-09|publisher=Univ of California Press|year=|isbn=978-0-520-30046-0|location=|pages=14,15|language=en}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=February 2020|talk="universal epithet for all Chinese."?}} |
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One of the most prominent 20th-century uses of the phrase was in the 1972 Hong Kong film [[Fist of Fury]] (starring Bruce Lee and also alternatively released as The Chinese Connection), widely released across Asia including China and Japan, and globally grossing $17 million. A contemporary review by John Gillett in the "Monthly Film Bulletin" found the story "extremely naive" and the "anti-Japanese bias is more rather more pronounced". The film's 1910s fight scenes between rival Shanghai "baddie" Japanese and "goodie" Chinese martial arts schools are laughably racist stereotypes. They are sparked by the insulting use of the phrase in a calligraphic form explained by the Japanese stereotyped villain as "just that the Chinese are a race of weaklings, no comparison to us Japanese". Though the film takes place during the new Republic, to the Chinese audience this is presumably intended as a metaphor for earlier Japanese occupations.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9oxl_MqERE |accessdate=Feb 19, 2020|title= Clip of Fists of Fury insult scene}}</ref> |
One of the most prominent 20th-century uses of the phrase was in the 1972 Hong Kong film [[Fist of Fury]] (starring Bruce Lee and also alternatively released as The Chinese Connection), widely released across Asia including China and Japan, and globally grossing $17 million. A contemporary review by John Gillett in the "Monthly Film Bulletin" found the story "extremely naive" and the "anti-Japanese bias is more rather more pronounced". The film's 1910s fight scenes between rival Shanghai "baddie" Japanese and "goodie" Chinese martial arts schools are laughably racist stereotypes. They are sparked by the insulting use of the phrase in a calligraphic form explained by the Japanese stereotyped villain as "just that the Chinese are a race of weaklings, no comparison to us Japanese". Though the film takes place during the new Republic, to the Chinese audience this is presumably intended as a metaphor for earlier Japanese occupations.<ref>{{cite web|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9oxl_MqERE |accessdate=Feb 19, 2020|title= Clip of Fists of Fury insult scene}}</ref> |
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Revision as of 10:09, 20 February 2020
The phrase "sick man of Asia" or "sick man of East Asia" (Chinese: 東亞病夫; pinyin: Dōngyà bìngfū) originally referred to China in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when it was driven by internal divisions and taken advantage of by the great powers. British merchants were importing opium into China in order to trade for tea. Many people were addicted, possibly one source of the term “sick”. The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) Emperor was forced to sign a series of unequal treaties, culminating in the Japanese invasion of China from 1937 to 1945. The phrase may be considered derogatory as it implies a weakened nation, as it was first used for the declining Ottoman Empire. The Qing government was also undergoing economic distress, corruption and political disintegration at the time, thus a “sick” state or society.[1].
The phrase originated as a parallel to the "sick man of Europe", referring to the weakening Ottoman Empire and later to the Austrian-Hungarian Habsburg Empire during the same period. After World War l the phrase was applied to various European countries including France, Italy, the UK, and Germany[2]
According to Duke University Professor Nicole Barnes in one of her books, the frequent use of the phrase "Sick man of East Asia" in media in the 19th century, when racism was common, “Initially applied to the Manchu Court” quickly turned it into a "universal epithet for all Chinese." “Sick Woman of East Asia”, she goes on, “therefore most accurately” described the Chinese male elites’ view of “the home as a source of national pathology rather than of national health”. Barnes' label of "sick" refers to Chinese society or culture, not a physical "race".[3][failed verification – see discussion]
One of the most prominent 20th-century uses of the phrase was in the 1972 Hong Kong film Fist of Fury (starring Bruce Lee and also alternatively released as The Chinese Connection), widely released across Asia including China and Japan, and globally grossing $17 million. A contemporary review by John Gillett in the "Monthly Film Bulletin" found the story "extremely naive" and the "anti-Japanese bias is more rather more pronounced". The film's 1910s fight scenes between rival Shanghai "baddie" Japanese and "goodie" Chinese martial arts schools are laughably racist stereotypes. They are sparked by the insulting use of the phrase in a calligraphic form explained by the Japanese stereotyped villain as "just that the Chinese are a race of weaklings, no comparison to us Japanese". Though the film takes place during the new Republic, to the Chinese audience this is presumably intended as a metaphor for earlier Japanese occupations.[4]
But like the "sick man of Europe" term, it has also been used to refer to other Asian countries in the 21st century.
For example, in an article entitled "The Sick Man of Asia" Michael Auslin refers to Japan, not China (writing in "Foreign Affairs", 3 April 2009).
And in a 9 March 2018 article in "Consult-Myanmar" entitled "Myanmar No Longer the "sick man" of ASEAN - the Honour Goes To..." both Myanmar and Thailand are called the "sick man of ASEAN".
In another example, in 2014 at the Euromoney Philippines Investment Forum 2014, President Benigno Aquino III of the Philippines publicly defended his country from being labelled as the new "sick man of Asia", citing a Japan External Trade Organization survey that showed "the Philippines as the second most profitable among ASEAN-5 countries, next to Thailand."[5] Reasons for the perceptions Aquino was refuting include its unequal prosperity and massive poverty, since from 2000 to 2006 its nominal income grew by 37% while its Gini coefficient only fell by 5%.[6] Another cause for the "Sick Man" label includes massive Filipino political corruption scandals such as the Priority Development Assistance Fund scam.
In 2020, an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal regarding the COVID-19 epidemic was entitled, "China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia".[7] The article has incited anger from some Chinese people and the Chinese Government[8], which shows a disparity in the understanding of "sick man of Asia" between modern Chinese and Westerners. Many modern Westerners seem to believe that this term is only the critical description of some government, and to infer racism is an incorrect overreaction. But despite the term's 21st century references to the governments of other countries, many modern Chinese seem to believe it is also an unacceptable derogatory reference to Chinese people as a race.[9]
See also
References
- ^ Stevenson, Alexandra (2020-02-19). "China Expels 3 Wall Street Journal Reporters as Media Relations Sour". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-02-19.
- ^ Scott, David (2008). China and the international system, 1840-1949: power, presence, and perceptions in a century of humiliation. State University of New York Press. p. 9. ISBN 978-0-7914-7627-7.
- ^ Barnes, Nicole Elizabeth (2018-10-09). Intimate Communities: Wartime Healthcare and the Birth of Modern China, 1937-1945. Univ of California Press. pp. 14, 15. ISBN 978-0-520-30046-0.
- ^ "Clip of Fists of Fury insult scene". Retrieved Feb 19, 2020.
- ^ Lopez, Ron (Feb 18, 2014). "Aquino: Philippines 'Sick Man of Asia' no more". Manila Bulletin. Retrieved 19 June 2014.
- ^ NSO. Philippines in Figures 2010. Philippines: Republic of the Philippines National Statistics Office. 2010.
- ^ "China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia". Feb 3, 2020. Retrieved Feb 8, 2020.
- ^ Feng, Emily; Neuman, Scott (19 February 2020). "China Expels 3 'Wall Street Journal' Reporters, Citing 'Racist' Headline". NPR.org. NPR. Retrieved 19 February 2020.
- ^ "Westerners Never Called Chinese 'Sick Men of Asia', Reactions". Feb 3, 2020. Retrieved Feb 8, 2020.
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