Gweilo

Gweilo or Gwai Lo (鬼佬; Cantonese gwai2 lou2, pronounced [kʷɐ̌i lǒu] ( listen)) is a common Cantonese slang term for foreigners although this does not apply to many other Asian races, and has a long history of racially deprecatory use. Many Cantonese speakers frequently use the term "gweilo" to refer to foreigners in general and consider the term non-derogatory, which some members of the foreign community resent.^[1][2]

Etymology and history

Gwei (鬼) means "ghost". A lo (佬) is a regular guy, a chap or a bloke.^[3] The term is a reference to skin color, as white skin is associated with ghosts. The term is sometimes translated into English as foreign devil.^[4] The term arose in the 16th century when European sailors appeared in southern China as they were associated with barbarians. Historically, Chinese people had the image of its borders continuously breached by "uncivilized tribes" given to mayhem and destruction.^[4] The term was popularised during the First and Second Opium Wars in response to the Unequal Treaties. In Southern parts of China, the term gwai lo was used. In Northern parts of China, the term (Western) ocean ghost ((西)洋鬼子 (Xi) Yangguizi) was used, Europe being West of China.^[4]

Usage

Nowadays, some Hong Kong residents and other Cantonese speakers often refer to Caucasians and other people by their ethnicity. This is in sharp contrast to other part of China, including the Cantonese-speaking south, where foreigners are most commonly referred to as Laowai (老外). This literally means "old foreigner", but depending on context, "old" can be both a term of endearment and one of criticism.

The term gwei (鬼) in gweilo (鬼佬) is an adjective that can be used to express hate and deprecation, an example being the local's expression of their hatred towards the Japanese during their occupation of Hong Kong in WWII with the same gwei (鬼). It conveys a general bad and negative feeling and is a somewhat obsolete and archaic/old-fashioned term nowadays and other more modern terms have largely replaced gwei (鬼) for similarly negative meanings.

The pejorative sense of gweilo (鬼佬) can be specified when the term is prefaced by the adjective sei (死, jyutping: sei2, meaning dead or damned); sei gweilo (死鬼佬), literally means "dead ghost man," thus means a bad "gweilo," or a bad Caucasian. "Sei" (死) is also commonly added to other terms in order to describe the person or people being referred to as "bad", such as "sei lo" (死佬), meaning literally "dead man" or "bad guy" and "sei chai lo" (死差佬), literally "dead policeman" or "bad policeman". Cantonese people also can call each other "Sei gwei" (死鬼), literally meaning "dead ghost", but refers to a bad person also, though more often than not it is applied affectionately, similar to "Hey bitch!" in English when used affectionately. The character gwei (鬼) itself can have negative connotations, even without the word sei (死), for example when it was attached to the Japanese military in the term "Guizi Bing" (鬼子兵) during their invasion of China which lasted from 1931 to 1945. However, the same term can also be applied derogatorily to any foreign military which was an enemy to China.

While "gwailo" is commonly used by some Cantonese speakers in informal speech, the more polite alternative sai yan (西人; jyutping: sai1 jan4, literally: "western person") is now used.^[5]

The term is often considered racist by non-Cantonese people.^[6] Many Cantonese speakers, however, frequently use the term "gweilo" to refer to foreigners in general and they consider the term non-derogatory.^[1] On the other hand, some members of the Hong Kong community with foreign ancestry, particularly the younger generation, embrace the term^{[citation needed]}. The term "lo" (佬) when used in other situations is generally quaint as it is a term that has mostly fallen out of use and the intentional use of it carries a certain comical sense.

Variations

Gweilo is the most generic term, but variations include:^[5]

• To refer specifically to non-Chinese women: gweipor (鬼婆; jyutping: gwai2 po4, literally: "ghost woman") which is also often spelt "gwai-poh" ("por" / "poh" refers to an old woman)
• To refer specifically to non-Chinese boys: gweizai (鬼仔; jyutping: gwai2 zai2, literally: "ghost boy")
• To refer specifically to non-Chinese girls: gweimui (鬼妹; jyutping: gwai2 mui1, literally: "ghost girl")
• To refer to a white foreigner: bakgwei (白鬼; jyutping: baak6 gwai2, literally: "white ghost")^{[citation needed]}
• To refer to a black foreigner (translation "black ghost"): hakgwei (黑鬼; jyutping: haak1 gwai2, literally: "black ghost")

Due to its widespread use, the term gwei, which means ghost, has taken on the general meaning of "foreigner", although still derogatory, and can refer to white people although other racial terms for Africans can be used for these people perceived to be non-white. Indians and Middle Eastern people are called Ar-cha (阿差) or Mor-law-chai(摩羅差). For further information, see Chinese Wikipedia link zh:摩羅差.

Related terms

The Cantonese term "bak gwei" means "white devil" and was used historically as a derogatory reference to Caucasians.

A Boxer Rebellion pamphlet, circa 1899, that refers to foreigners as guizi.

In Mandarin, guizi (Chinese: 鬼子; pinyin: guǐzi) is a similar term to gweilo. Guizi, however, can be used to refer to either the Japanese (specifically, 日本鬼子 rìběn guǐzi "Japanese devil" or 東洋鬼子 dōngyáng guǐzi "east ocean devil") or Europeans (洋鬼子 yáng guǐzi "foreign devil, (west) ocean devil"). Laowai (老外 lǎowài "old foreigner" or "old outsider") is a word usually used for Europeans, and is a less pejorative term in Mandarin than guizi. Also, cf. Ang Mo (Chinese: 紅毛; pinyin: hóng máo; POJ: âng-mo) meaning 'red hair' (Hokkien).

Also,in Mandarin, xiaogui (Chinese: 小鬼; pinyin: xiǎoguǐ) "little ghost" is a common term for child. Based on that usage, some argue that (Chinese: 鬼; pinyin: guǐ) in Chinese is just a neutral word that describes non-expectable or something hard to predict.

In popular culture

Literature

• 1975: Use of the term "gwei" to refer to Westerners is frequently referenced in Maxine Hong Kingston's The Woman Warrior.
• 1974: In Henry Golightly by Geoffry Morgan Pike the main character is referred to as a "gwai lo" as he works on his boat in Macau and other parts of Asia.
• 2005-2012: "Gwei" is used as a collective term for the Old Ones in Anthony Horowitz's The Power of Five. Gwei is the Chinese name for the Old Ones, and means "evil spirit" in the series.
• 2009: In The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi the main character is referred to as a "yang guizi" by a Chinese employee as he manages a factory in futuristic Bangkok.

Films

• 1986: In Big Trouble in Little China, James Hong refers to Kurt Russell as a "gwai lo".
• 1993: In Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story, Bruce Lee (played by Jason Scott Lee) is told to not teach martial arts to the 'Gweilo' anymore, however, Lee wants to teach to whoever wishes to learn.
• 2003: In Out for a Kill, Steven Seagal's character is frequently referred to as the "gweilo professor".
• 2007: In Balls of Fury, Randy Daytona is often referred to as a gweilo as he is the only Caucasian player in the ping-pong school (George Lopez's character, though, attributes the term the wrong meaning of "Round eyes" instead of a more generic term for foreigners with supernatural undertones of "ghost" or "devil").

Television

• 1999: CFMT-TV in Toronto had a cooking show named Gwai Lo Cooking. It featured a Cantonese-speaking European chef as the host, who was also the show's producer and the person who named the show. In response to some complaints, the Canadian Broadcast Standards Council ruled^[7] that

  ... While historically, "gwai lo" may have been used by Chinese people as a derogatory remark concerning foreigners, particularly European Westerners, the persons consulted by the Council indicate that it has since lost much of its derogatory overtone. The Council finds that the expression has also lost most of its religious meaning, so that "foreign devil" no longer carries the theological significance it once did. Based on its research, the Council understands that the expression has gone from being considered offensive to, at worst, merely "impolite".

According to CFMT-TV, "Gwei Lo" was used as "a self-deprecating term of endearment".^[8] Others, however, particularly foreigners living in Hong Kong, and non-Chinese subjected to the term in Vancouver and Toronto, find it to be demeaning and/or racist. However, it is also used by some non-Chinese (sometimes jocularly) to address themselves in the context of experiencing discrimination by Chinese towards them.

• 2004-2006: In the HBO drama Deadwood, Chinese settler Mr. Wu frequently applies the term "gwai lo" to various white men. It is translated as "cocksucker" by Wu himself.

Video games

• 2000: In the computer game Deus Ex, when the player embarks on the Hong Kong mission he is often disparagingly referred to as "gweilo" by locals when attempting to talk to them. The phrase is also used by the harvester leader and a weapons merchant in the 2011 prequel Deus Ex: Human Revolution (other characters in the China chapters use laowai).
• 2010: In the video game Alpha Protocol, the main character Mike Thornton is referred to as "gweilo" by the Chinese triad leader Hong Shi
• 2010: In the video game Mafia 2, the protagonist Vito is derogatively referred to as "gweilo" by Chinese characters
• 2010: In the video game Kane & Lynch 2: Dog Days, some Shanghai gang members refer to Kane and/or Lynch as 'gweilo'

Comics

• The Lily Wong comic stories by Larry Feign, about the build up to the handover of Hong Kong to China, have frequent references to the term, often in a derogatory sense used by Lily's father.

See also

References

Notes

External links

• The dictionary definition of gwailo at Wiktionary