- Jook-sing
Jook-sing is a Cantonese term used to describe an
Overseas Chinese person who has grown up in a Western environment.Etymology
"Jook-sing" means a grain-measuring container made of
bamboo (compare the term senk1 daw2 (升斗), daw2 being a kind of rice measurer). Bamboo is hollow and compartmentalized, thus water poured in one end does not flow out of the other end. Themetaphor is that "jook-sing"s are not part of either culture: water within the jook-sing does not flow and connect to either end. It may or may not be derogatory. Use of the term predates World War II [ [http://print.google.com/print?id=sc1kf_A5AAwC&pg=66&lpg=66&dq=%22jook+sing%22&sig=zN4I_BnBg4V_wfCDdHoQkYU8vek] ] .Alternatively, "Jook-sing" is another term for a bamboo stick in Cantonese. While the original Cantonese term "jook-gon" (竹竿, bamboo stick) sounds like 竹乾 (dry bamboo) or 竹降 (fallen bamboo) (which also means "unfortunate" to Cantonese people) Cantonese speakers use "Jook-sing" (rising bamboo) instead. The implication is that a person is Chinese outside, hollow inside.
Modern term
North American usage
In the United States and Canada, the term is
pejorative and is used to describe Westernized American-born or Canadian-born Chinese. The term originates from Cantonese slang in the United States. Jook-sing are categorised as having Western-centric identities, values and culture. These traits may be viewed as positive or negative.Related colloquialisms
*Banana (
Jyutping : heong1 ziu1 zay2) andTwinkie (based on the snack produced by American company Hostess): often pejorative
*FOB (Fresh Off the Boat):antonym of Jook-sing
*YASP (Yellow "Anglo-Saxon Protestant") A rare term, usually refers to very preppy Asians who are grads of prep schools and live what many outsiders would see as aWhite Anglo-Saxon Protestant lifestyle. They or their parents are generally from places like Hong Kong or Singapore. Plays golf and/or tennis.ee also
*
American-born Chinese
*Overseas Chinese :Chinese American ,Chinese Canadian ,Chinese Australians ,Chinese New Zealander
*American-Born Confused Desi , a similar term forIndian American s
*Ethnic slur References
*Emma Woo Louie, "Chinese American Names", McFarland & Company, 1998, ISBN 0-7864-0418-3
*Douglas W Lee, "Chinese American history and historiography: The musings of a Jook-Sing", 1980.External links
* [http://www.usfca.edu/classes/AuthEd/immigration/chineseamericansinfo.htm Second Generation Chinese Americans] at [http://www.usfca.edu University of San Francisco]
* [http://www.usadeepsouth.com/article1082.html Pilgrimage to China] by Beth Boswell Jacks
* [http://www.asianweek.com/011499/coverstory.html Strained Relations] by Julie D. Soo
* [http://www.jook-sing.com Jook Sing Forum - Embrace your chinese side]
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
