Ching Chong
Encyclopedia
Ching chong is a pejorative
term sometimes employed by speakers of the English language to mock people of Chinese ancestry
, or other Asians who may look Chinese.
Several public commentators have characterized the term as derogatory while noting that assaults or physical intimidation of Asians are often accompanied by racial slurs or imitation Chinese.
, when the Chinese gold prospectors
were of Ch'ing (which is in Wade-Giles
romanization, Chinese character: 清, also spelled "Qing
" in Pinyin
romanization) Dynasty origin.
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:
A variation of this rhyme is repeated by a young boy in John Steinbeck's novel Cannery Row
in mockery of a Chinese man. In this version, "wall" is replaced with "rail", and the phrase "chopped his tail off" is changed to "chopped off his tail".
In 1917, a ragtime
piano song entitled "Ching Chong" was co-written by Lee S. Roberts and J. Will Callahan. Its lyrics contained the following words:
is a modern British slang term for a Chinese restaurant or take-away, and the actual food.
star Shaquille O'Neal
received media flak for saying "Tell [NBA center
] Yao Ming
, 'Ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh" during an interview on Fox Sports Net
. O'Neal later said it was locker-room humor and he meant no offense. Yao believed that O'Neal was joking, but he said a lot of Asians would not see the humor. Yao joked, "Chinese is hard to learn. I had trouble with it when I was little." O'Neal added, "I mean, if I was the first one to do it, and the only one to do it, I could see what they're talking about. But if I offended anybody, I apologize."
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. 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 did not issue an apology. On February 22, 2006, Carolla read a brief apology for the segment. On April 26, 2006, Carolla had the head of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans, Guy Aoki
on his show. Aoki opined that "ching chong" is the equivalent to the "N-word".
In November 2006, Bryn Mawr College
canceled 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. After further protests at New York University
the band agreed to change its name to Church of Lurch. They have since decided to retain the name Ching Chong Song and the band performs regularly without incident.
On December 5, 2006, comedian
on The View, co-host Rosie O'Donnell
used a series of ching chongs to imitate newscasters in China. O'Donnell made a comment in reference to people in China talking about Danny DeVito
's drunken appearance on the show, "You know, you can imagine in China it's like, 'Ching-chong, ching-chong. Danny DeVito. Ching-chong, ching-chong-chong. Drunk. The View. Ching-chong.'" The Asian American Journalists Association
said her comments were "a mockery of the Chinese language and, in effect, a perpetuation of stereotypes of Asian Americans as foreigners or second-class citizen
s ... and gives the impression that they are a group that is substandard to English-speaking people" On December 14 on The View, O'Donnell said she was unaware that ching chong was an offensive way to make fun of Asian accents, and she was told it was on par with the "N-word". She apologized to "those people who felt hurt".
In 2010, the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre
was forced to release a statement explaining their decision to produce a play by Lauren Yee
titled Ching Chong Chinaman. Artistic Producing Director Tisa Chang explained the controversy as follows:
On January 19, 2011, conservative political commentator Rush Limbaugh
mocked Chinese president Hu Jintao
during his visit to the White House
on his radio show. "Hu Jintao -- He was speaking and they weren’t translating. They normally translate every couple of words. Hu Jintao was just going ching chong, ching chong cha," said Limbaugh, who imitated Hu's speech for seventeen seconds. Representative Judy Chu
of California
said that Limbaugh's words were the same ones that Chinese Americans have heard in the past 150 years as they faced racial discrimination while "they were called racial slurs, were spat upon in the streets, derided in the halls of Congress and even brutally murdered." New York
Assemblywoman Grace Meng
and California State Senator Leland Yee
also criticized Limbaugh for his remarks.
Pejorative
Pejoratives , including name slurs, are words or grammatical forms that connote negativity and express contempt or distaste. A term can be regarded as pejorative in some social groups but not in others, e.g., hacker is a term used for computer criminals as well as quick and clever computer experts...
term sometimes employed by speakers of the English language to mock people of Chinese ancestry
Chinese people
The term Chinese people may refer to any of the following:*People with Han Chinese ethnicity ....
, or other Asians who may look Chinese.
Several public commentators have characterized the term as derogatory while noting that assaults or physical intimidation of Asians are often accompanied by racial slurs or imitation Chinese.
Historical usage
The prevalent usage of this phrase began as an insult during the gold-rush eras of the 19th century in Ballarat, AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, when the Chinese gold prospectors
Gold rush
A gold rush is a period of feverish migration of workers to an area that has had a dramatic discovery of gold. Major gold rushes took place in the 19th century in Australia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, and the United States, while smaller gold rushes took place elsewhere.In the 19th and early...
were of Ch'ing (which is in Wade-Giles
Wade-Giles
Wade–Giles , sometimes abbreviated Wade, is a romanization system for the Mandarin Chinese language. It developed from a system produced by Thomas Wade during the mid-19th century , and was given completed form with Herbert Giles' Chinese–English dictionary of 1892.Wade–Giles was the most...
romanization, Chinese character: 清, also spelled "Qing
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
" in Pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
romanization) Dynasty origin.
While usually intended for ethnic Chinese, the slur has also been directed at other East Asians. Mary Paik Lee
Mary Paik Lee
Mary Paik Lee was a Korean American writer. She was born Paik Kuang-Sun in Pyongyang, now the capital of North Korea. She left Korea with her family in 1905, arriving in Hawaii in May that year. In December 1906, after experiencing extreme discrimination in Hawaii, the family moved to California,...
, 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, ChinamanChinamanChinaman is a contentious term referring to a Chinese person* whether of Han Chinese ethnicity* or a citizen of China, Chinese people.Or the term may also refer to:* A colloquial term for a square hay baler overhead feeding plunger...
,
Sitting on a wall.
Along came a white man,
And chopped his tailQueue (hairstyle)The queue or cue is a hairstyle in which the hair is worn long and gathered up into a ponytail. It was worn traditionally by certain Native American groups and the Manchu of Manchuria.-Manchu Queue:...
off.
A variation of this rhyme is repeated by a young boy in John Steinbeck's novel Cannery Row
Cannery Row
Cannery Row is the waterfront street in the New Monterey section of Monterey, California. It is the site of a number of now-defunct sardine canning factories. The last cannery closed in 1973...
in mockery of a Chinese man. In this version, "wall" is replaced with "rail", and the phrase "chopped his tail off" is changed to "chopped off his tail".
In 1917, a ragtime
Ragtime
Ragtime is an original musical genre which enjoyed its peak popularity between 1897 and 1918. Its main characteristic trait is its syncopated, or "ragged," rhythm. It began as dance music in the red-light districts of American cities such as St. Louis and New Orleans years before being published...
piano song entitled "Ching Chong" was co-written by Lee S. Roberts and J. Will Callahan. Its lyrics contained the following words:
"Ching, Chong, Oh Mister Ching Chong,
You are the king of ChinatownChinatownA Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
.
Ching Chong, I love your sing-song,
When you have turned the lights all down."
Alternates
ChinkyChinky
In the United Kingdom, a chinky is a slang name for a Chinese takeaway restaurant or the meal that one buys from such a restaurant. The name "chinky" is the adjectival form of chink and, like chink, is an ethnic slur for Chinese and other Asian people...
is a modern British slang term for a Chinese restaurant or take-away, and the actual food.
Modern usage
In December 2002, NBANational Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association is the pre-eminent men's professional basketball league in North America. It consists of thirty franchised member clubs, of which twenty-nine are located in the United States and one in Canada...
star Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...
received media flak for saying "Tell [NBA center
Center (basketball)
The center, colloquially known as the five or the post, is one of the standard positions in a regulation basketball game. The center is normally the tallest player on the team, and often has a great deal of strength and body mass as well...
] Yao Ming
Yao Ming
Yao Ming is a retired Chinese professional basketball player who last played for the Houston Rockets of the National Basketball Association...
, 'Ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh" during an interview on Fox Sports Net
Fox Sports Net
The Fox Sports Regional Networks, or simply Fox Sports Net , are a collection of cable TV regional sports networks in the United States owned and operated by News Corporation.- Beginnings :...
. O'Neal later said it was locker-room humor and he meant no offense. Yao believed that O'Neal was joking, but he said a lot of Asians would not see the humor. Yao joked, "Chinese is hard to learn. I had trouble with it when I was little." O'Neal added, "I mean, if I was the first one to do it, and the only one to do it, I could see what they're talking about. But if I offended anybody, I apologize."
On January 24, 2006, comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
Dave Dameshek
Dave Dameshek
Dr. William "Funny" David Dameshek is an American television writer and radio personality. Dameshek is currently a football analyst and writer for NFL.com, appearing on NFL Fantasy Live and hosting the Dave Dameshek Football Podcast.- Early life :Dameshek received his undergraduate degree in...
created an audio parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
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. 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 did not issue an apology. On February 22, 2006, Carolla read a brief apology for the segment. On April 26, 2006, Carolla had the head of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans, Guy Aoki
Guy Aoki
Guy Aoki is the head and co-founder of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans. He is also a contributing columnist for the Rafu Shimpo, and debates publicly on Asian American issues.-Sarah Silverman Controversy:...
on his show. Aoki opined that "ching chong" is the equivalent to the "N-word".
In November 2006, Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College
Bryn Mawr College is a women's liberal arts college located in Bryn Mawr, a community in Lower Merion Township, Pennsylvania, ten miles west of Philadelphia. The name "Bryn Mawr" means "big hill" in Welsh....
canceled a performance by the independent band Ching Chong Song
Ching Chong Song
Ching Chong Song are Dan Gower and Julie LaMendola, a vocal duo rooted in New York City's Anti-folk scene. Gower typically plays piano, while LaMendola plays singing saw. Their music is often experimental and off-kilter in nature, shifting from humorous to dark, serious, or thoughtful in tone,...
, both of whose members are white, after protests from various campus groups, including the Asian Students Association. After further protests at New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
the band agreed to change its name to Church of Lurch. They have since decided to retain the name Ching Chong Song and the band performs regularly without incident.
On December 5, 2006, comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
on The View, co-host Rosie O'Donnell
Rosie O'Donnell
Roseann "Rosie" O'Donnell is an American stand-up comedian, actress, author and television personality. She has also been a magazine editor and continues to be a celebrity blogger, LGBT rights activist, television producer and collaborative partner in the LGBT family vacation company R Family...
used a series of ching chongs to imitate newscasters in China. O'Donnell made a comment in reference to people in China talking about Danny DeVito
Danny DeVito
Daniel Michael DeVito, Jr. , better known as Danny DeVito, is an American actor, comedian, director and producer. He first gained prominence for his portrayal of Louie De Palma on the ABC and NBC television series Taxi , for which he won a Golden Globe and an Emmy.DeVito and his wife, Rhea Perlman,...
's drunken appearance on the show, "You know, you can imagine in China it's like, 'Ching-chong, ching-chong. Danny DeVito. Ching-chong, ching-chong-chong. Drunk. The View. Ching-chong.'" The Asian American Journalists Association
Asian American Journalists Association
The Asian American Journalists Association was founded in 1981 by several Asian American journalists who felt a need to support greater participation by Asian Americans in the news media.Its goals are:...
said her comments were "a mockery of the Chinese language and, in effect, a perpetuation of stereotypes of Asian Americans as foreigners or second-class citizen
Second-class citizen
Second-class citizen is an informal term used to describe a person who is systematically discriminated against within a state or other political jurisdiction, despite their nominal status as a citizen or legal resident there...
s ... and gives the impression that they are a group that is substandard to English-speaking people" On December 14 on The View, O'Donnell said she was unaware that ching chong was an offensive way to make fun of Asian accents, and she was told it was on par with the "N-word". She apologized to "those people who felt hurt".
In 2010, the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre
Pan Asian Repertory Theatre
Founded in 1977 and led by Artistic Producing director Tisa Chang, the Pan Asian Repertory Theatre is a New York based theatre group that explores the Asian American experience. Pan Asian Rep provides professional opportunities for Asian American artists to collaborate and create unique works...
was forced to release a statement explaining their decision to produce a play by Lauren Yee
Lauren Yee
Lauren Yee is an American actress, known for playing Summer Sommers in Disney's Really Short Report.-Filmography:* Little Miss Sunshine as pageant contestant...
titled Ching Chong Chinaman. Artistic Producing Director Tisa Chang explained the controversy as follows:
It has come to my attention that some in the community do not understand why Pan Asian is producing a play with the controversial title CHING CHONG CHINAMAN and how much emotional upset and consternation it is creating. This is my open letter to try to clarify this miscommunication.
CHING CHONG CHINAMAN takes its controversial title from the late 19th century pejorative jingle and uses irony and satire to reverse prejudicial attitudes towards Asians and other outsiders. This is a funny and surprising new perspective from a young writer tackling assumptions of stereotype which are not relegated to any one race and can be evidenced within our own.
On January 19, 2011, conservative political commentator Rush Limbaugh
Rush Limbaugh
Rush Hudson Limbaugh III is an American radio talk show host, conservative political commentator, and an opinion leader in American conservatism. He hosts The Rush Limbaugh Show which is aired throughout the U.S. on Premiere Radio Networks and is the highest-rated talk-radio program in the United...
mocked Chinese president Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao
Hu Jintao is the current Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China. He has held the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...
during his visit to the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
on his radio show. "Hu Jintao -- He was speaking and they weren’t translating. They normally translate every couple of words. Hu Jintao was just going ching chong, ching chong cha," said Limbaugh, who imitated Hu's speech for seventeen seconds. Representative Judy Chu
Judy Chu
Judy May Chu, Ph.D. is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2009. She is a member of the Democratic Party....
of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
said that Limbaugh's words were the same ones that Chinese Americans have heard in the past 150 years as they faced racial discrimination while "they were called racial slurs, were spat upon in the streets, derided in the halls of Congress and even brutally murdered." New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
Assemblywoman Grace Meng
Grace Meng
Grace Meng is a lawyer and a member of the New York State Assembly, representing the 22nd Assembly District in Flushing, Queens, New York.Meng was born and raised in Queens and is a graduate of Stuyvesant High School. She received a B.A. degree from the University of Michigan and a Juris Doctor...
and California State Senator Leland Yee
Leland Yee
Leland Yee is a California State Senator in District 8 which represents the western half of San Francisco and most of San Mateo County. Prior to becoming state senator, Yee was a California State Assemblyman, Supervisor of San Francisco's Sunset District, and was a member and President of the San...
also criticized Limbaugh for his remarks.
See also
- SinophobiaSinophobiaSinophobia or anti-Chinese sentiment is the fear of or dislike of China, its people, overseas Chinese, or Chinese Culture...
- List of ethnic slurs
- Asian riffAsian RiffThe Oriental riff, also known as the Asian riff or the Chinese riff, is a musical riff or phrase that has often been used as a trope or stereotype of orientalism in Western culture to represent the idea of the Orient, China, Japan or a generic East Asian theme by Western culture...