Chinaman

Chinaman is a term for a male of Chinese descent, nationality, or birth. It is viewed by some American lobby groups as an offensive term referring to a Chinese man or person, or widely a person native to geographical East Asia or of perceived East Asian ethnicity. The term is noted as having non-pejorative meanings by modern dictionaries. Its derogatory connotations evolved from its use in pejorative contexts regarding Chinese people and other East Asians, as well as its resemblance to stereotypical characterizations of Chinese accents in English-speaking associated with discrimination. The usage of the term Chinaman is strongly discouraged by Asian American organizations.

Historic usage

Use in Australia

Historically, words such as Chinaman, chink and yellow have been used in Australia to refer to Chinese Australians during the Australian gold rushes and when the White Australia policy was in force.

Use in the United States

The term Chinaman has been historically used in a variety of ways, including legal documents, literary works, geographic names, and in speech. Census records in 19th-century North America recorded Chinese men by names such as "John Chinaman", "Jake Chinaman" or simply as "Chinaman". Chinese American historian Emma Woo Louie commented that such names in census schedules were used when census takers could not obtain any information and that they "should not be considered to be racist in intent". One census taker in El Dorado County wrote, "I found about 80 Chinese men in Spanish Canion who refused to give me their names or other information." Louie equated "John Chinaman" to "John Doe" in its usage to refer to a person whose name is not known, and added that other ethnic groups were also identified by generic terms as well, such as Spaniard and Kanaka, which refers to a Hawaiian.