Talk:Shanghaiing

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[edit] Seems a bit unlikely

At first glance, it seems a bit unlikely that ships would shanghai someone who was not already a sailor -- even without salary, a landman would not likely be worth the food he'd eat on the voyage, and would get in everyone's way. How credible are the sources? David 03:53, 3 December 2005 (UTC)

Very credible. It did happen, & with a change in only a few laws it could happen again. And I say this not just because my grandfather was shanghaied to Alaska as a teenager. But if you don't want to believe this is true, nothing I can write will convince you. -- llywrch 22:14, 17 February 2006 (UTC)
Any idiot (excuse the term) can stow cargo and swab the deck. Obviously it'd be useful to have free labour able to do jobs like these. Joffeloff 18:54, 29 May 2006 (UTC)
The ledger book of James Laflin, a San Francisco shanghaier for over 50 years, indicates so-called "green horns," or men without experience on the sea, were frequently shanghaied. His ledger book for the years 1886-1890, a time when Laflin was a shipping master for San Francisco's whailng and sealing fleet, has been posted on Mystic Seaport Museum's website, and is available for online inspection. --Billpick 15:44, 28 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Circularity?

"Any friendless man in port cities ... was in danger of being "shanghaied", hence the English slang term." Is this a different slang term not documented here, or is it a circular reference?

  • Well, "being shanghaied" is also generic American slang nowadays for any sort of trick. The usage is obvviously derived from this practice. I'll try to make it clearer.--Pharos 21:59, 20 May 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Word Origin Incorrect

"The word "shanghai" comes from the city of Shanghai, in China. This terminology originated because Shanghai was a common destination of the ships likely to use shanghaied labor, and because Shanghai (being distant) was an unfortunate destination to be shanghaied for."

This statement does not have any supporting evidence, and is incorrectly founded. There are 4 main accents in Mandarin Chinese, and while a word may have the same spelling, the accent completely changes the meaning of the word.

Shang(4th accent) Hai (3rd accent) means "on", and "sea", and is the name of the city, Shanghai, China.

Shang (1st accent) Hai (4th accent) means "to harm" in Chinese. They are completely different words.

Regardless, the word "shanghai" does not come from the city name. It comes from the term "going to sea" or the word "to harm" in Chinese.

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