Ching Chong
For the Hong Kong journalist for the Straits Times jailed in the People's Republic of China for espionage, see Ching Cheong. Ching Chong is an
ethnic slur directed at people of
Chinese nationality or ancestry. It is most frequently encountered in the
United States,
Canada,
New Zealand and
Australia
The origin of the phrase is not known with certainty. However, since syllables sounding like what an English speaker would pronounce as "ching" or "chong" are relatively common in
Cantonese, the expression is likely an attempt to mock Chinese speech patterns.
One possible origin of the word is that of a bastardization of the Chinese Noun
Chin Chow, (清朝) which literally translates as "Ching Dynasty." The prevalant usage of this insult began during the gold-rush eras of 18th Century in
Ballarat,
Australia, when the Chinese gold-prospectors were of Ching Dynasty origin.
Sometimes "ching chong" is combined with "
Chinaman;" the combination is often used in nursery-style rhymes, such as:
Ching Chong Chinaman sitting on a fence
Trying to make a dollar out of fifteen cents.
Along came a choo-choo train,
Knocked him in the cuckoo-brain,
And that was the end of the fifteen cents.
However, while usually intended for ethnic Chinese, it has also been directed at other East Asians. The difficulty in distinguishing Chinese from other East Asians, and preconceptions that East Asians are
Chinese add to this non-Chinese usage.[
citation needed] For example, Mary Paik Lee, a Korean immigrant 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, Chinaman,
Sitting on a wall.
Along came a white man,
And chopped his head off.
[1]
In
1917, a
ragtime piano song entitled "Ching Chong" was co-written by
Ted Baxter and Max Kortlander. Its lyrics are as follows:
Way out in old San Fran, there is a Chinaman
Who's known for miles around;
Wonderful place he keeps, down where he eats and sleeps,
Way underneath the ground!
Each night the festive chinks come there to wink and blink,
And dream away the hours.
They sing this funny song while they are borne along
On beds of poppy flow'rs:
"Ching, Chong, Oh Mister Ching Chong,
You are the king of Chinatown.
Ching Chong, I love your sing-song,
When you have turned the lights all down;
Ching Chong, just let me swing long,
Through the realms of Drowsy Land;
Dreaming while stars are beaming,
Oh Mister Ching Chong, sing-song man."
When you're in Frisco Town don't fail to drop around
And see this Ching Chong man.
Wonderful things you'll learn down where the torches burn,
He'll show you all he can.
Then when the time is ripe he'll fill your little pipe
And then a light he'll bring.
Gently you'll float away far out on Slumber Bay,
And softly you will sing:
"Ching Chong, Oh Mister Ching Chong,
You are the king of Chinatown.
Ching Chong, I love your sing-song,
When you have turned the lights all down;
Ching Chong, just let me swing long,
Through the realms of Drowsy Land;
Dreaming while stars are beaming,
Oh Mister Ching Chong, sing-song man."
Contemporary usage
In
December 2002, the term gained international notoriety when
National Basketball Association star
Shaquille O'Neal directed it, apparently in jest, at fellow NBA star and Chinese immigrant
Yao Ming, during an interview on Fox Sports Radio. O'Neal was quoted as saying, "You tell Yao Ming, 'Ching-chong-yang-wah-ah-soh.'" Yao Ming took the high road with his response: "Chinese is a hard language to learn." After a public outcry, O'Neal apologized for making the comment, insisting that no prejudice or malice had been intended.
On
January 24,
2006,
comedian Adam Carolla referred to the Asian Excellence Awards as a joke on his radio morning show and
repeatedly used the sounds "ching-chong" to recreate a segment of the awards. The awards honor Asian Americans in media who have made a difference in the United States and were conducted in English. Branding the segment as demeaning and racist, several Asian American organizations have threatened to ask advertisers to withdraw their support from the show if the station does not issue an apology.
[1] [2] On
February 22, 2006, Carolla without fanfare
read a brief apology for the segment. On
April 26, 2006, Carolla invited the head of the Media Action Network for Asian Americans, Guy Aoki,
to further explain that when he aired the bit, he had no idea that "ching chong" was a racial slur.
[3]
The phrase
ching chong is also
Thai slang for
urinate, equivalent to the American English phrase "take a piss".
See also
References
- ^ Lee, Mary Paik (1990). Sucheng Chan Quiet Odyssey: A Pioneer Korean Woman in America. Seattle: University of Washington Press, p. 16 - 17.
External links
- "Group wants sincere apology, diversity in NBA", ESPN.com, January 17, 2002.
- "Shaq's Apology Not Good Enough", The San Francisco Gate, January 14, 2002.
- "Shaq says mock accent was used jokingly", ESPN.com, January 10, 2002.
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