An extremely offensive and racist term to identify
people with Asian descent.
** Do not use this word, the consequences are way worse than calling black
people the N-word.
Origin:
The word "Chinaman" first appeared in
mid-19th Century, commonly used by Central Pacific Railroad workers as a neutral or
non-racist term to identify
Chinese descent workers.
Due to their strong ethical culture, Chinese workers were extremely well-behaved, skilled and highly efficient, it was not long until a gradual massive layoffs of European and black workers from 1859 to 1868. Also during this time, Chinese railroad workers' wages has also risen higher than other workers' ($35-40 compared to $30-35 per month). By the end of 1868, Chinese workers became the majority of the CPRR workforce.
Anger and hatred were widely spread among those workers who lost
job to the Chinese immigrants, the term "Chinaman" has become a racist term over time. And this is the
early origin of the term "Chinaman".
husband: "My
father, brother and I all lost our jobs to these Chinamen, this is bloody ridiculous!"
wife: "God damn it. Go out there and get a
job you lazy bastard! Don't just stay at home and swear all day long."
husband:"I can't. They don't hire
white-men anymore, they only hire those bloody Chinaman!"
