Racism in China

250 Responses to Racism in China

1. 

   xi on March 25, 2009 at 18:05

   @Josh 197
   Correct me if I’m wrong, I feel american is much less sensitive about people’s over-weight problem, if more sensitive than chinese do. My american colleague said to me all the time about why chinese are so slim while there’re so many fat people in US. Eddie Murphy’s movie also seems not very nice to overweights.
   at the end of the day we have to admit, that human kind are far from being perfect, that we’re too damn senstive to notice the differnce between “us” and “them”. And ignorance, prejudice, discrimination will follow us, maybe till the final judgement come. I also have some friends whom I sometimes make joke about their weight, and it never occur to me that I should stop making such not-nice remarks. In my opinion these things are just too minor,and I don’t want to deny it’s part of the instinct. But sometimes I also wonder aren’t any other worse discrimination or hatred,like Hitler hating Jewish people, derived from the same mind-set, from the emphasize of “difference”? Sorry I myself have no clue. and excuse me about my bad English, hope you can get me.
2. 

   wooddoo on March 25, 2009 at 18:07

   And nobody else is interested in the babies choosing lighter skinned dolls story given by Jay (143rd)?
3. 

   Josh on March 25, 2009 at 18:42

   @xi
   It’s true that we have movies like Eddie Murphy’s, though now that you mention it, I remember thinking about 10 years later that that movie was probably really offensive to people who are overweight. I suppose in that regard America is not so sensitive about it, but what I meant is that it’s really impolite in most American situations to call someone fat — even among friends. I ran into this exact situation with my girlfriend after she was on the phone and referred to one of her friends as “tou.” I asked why she calls her friend that and she said it’s because her friend is fat. (I guess maybe 葱头, that’s the only comparison I could think of) I told her that I understand that among friends, in China, that’s ok, but that if she should ever travel to America, she shouldn’t comment on people’s bodies in a negative way. I suppose, though, that if my thinking is any sort of representation of Americans in general, that me thinking that the Nutty Professor was hilarious when I first saw it to possibly offensive about 10 years later may be an example of the progression of American PC culture. However, I also think that many people in America probably think that if someone is that fat that it’s almost always their own fault.
4. Linda on March 25, 2009 at 18:59

   @196 Josh:

   Your answer was not convincing at all unfortunately!
   “Apparently, at first glance, it looks like a play on the chimpanzee that was shot in the zoo earlier this year. But the caption makes it confusing, which is why Sharpton isn’t staging a political rally over it.”

   This is what Al Sharpton said: “Being that the stimulus bill has been the first legislative victory of President Barack Obama … and has become synonymous with him, it is not a reach to wonder: are they inferring that a monkey wrote the last bill?” And so obviously that is what the cartoon implied. Maybe it is only you can’t understand the caption!

   Apparently also you didn’t finish reading the story.
   Did you see how New York Post responded back to Al Sharpton?
   “It broadly mocks Washington’s efforts to revive the economy. ”
   That was it! I can’t think of any other person who doesn’t understand what this means, though it was put in a very smart way.

   Lastly, Col Allen’s response made me think that maybe C Custer is doing the same thing here — publicity opportunist. Ha ha, I never thought that way.
   These two Chinese blogs are well-known in China.
5. 

   C. Custer on March 25, 2009 at 19:46

   @ Linda. This is hardly a publicity stunt, and I rather resent the implication. Yes, these two blogs are well-known in China, given that, I didn’t expect them to even noticed I’d linked to them (I imagine they get hundreds of trackbacks a day), let alone bother to respond to an English-language post.

   I’m not really sure what you think I get out of this “publicity” anyway. Did I do it for the pleasure of seeing my name dragged through the mud in front of thousands of Chinese readers who will never bother to come to this site and even read my side of the story? Did I do it for the massive revenue intake from this site’s one Google ad, which, at last count, has netted us a whopping $0.70? Maybe I did it for the pleasure of seeing commenters who’ve never met me or have any idea who I am accuse me of exploiting racial tensions for a publicity stunt!
6. 李 on March 25, 2009 at 19:50

   致wooddoo：

   很多人的评论已经把这一简单的判断题目拉扯到了复杂的民族情绪当中，这并非是我的帖子刻意想去做到的，恰恰是我的帖子试图指出的问题。
   我和您的分歧在于，您认为我描述的是一小撮中国人，即所谓的“愤青”；而我实际并不针对愤青，我针对的是无知，不管这种无知表现的是愤怒的，还是天真，天真的无知一样是致命的。很可惜，我见到的中国人的帖子多有天真和无知的看法。所以我用第二个帖子做进一步的批评。
   某种程度上，我认为您也有些天真——假设您认为当一个人对错误没有认识而犯下错误，他的错误就可以被宽宥的话。
7. 

   Xi on March 25, 2009 at 20:12

   @Peteryang 198
   In U.S there’s also controversial about the Affirmative Action, which I think in some ways are similar to the minority policy of china.Sorry I have little knowlege about it so have little to say about the issue you raise. But I personally believe the government’s policy to protect, or like you said, over-protect the minority might not be a good choice, as it emphasize the difference, or even weak position of the group compare with the majority.It’s just my own thoughts, so anybody have better thoughts please enlighten me on this issue.
   @Josh
   I totally agree that calling someone fat is kind of insult, but it’s also the most minor kind of discrimination which we might not need to overstate it. Like I said it’s people’s instinct to notice “difference”, therefore you can never root-out such thing from people’s daily lives, even in U.S. But I do admit people should bear in mind about respect, a joke is funny only when both of you’re laughing. But I think that’s not the case for your girlfriend, as she and her friends(close friend maybe?) might make such joke all the time, as friend can accept such joke. ( All of us have something to be laughed about, aren’t we) And I believe she would never make such remark about any stranger. So let me put it this way, what can be seen as ok between friends is ok in both china and U.S, while what can be seen as not ok, e.g openly remark about people’s weight is not ok anywhere.
   And I think we’re off the topic a little bit. The real bad discrimination, or racism, is the ignorance, or prejudice against a group as a whole, instead of a individule.
8. 

   wooddoo on March 25, 2009 at 20:13

   To 李: No, I never said innocent ignorance is guilty-free. But just as manslaugher and murder are hugely different, intention plays a crucial part. And some Chinese bloggers are furious precisely because they believe the foreigners here are accusing them of intentionally being racists.

   And you need to be aware who did the wrong thing. The picture wasn’t created by the bloggers here. In fact, some here pointed out that perhaps some Chinese blogger found that picture and added the river crab wearing watches. If it was indeed created by someone in say Korea then most of the racist charges here should be at least partially redirected.

   Custer admitted that he shouldn’t have used racism in the title and perhaps racial insensitivity would’ve been more appropriate because racism is such a serious offense. Yes, some of the Chinese bloggers overreacted or were abusive or whatever, but some foreigners here are not without blame either for wrongly accusing the Chinese of intentional racism when they didn’t know in China we had a different definition of that word. But I guess what set me off is your 100% compliance with one side and that’s just not constructive.
9. 

   Hemulen on March 25, 2009 at 21:04

   @李

   You are a rare voice of reflective thought in this shouting match.
10. Linda on March 25, 2009 at 22:30

    @C. Custer:

    Well, I just borrowed Col Allen’s line, plus I added “maybe”.
    In addition, I didn’t know what your profession was.
    A politician or a journalist would do anything to increase their publicity.
    We have seen these a lot before in our lives.

    You see, you reacted with “resent”.
    Now you get a chance to put your feet in a Chinese shoes.
    How would you feel being put on a label by someone who jumped into assumption simply based on limited information?

    The best way to learn is through your own experience.
    I guess this is what I really want to see out of this whole incident or whatever you would like to call it.

    Still, no hard feelings, enjoy your stay here in China.
11. 

    C. Custer on March 25, 2009 at 22:36

    @ wooddoo: “some foreigners here are not without blame either for wrongly accusing the Chinese of intentional racism when they didn’t know in China we had a different definition of that word.”

    Let’s be fair here. To begin with, I never accused anyone of intentional racism; in fact, I specifically noted it likely wasn’t intentional. And yes, Chinese people have a slightly different definition of the word racism, but this is an English blog whose audience is overwhelmingly not Chinese. It would have been better if I had foreseen the misunderstanding, but it is simply that: Chinese people misunderstanding the meaning and connotation of an English word.
12. Race and China: Touching a Nerve | ChinaGeeks on March 25, 2009 at 22:37

    [...] fact is, the image we’re all discussing is racially insensitive. As one commenter on our site pointed out, its presence on a Chinese website offended one African enough to comment [...]
13. 

    kailing on March 25, 2009 at 22:47

    I am with Stuart. Chinese do not know their real history, just the harmonized -antiseptic version, where all are heroes and nothing bad was ever done to any one by the han people, just promoting harmony and culture all over their surroundings… until you ask the vietnamese, burmese, turkish peoples… then you will discover that China’s history is not far from the rest of the world. They just fell behind after the Ming dynasty… If Zheng He had succeeded in showing the Ming empire the importance of an overseas maritime empire… probably today’s world would have been quite a different one.
14. yue on March 26, 2009 at 02:33

    首先表明自己的立场：我是中国政治坐标系（北大版），自由经济芝加哥学派，加政治右倾。
    政治立场坐标
    0.8
    文化立场坐标
    1.4
    经济立场坐标
    1.2
    不把自己当成一位公众人物或者政治人物。但我希望以后我有机会选举的政治人物是这样。
    关于外国人的议题：限制外国人的进出权，所有国家的外国人，进入中国，必须按照日本对外国人的标准来审核。
    对于跨国婚姻：在媒体上不推荐不鼓励，私底网络（例如：香港高登，台湾ptt）下，对嫁给老外的中国女人，增以含洋屌，哈黑屌。哈韩屌，哈倭屌之美誉。
    对于经济权，尽量把握。扬爱私民族货，千万不用国有企业货，次之欧美(不要东欧和南欧），学历承认同样。

    我是汉人，皮肤也不会比白人黑，不喜欢白人喊我们黄种人，这个定义你们自己吞下去。我不喜欢NBA,不喜欢奥巴马和民主党，不喜欢北京人和棒子，我支持共和党和龚小夏。我尊敬宗教，但不包括伊斯兰教。我人在法国读书，不喜欢智力低下没有常识的人。这里的白人垃圾黑人垃圾温州垃圾高干垃圾都很多。
    如果 c.custer有兴趣，我们可以skype聊。对了，上次王小峰和和菜头都被我留言骂过。这两个人是懦夫，整天风花雪月，只会捡软的捏。
    我的问题是：为什么要一定要喜欢外国人和外人？跟我不一样的人，我第一个反应不能是不喜欢吗？？？而后，如果发现了其人好的地方才喜欢起来的。
    对了，你是什么颜色的人？支持共和还是民主派？
15. 

    MAC on March 26, 2009 at 03:36

    “How would you feel being put on a label by someone who jumped into assumption simply based on limited information?”

    !!!!!!!!TREMENDOUS, UNIVERSE-IMPLODING IRONY ALERT!!!!!!!!!!!

    Custer- don’t worry about the “publicity” accusations, you have to remember that Chinese people are utterly cynical even when their suspicions defy all logic. After all, Bai Ling was widely accused of “publicity-seeking” for shoplifting batteries.

    Yue- I despise you, die.
16. Pffefer on March 26, 2009 at 04:53

    MAC,

    “you have to remember that Chinese people are utterly cynical even when their suspicions defy all logic.”

    Funny that you are accusing the Chinese of being/doing something that you are (doing).
17. perspectivehere on March 26, 2009 at 05:31

    I think people have to draw a distinction between “institutionalized racism” and ordinary bigotry which is its ordinary prejudice / fear of the unknown and unfamiliar

    In America, we have a long history of institutionalized racism. This means that race was used as a distinguishing characteristic and embedded in the laws, policies and institutional practices. The laws involving slavery were most extreme, but also others like the miscegenation laws (preventing intermarriage), exclusion of certain races from access to jobs, rights to own property, and even Chinese from immigrating to the U.S. Both governmental and private organizations (employers, clubs, residential neighborhoods, schools) excluded certain races. One’s race (or others’ perception of it) was an all-defining characteristic that had enormous consequences for one’s material and social well-being.

    In the aftermath of the U.S. Civil Rights Act of 1964 (for which we have to thank largely African Americans for their brave struggle but also many Americans of all colors), the U.S. took a huge step forward in dismantling the institutionalized racism. This was the first step and it has taken years. This struggle is not yet done.

    The institutionalized racism in the U.S. is now reflected in things like the disproportionate number of racial minorities in prisons. There are many factors for this, but race is certainly one of them, although these are very hard to change.

    The exclusion of many racial minorities from mainstream cultural life is gradually being corrected. As more racial minorities entered these formerly “exclusive” institutions, conflicts arose as people started to encounter unfamiliar racial situations. Some reacted by falling upon racial epithets and stereotyping. Others reacted by urging the purging of all racial references in speech to avoid unnecessary conflict and misunderstanding. This explains the focus on “political correctness” in the U.S. People who have been sensitized to this are always on the watch for breaches of this in U.S. media and in daily speech.

    The focus on “politically correct speech” in the U.S. is to correct centuries of wrongs and also to ease daily interpersonal conflicts as more racial minorities enter once-white-exclusive zones of life. Americans must take this medicine to correct a sick condition in American society.

    Looking out into the world, this is not necessarily the case for many other places. The infection of “white supremacy” does not necessarily find its parallel in places like China, which does not have an equivalent form of institutionalized “yellow supremacy”.

    Because China’s history is so different, it approaches issues of race very differently.

    (One of the interesting points to consider is that China’s encounter with the West (meaning the full-blown interaction from the Opium War (1840′s) to the founding of the PRC) was the heyday of Darwinian-influenced racial ideas coming from Western academic, scientific and cultural institutions. So any Western learning that China picked up during this period would naturally reflect the racialist ideas coming from the West. So there is an element of this embedded in the intellectual and cultural sphere. I would suggest that (like Marxism) is a Western import and not homegrown, but this is a topic worthy of exploration by historians.)

    When Americans go out into the world, they (out of ignorance) assume that everyone else should think the way they do, and when other people do not, Americans like to comment about it. Unfortunately, the assumption of American superiority (“We’re No. 1!) often results in these Americans saying how bad these other places are compared to us.

    In China’s case, what you call “racism” is more ordinary prejudice, stereotyping and ignorance. Chinese will respond to what they see in the news and in media imports. However, there isn’t the same kind of preoccupation with “correcting past injustices by changing the way we speak and look at things” because China never had the same kind of race-based issues that the U.S. had. And also, China’s relations with Africans is very different.

    Others may point to the aid offered by China towards African economic development. There is a large infrastructure and close institutional relationship dedicated to this dating from the 1960′s.

    China had and has other deep problems which their own writers acknowledge, but racism is not at the top of the list. There is insensitivity towards other people that are different (Shanghainese vs Beijingers, city vs country, etc.) and consciousness-raising is generally a good thing.

    But for Americans to see China through the lens of American history and preoccupation with race is a pretty ignorant way of looking at it. Americans have to fix their own problems of institutionalized racism (think of the disproportionate number of African Americans in prison) and not take attention away from the problem by pretending that because Obama has been elected that this “proves” America has largely solved its problems with racism.

    Pointing the “racism” finger at places like China allows Americans to feel better about themselves, but is a kind of projection which does little good for anyone. It only upsets people in China (because the foreigner is again acting superior about things the foreigner knows nothing about) and does nothing for solving America’s problems of race, which still deeply affects American political life. A big chunk of Sarah Palin’s campaign was spent using white racialist code words and anger to rally the “angry white man and woman” base that seems to vote Republican. Nixon’s “Southern Strategy” is still at work although it commands a smaller majority of the country than before.

    So really for Americans the “racism” finger is much better pointed at our own institutions than at China.
18. 

    MAC on March 26, 2009 at 05:35

    Maybe you noticed that I’m deliberately skirting the lines of offensiveness to see how they like it? Not that I particularly disbelieve what I said, I’ve seen more examples in my personal life and online than I could possibly enumerate.
19. Pffefer on March 26, 2009 at 05:51

    MAC,

    Therefore you are not that different from those you despise so much.
20. perspectivehere on March 26, 2009 at 06:41

    On reflection, a good comparison case is to examine how Chinese Mainlanders felt when living in Hong Kong pre-1997. At that time, there was a widely prevalent negative view among Hong Kong Chinese towards people from the Mainland. They were treated badly by immigration officials, people in stores, taxi drivers, and just generally in daily life one would come across negative stereotypes and stories about mainlanders. This was also reflected in movies, especially the character “Ah Chan”, which was a kind of country bumpkin.

    This article “In Search of Heunggongyan:
    The Construction of a Metropolitan Identity” has a good discussion on this phenomenon.
    http://www.hku.hk/hkcsp/ccex/ehkcss01/a_pdf8.htm

    ****BEGIN QUOTE*****
    “With this gap in economic performance and culture between Hong Kong and Mainland China, the recognition and representation of these differences led to an emergence of a self-conscious heunggongyan [HongKongers] community vis-à-vis daailukyan (mainlanders). Hong Kong began to be viewed as much more prosperous and sophisticated than Mainland China by Hongkongers. The difference between Hong Kong and Mainland China also became manifested in terms of social practices. One informant complained,

    “I do not like some of the habits of the Mainlanders. For example, when they spit, I find that a very impolite and disgusting habit.”

    Differences between heunggongyan and daailukyan in terms of economic status became etched in experience when Hongkongers visit the Mainland. Chan Kin-leung recalled,
    “The first time I visited the Mainland (in the 1980s) was when we crossed the border into Shenzhen. The first thing that impressed me was the number of beggars that approached us. I was glad I lived on the other side of the border.”
    Another informant, Ah Ha, recollected,
    “My mother and I visited my brother in Guangzhou in the 1970s. We brought in a lot of daily necessities such as oil and clothes for him. He was in such a rag-tag condition that he looked like a beggar to us.”
    ******END QUOTE******

    Fast forward to 2009, and the situation between Mainlanders and Heonggongyan have become partly reversed, as Hong Kong’s wealth now relies heavily on the Chinese economy, on the arrival of Chinese tourists, and many mainlanders are better educated and more sophisticated than Hongkongers. Prejudices remain, but these do not function as significant barriers to social interaction or economic opportunities.

    I think that Chinese view Africans in the same way. Chinese culture places a high value on education, sophistication and wealth, and makes judgment about people according to such criteria. If Africans were to achieve the same kind of success (in Chinese eyes) as other groups, Chinese would give them the same kind of respect.

    Of course, one can complain that Chinese should not be so judgmental, and that Chinese should not be so materialistic in outlook. One can argue that there is more than one standard of success, and wealth does not necessarily correlate with goodness or morality. I think this is where you will find individual disagreements, and room for changing views and enlightening people to become more sensitive and considerate.

    I don’t think you will find any Chinese who disagree with the charge that “being judgmental and critical” is a big characteristic of Chinese culture. Most Chinese, as individuals, dislike being part of a cultural system that is so judgmental (that is, they don’t like being the target of others’ harsh critical judgments).

    What Custer calls “racism” is just a tag used to convey deeper Chinese attitudes towards success and achievement. To focus on the “racist” angle is to miss the point, I think.
21. 

    Peteryang on March 26, 2009 at 08:37

    In U.S there’s also controversial about the Affirmative Action, which I think in some ways are similar to the minority policy of china.Sorry I have little knowlege about it so have little to say about the issue you raise. But I personally believe the government’s policy to protect, or like you said, over-protect the minority might not be a good choice, as it emphasize the difference, or even weak position of the group compare with the majority.It’s just my own thoughts, so anybody have better thoughts please enlighten me on this issue.
    ——————
    Yeah thats all I was talking about, equality means equality, simple as that, people need to truly feel “equal” in their hearts and minds, not by elevating their status to patch up their weak position, which does the EXACT opposite. Some idiots in the gov don’t seem to understand this very ordinary concept god knows why.
22. China: Race and China: Touching a Nerve | Africans In China on March 26, 2009 at 10:10

    [...] a post of some kind so as to keep to our unofficial one post per day quota. Finding an image I interpreted as racist on several Chinese blogs, I decided to write about the picture and the larger issue behind it. I [...]
23. whatever on March 26, 2009 at 11:11

    I’d say that many Chinese are snobs rather than racists. The prevailing materialism in our community makes people worship money and success,despise poverty. Were African countries wealthy while the Europeans and the U.S poor,trust me, the attitude towards the Caucasians and the dark-skinned people would reverse.
24. Linda on March 26, 2009 at 12:51

    @perspectivehere 216:

    That was very well writen and argued, which deserves my applause!
    It could qualify as an essay on this subject.

    As to perspectivehere 219, I think there is still some misunderstanding in it.
    Most Chinese know Africans only through media - movies, TV, newspaper. And unfortunately in those media, they were not portraited the same as White people. If there were any prejudice against Africans from Chinese, it would have been caused by this kind of misconception through the media.

    Following is my own personal experience:
    20 years ago I was a college student here in Shanghai, I was surprised to see one of my English teacher - a white woman from Australia, was dating an African. In 1998 I went to the US. Through the years living in the States, I had the opportunity to get closer to African Americans in my daily life, and finally learned that they are no different than me except their skin.
25. OxygeN on March 26, 2009 at 16:46

    从图片来看，其他的起码都进化过了，就非洲没有，我个人一眼看上去就是作者从骨子里的歧视而且一点也不好笑。
    和菜头的回帖更有代表型的体现了当今中国人的脆弱，说不得，打死不认错。
26. achinese on March 26, 2009 at 21:14

    it’s not racism…… it’s a sarcasm to the goverment’s “和谐社会” and “三个代表” policy.
27. The Price of a Scandal | ChinaGeeks on March 26, 2009 at 22:12

    [...] It: -Roland Soong of ESWN has translated some more stuff and offered his own take on our own little race war. -ChinaSMACK translated a post about Famen temple monks closing the temple to outsiders in [...]
28. visitor on March 27, 2009 at 17:13

    replay 196 and 214:
    草泥马！
    196楼和214楼，你们可以不喜欢回族人，讨厌伊斯兰教，但是你们的话题是否跑题了？人家都在这拿那幅漫画说事，你们偏要拿中国回汗民族矛盾说事，貌似有点借题发挥，哪壶不开提哪壶，要么就是大脑进水，看不懂别人说的什么，智商有问题。回族人并没在这里抨击汉族人，是你们先故意找茬的吧。其实多少年来的回汉两族的根本矛盾就在于汉族人比较好事，好斗，总喜欢抵触那些跟他们不一样的人，不一样的文化。没有对立，制造对立也要对立，这就是你们汉族人。你不喜欢伊斯兰教，我还不喜欢佛教呢，那如果我说应该消灭佛教的话，那会不会又惹来一大群佛教徒的抨击？
    196楼的，你如此讨厌回族，是不是你就是那个被打的汉族人？要是这样的话，活该你！支持美国消灭伊斯兰？其实你这种人才是最应该被消灭掉的，懒得搭理你。
    至于214楼，原来你就是那个骂过王小峰的，原来你就是王小峰提到的那个傻逼阿！跟你一样，我也不喜欢智力低下没有常识的人，谁喜欢跟傻逼废话阿。所以对于你，我就不再多说什么了，你好自为之吧。
29. reply 214 on March 27, 2009 at 17:34

    214楼，恕我直言，我不认为你人在法国读书，就是个智商高有知识的人，你也不见得不是垃圾。不就是用父母的钱去留洋吗？得意什么？不觉得可耻吗？你充其量是个站着说话不腰疼的新一代粪青而已。傻（斜你妈逼杠）逼！
30. visitor on March 27, 2009 at 17:44

    我刚才那番话其实是想针对190楼和214楼的，并不是196楼。一时生气看错了。对不起了196。
31. cshh on March 27, 2009 at 18:11

    This is seriously over analyzed. I hope you’re getting paid for writing all these junk.
32. TheOrz on April 1, 2009 at 14:04

    Cry me a river! It’s fucking funny; including the Africa one. Maybe you feel bad because your ancestors put Africans into slavery?
33. raylee on April 2, 2009 at 04:20

    You poor moron? 99% Chinese consider this pic as a funny thing for the impression from some TV show, NBA, books and magzine, I don’t care what you think, but everybody has been China knows racism exist between chinese people and official , poor and rich, residents in city and villiage. Blacks means foreigner to our govement, so he can kick everyone’s ass. You can see blacks hooking up Chinese pretty girl while most Chiese youth won’t have sex experience until 25. Blacks F our pretty girls and you complain for your black people about his served racism in China? How dare you white people push all these debt to ours? I know you just lost campaign,please save your miserable description and face the truth: If black people feel racism atmosphere the only country is impossible because chinese people just hate the cruel killer and stupid.
34. Liupan on April 2, 2009 at 08:08

    I’m so tired of hearing all these ridiculous comments comparing America to China. America has a hugely complex racial history and is travelling on its own path. Chinese people need to stop comparing themselves to America in every debate; analysing whether they have achieved something in a particular social area that is better or worse than the Americans. For goodness sake, they are two separate nations on two separate paths. It is time for China to stop trying to match the lowest common denominator of other countries and start to establish its own standards by which to judge itself. This obsession with America is pointless and useless and serves no good.
    Most of the comments from Chinese on this website are based on debating the demerits of other countries as regards racism. Why can’t we establish our own high standards and stop comparing ourselves to other countries, none of which have shared our particular path to this time in history, and likewise we have not experienced theirs. No country has a clear conscience but also, no individual can only be judged by their nationality. Every person must demonstrate their own commitment to a more equitable and equal world.
35. ben on April 13, 2009 at 13:47

    I wish you bloggers would stop saying ‘after the jump’, it’s so irritatingly stupid.
36. CM on April 13, 2009 at 15:00

    Hi Everyone,

    I’m sorry, I just hide to chime in. It looks like there was a minor detail that nobody is discussing. Chiefly the “American” chronology of evolution. When you blow the picture up it becomes increasingly clear what they portrayed the American as. They copied the third stage evolution (cro-magnon I’m assuming) and colored it black, then placed basketball shoes, shorts and an athletic band on the figures head.

    Two instances of the supposed black man (again, notice the cro-magnon was intentionally colored black) not being “evolved” makes it to be more than just a coincidence. I believe this implies whoever created the picture intentionally linked the skin color black with being less evolved.

    I am not making any judgments about chinese racism in any way, but this does imply that the creator of the picture (which I believe someone may have shown was either korean or japanese) knew he was drawing some racists conclusions.
37. Chinese Racism: Yes, It Exists, But Why Won’t They Admit It? | CN Reviews on April 14, 2009 at 15:24

    [...] ChinaGeeks and Fool’s Mountain have recently posted their frustrations, as foreigners, with how many [...]
38. Charles Custer: Underground Hip Hop Artist & ChinaGeeks Founder | CNReviews on April 17, 2009 at 16:04

    [...] Custer, the founder, sparred with the notable but wily Chinese blogger Hecaitou over the issue of Racism in China. I’ve been subscribed to their RSS feed ever since, impressed with the excellent writing and [...]
39. blooom on August 10, 2009 at 22:03

    by the the wey did the chines sty thinking that he is a man or human
40. AM Chen on August 27, 2009 at 07:03

    The original jpeg, before Chinese modifying them:
    http://img.moronail.net/img/7/2/172.jpg
41. Appalling Racism | ChinaGeeks on September 2, 2009 at 07:56

    [...] discussed the question of racism before here, most memorably last spring, when we accidentally touched off a bit of controversy and [...]
42. ChinaGeeks » Race and the Law in China on November 6, 2009 at 07:39

    [...] some interest that we read this story in the New York Times last week. It seems South Korea, like China, has some issues with racism. And South Korea, like China, is a country where the number of [...]
43. ChinaGeeks » Favoring Foreigners on December 21, 2009 at 05:52

    [...] up, many Chinese think of the preferential treatment foreigners sometimes receive, rather than anything else. (including famous lawyer Liu Xiaoyuan, who told us “Chinese law gives foreigners all [...]
44. ChinaGeeks » A Few Quick Links on January 10, 2010 at 09:34

    [...] blog has, perhaps, earned its name in some small part due to our coverage of racism in China (even though we’re told it doesn’t exist). On that front, I point you in the [...]
45. Glue on January 13, 2010 at 14:37

    I am personally offended that the president of the United States of America is a racist bastard.
46. Sum on January 25, 2010 at 01:54

    USA - race sensitive? or insensitive? or overly sensitive? and is always an issue!!!
    Looking at the ‘Chart’, All I see is everyone has been evolved or not (what’s wrong staying naturally beautiful), and the EUROPEAN end up with THEIR BRAIN SITTING UNDER THEIR ASS.
47. ChinaGeeks » Hecaitou on Race in China on February 3, 2010 at 07:34

    [...] a response from him because the two of us had a bit of a misunderstanding last year after I wrote this post, which he and fellow Chinese author and blogger Wang Xiaofeng took as an accusation that they [...]
48. Keyboard on February 14, 2010 at 20:53

    The american kept the knife as it evolved LOL
49. mike3 on February 17, 2010 at 17:15

    Chocobo: “My opinion as a Chinese:
    No spontaneous reaction of racism and as mentioned in the post I believe nor do most Chinese audience. This is actually a good thing for Chinese because people here are actually able to read the wittiness in this pic beyond those historical chains you Americans can’t live without.
    Do you guys know the notion of racism doesn’t even exist in China before you guys invented (and well… practised )it? Imposing it to this part of the world does’t justify its universal correctness or your great American values. You guys cannot even mention “black” in public, what in the world can be more racist than that?”

    But I want to go beyond those chains, as I believe we should have a unified world, and one humanity ultimately where all the humans are so unified as to be like “the waves of one sea” (quoted perhaps not entirely to the letter from a religious text the name of which I don’t know. I don’t know if you believe in any religion, but I grew up with this one, that was based around world peace, world unity, etc. and even though I didn’t actually become a committed follower of it or any other religion for that matter, I hung on to those things as that’s what this World seems to need so much and there isn’t anything logical to really say otherwise). If they obstruct or interfere with that in any way, they are a problem. I want to NOT practice racism since it is not conducive to those goals. If “racism” doesn’t exist in China, though, then what is the thing that does exist that people are reporting? I don’t doubt that it may not be the same as in America, yet I really want to know as to me it seems China demonstrates a step closer toward accomplishing those goals I want to see accomplished for humanity.

    To 沙鸥:“So I have to say, good efforts sir, but you think too much. The Americans, if I could venture to say, in lots of cases, they are far too good at nothing but stirring up shit. BTW, here it’s just a picture, but unfortunately from your points of view, it’s shit. SHIT!!”

    How can I get a better point of view? Does this mean that I, being “American”, can’t ever do anything truly good for the world no matter how much I want to in my heart? If not, can you tell me how I should?

    reply to: [email protected]
50. Nathan on July 2, 2010 at 16:29

    i always thought it was quite good in China.Yes there is alot of problems but imagine the situation back in America or England. If chinese people went over there and just because there were foreign they get the pick of the women and a higher paid salary.

    Doesnt matter if they are Black or white I think it would end with more than a posting of a stupid picture.