Guizi (Chinese: 鬼子; pinyin: guǐzi) is a pejorative Chinese slang term for foreigners. It has had a history of containing xenophobic connotations.[2]
History
Starting with the arrival of European sailors in the sixteenth century, foreigners were often perceived in China as "uncivilized tribes given to mayhem and destruction".[3][4] Within the southern parts of China, the term gweilo (鬼佬) was used and remains popular today, especially in the Cantonese speaking region of Hong Kong. In northern parts, the term "Occidental devil" (西洋鬼子 xiyáng guǐzi) was used, with Europe being West of China.[4]
Usage
The term gui (鬼) in guizi (鬼子) is an adjective that can be used to express hate and deprecation, an example being the local's expression of their hatred towards the Japanese during their occupation of China in World War II with the same gui (鬼). It conveys a general bad and negative feeling and is a somewhat obsolete and archaic/old-fashioned term nowadays; other more modern terms have largely replaced gui (鬼) for similarly negative meanings.
The character gui (鬼) itself can have negative connotations, even without the word zi (子). For example, when it was attached to the Westerners in the term yang guizi (洋鬼子; lit. "overseas devils") during the Boxer Rebellion, to the Japanese military in the term guizi bing (鬼子兵; lit. "devil soldiers") during the Second Sino-Japanese War, and to the Korean collaborators with the term er guizi (二鬼子; lit. "second-rank devil"). However, the same term can also be applied derogatorily to any foreign military which was an enemy to China. In Taiwan, anti-Japanese demonstrators from the New Party hoisted signs with "Guizi! Get out" (鬼子! 快滾) during the 2012 China anti-Japanese demonstrations.[1]
Related terms
- Riben guizi (Chinese: 日本鬼子; pinyin: Rìběn guǐzi; lit. 'Japanese devil') or dongyang guizi (Chinese: 東洋鬼子; pinyin: dōngyáng guǐzi; lit. 'east ocean devil') — used to refer to Japanese. In 2010 Japanese internet users on 2channel created the fictional moe character Hinomoto Oniko (日本鬼子) which refers to the ethnic term, with Hinomoto Oniko being the Japanese kun'yomi reading of the Han characters "日本鬼子".[5]
- Er guizi (Chinese: 二鬼子; pinyin: èr guǐzi; lit. 'second-rank devil') — used to refer to ethnic Korean conscripts and parapoliceman who contributed to the Japanese occupation and war effort during the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Pacific War.[6] It was later extended to refer to all collaborators with the Japanese, including hanjians and Taiwanese conscripts. In modern times, however, the terms become somewhat synonymous with race traitor, referring to any Chinese nationals and foreign-born ethnic Chinese who act as appeasers or promoters of foreign interests at the expense of Chinese national interests.
- Yang guizi (Chinese: 洋鬼子; pinyin: yáng guǐzi; lit. 'Western/overseas devil') or xiyang guizi (Chinese: 西洋鬼子; pinyin: xiyáng guǐzi; lit. 'west ocean devil') — used to refer to Westerners.
- Jia yang guizi (Chinese: 假洋鬼子; pinyin: jiǎ yáng guǐzi; lit. 'fake Western/overseas devil') — used to refer to "sellout" Chinese who adopt and worship Western values and are shameful/discriminatory to his own ethnic identity and cultural heritage. Initially used to describe compradors and foreign-educated scholars during the late 19th century, who often dressed and talked like Westerners, the term is now synonymous to race traitors. A similar word in English is "Uncle Chan", which is derived from Uncle Tom and used to describe a xenophilic Hongkonger (and by further extension any westernized Chinese, regardless of mainland or overseas origin) who are perceived as loathing Chinese identity, supporting Hong Kong independence and pandering to sinophobia in order to gain favor from Westerners.
See also
- Ang mo
- Gaijin, a Japanese word for foreigners
- Jap
- The Sword March, the National Revolutionary Army marching cadence which popularized its use against the Japanese
- Xiao Riben
References
- 1 2 "台湾民间团体发起保钓游行". Voice of America. September 23, 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-28.
- ↑ Chee, Harold; West, Chris (2007), Chee, Harold; West, Chris (eds.), "The Chinese are irrationally xenophobic", Myths about doing business in China, Palgrave Macmillan UK, pp. 75–84, doi:10.1057/9780230286771_7, ISBN 9780230286771
- ↑ Bonnet, Robert (2019-04-02). Inspiration. Page Publishing Inc. ISBN 9781644241103.
- 1 2 Lafayette De Mente, Boyé (2000). The Chinese Have a Word for It: The Complete Guide to Chinese Thought and Culture. McGraw-Hill. p. 145. ISBN 978-0-658-01078-1.
- ↑ "萌系日本鬼子 反攻中國". Liberty Times. November 1, 2010. Archived from the original on November 3, 2010. Retrieved 2012-09-29.
- ↑ 第一滴血──從日方史料還原平型關之戰日軍損失 (6) News of the Communist Party of China December 16, 2011