Gourt Home::Gourt :: Fenqing
- This is for Chinese angry young men. For other uses of Angry Young Men, see Disambiguation Page
Origins of the Term
This term first appeared in Hong Kong in the 1970s, referring to those young people who were not satisfied with Chinese society and sought reform.
Nowadays it has evolved to be an exclusive Internet slang. Whether fenqing is derogatory or commendatory usually depends on the person. Critics describe them with negative terms including "粪青" (lit. shit-youth or idiotic youth, same pronunciation), which can be changed further to fenfen () as a derogatory nickname.
Fenqing may also exist in the Republic of China (Taiwan), though these fenqing work towards opposite goals of mainland China fenqing, as their support of Taiwan independence and glorification of Japanese rule of Taiwan.
Overview
Fenqing are a special phenomenon after the "reform and opening up" of the Chinese government, during the period of fast economic development that occurred in China.
Some people argue that fenqing are a natural reaction to recent neoconservatism in Japan and the United States. Fenqing and these foreign neo-conservative elements intensely dislike each other, but all of them share certain similarities: distrust of foreign powers, support for the military and boundary disputes, etc. However, fenqing are not quite the same as Chinese neoconservatives.
- As a group, fengqing are very diverse in their opinions. However, they are usually nationalists and patriotic, and very much concerned with political issues, often having strong reactions to issues relating to Japan, Taiwan or the United States.
- They often harbour negative attitudes towards Japan due to the invasion and occupation by Imperial Japan, and support strong political stances towards Japan. For example, many believe that the Japanese government's apologies for Japanese war crimes in the Second Sino-Japanese War are insincere and inadequate. More recent incidents, such as the Prime Minister's annual visit to the Yasukuni Shrine to honor both war dead & war criminals in WWII, the territorial dispute surrounding the Diaoyu Islands, and the revisions of Japanese history textbooks by Japanese right-wing nationalist groups which many critics claims whitewash the atrocities committed by the Imperial Japanese Army, lead these young people to conclude that the Japanese government is again seeking to expand militarily. These anti-Japanese sentiments are not necessarily only directed against the Japanese government and military, but also towards the Japanese culture, economy, and people.
- Many support Chinese boycotts of Japanese products, for historical reasons and in reaction to events described above.
- They may dislike Japanophiles and other Chinese who are Westernized, calling them Hanjian (Traitors).
- Most view that Taiwan is a part of China, and that Taiwanese independence should be prevented by any means necessary. Many fenqing tend to consider war to be feasible, if not immediately necessary. A few may favor the use of nuclear weapons against Taiwan.
- On Sino-American relations, most believe that China needs to learn from the United States; though a minority believe that is unnecessary. Most believe that the United States and China will ultimately develop a balance of power with their own spheres of influence, with competition as well as cooperation. Though only the extreme minority believes a war with the United States is impending and the most likely spark being Taiwan.
- They generally view American or Western attention to issues such as human rights, Falun Gong, Tibet, etc. as attempts to undermine the rise of China. Most support the ideal of democracy, while some view these with suspicion as subversive propaganda, though only a few truly believe in Communism.
- Only a few have the view that the Chinese government is invincible and justified at all cases. They may unconditionally defend all action by the Communist Party of China.
- Some are very passionate about irredentist claims. In addition to the official claims made by the People's Republic of China, such as Taiwan, Arunachal Pradesh, the Diaoyu Islands, and the South China Sea Islands, some fenqing also make irredentist claims to Outer Mongolia, Tuva, Outer Manchuria, the Hukawng Valley of northern Myanmar, parts of Central Asia east of Lake Balkhash, Bhutan, Ladakh, and Sikkim.
- They generally abhor political corruption within the government and government organizations. They also generally perceive the government as being too nice or ineffectual in a variety of issues, such as the Taiwan Straits, relations with Japan or the U.S., and Tibetan and Xinjiang independence.
- For some their role models are Lu Xun and the activists of the May Fourth Movement. Some fenqing believe if Lu Xun were still alive today, he would continue fiercely criticizing the government.
See also
Chinese terms | Chinese culture | Nationalism | 憤青 | 愤青
"Fenqing"