Chink: The Origins and Evolution of a Racial Slur

Cairo, Egypt

(Wikipedia)

Origins in the 19th Century

For those Asian-Americans who have been called, “Chink,” they know that it is not an endearing term. It is meant to be derogatory. What is the etymology of the word, however? According to the Philadelphia Bar Association,

“the word “Chink” originated in the 19th Century as a racial slur against people of Chinese descent after a movement was started to expel Chinese workers from the United States”

Interestingly, this is proof that the term originated in America. By the mid 19th Century, the United States had the largest railroad network in the world. Man power was needed to lay the tracks from coast to coast. Enter the Robber-Baron: Cornelius Vanderbilt. He, and others like him, were interested in completing the mammoth task as cheaply as possible.

Cornelius Vanderbilt. Robber-barons like him completed the country’s rail lines and made great profits(History.com)

To that end, vast numbers of Chinese immigrants built the country’s rail network. They were paid substandard wages. The Transcontinental Railroad, begun in 1863, was one such project where they were heavily involved. They were also paid less than white Americans (Nunez-Medina).

Anti-Asian Sentiment in the 20th Century

The Russo-Japanese War resulted in a surprising Japanese victory. For the first time in contemporary memory, a non-white power had defeated a white power. It turned the theory of White Man’s Burden on its head. Japan further cemented itself as a global power with its victory over the Germans in World War I.

By the 20th Century, following the growth of the Japanese Empire, Asians continued to be demonized in American culture . This was seen in the 1913 publication of the above book (Rohmer)

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor (History.com)

The Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor resulted in three things: a declaration of war, Executive Order 66, and anti-Asian sentiment. Vandalism against Asian businesses and assaults on Asian-Americans increased.

The Chinese-American owner of the above store, in Oakland, California, was wise to put such a sign up after Pearl Harbor (Evans)

Continued Use in the Present Day

In our time, Covid 19 has been viewed as a catalyst for anti-Asian sentiment. Following the outbreak, attacks on Asians in the United States also increased. Canada and Mexico do not seem to have had the same problem. The following graph is very telling:

“Chink” continues to be used in a derogatory way in the United States. In the experience of the present author, white and black Americans are the predominant users of the slur.

Works Cited

Evans, Harold. The American Century. Knopf, 1998. Print.

History.com Editors. Pearl Harbor. https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor

Nunez-Medina, Joyska. The Story of Chinese Laborers and the Reconstruction South. https://tnmuseum.org/Stories/posts/the-story-of-chinese-laborers-and-the-reconstruction-south

Pew Research Center. 4 in 10 U.S.-born Asian Americans know an Asian person who has been threatened or attacked since COVID-19. https://www.pewresearch.org/2023/11/30/asian-americans-and-discrimination-during-the-covid-19-pandemic/re_2023-11-30_asian-american-discrimination_4-02-png/

Sax, Rohmer. The Insidious Dr. Fu Man Chu. Dover Publications Inc., 1913.

Wikipedia. Chink. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chink