4 ms·

How so?

• shakna 4y ago
  I believe the parent thinks that the use of "Chinese junk" is a reference to the ship style from the 2nd Century. The "Junk" was a fully-battened ship, employed by the Chinese, during that time. Though similar junk ships were used throughout the whole of Asia, it became a symbol of Chinese expansion. The use of the word "junk" when referring to the ship, is not actually an insult or anything of the kind. Practically all medium to large ships from South East Asia were referred to as junks, whether or not they actually had where we get "junk" from - a kind of rigging. (The exact etymology of the word is not, however, clear.) Why the use of such a reference might be insulting... I have no clue. A junk is a junk. It would still be called a junk if you came across one, today. It's just a technical term, not an insult.
  • bsenftner 4y ago
    I said the usage of the phrase stands out. Culturally, historically, China was known for producing "junk" products of lower quality throughout the majority of the 20th century. It used to be a common phrase in the 60's & 70's. Seeing the phrase in the article, and used in the same manner as during the 60's & 70' invokes those decades old attitudes.
    • coffeeblack 4y ago
      I think you are confusing China with Korea and Taiwan here. Mainland China didn’t produce anything before the mid-1980 (when VW opened a factory in Shanghai) and started to export “cheap junk” only around the mid-1990s (after sanctions due to the Tiananmen Massacre).
      • bsenftner 4y ago
        You may not have had memories of very cheap toys in the 60's and 70's that had a "made in china" stamp on them. Back before any of this modern world, China was the source for extremally cheap, low quality products.