A Boxer Rebellion pamphlet, circa 1899, that refers to foreigners as guizi (鬼子) or yang guizi (洋鬼子).
New Party Anti-Japanese demonstrators in Taiwan hoist signs with "Guizi! Get out" (鬼子! 快滾) following an escalation in the Senkaku Islands dispute in 2012".[1]

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]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "台湾民间团体发起保钓游行". Voice of America. September 23, 2012. Retrieved 2012-09-28.
  2. 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
  3. Bonnet, Robert (2019-04-02). Inspiration. Page Publishing Inc. ISBN 9781644241103.
  4. 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.
  5. "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.
  6. 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
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