Information About

Jook-sing





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. The Metaphor is that "jook-sings" 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 {Link without Title} .

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 Western ized 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 ( (based on the snack produced by American company Hostess ): often pejorative

  • FOB (Fresh Off the Boat): Antonym of Jook-sing



SEE ALSO



EXTERNAL LINKS



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.