Author: Afakv
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Get out and stay out! the Chinese Exclusion Act
“Almond-eyed, spindle-legged,” “yellow-skinned,” “pig-tailed,” ”bald-pated,” “filthy, unnatural, and abominable,” “dependent, ignorant . . . animal machine.” These are just a few of the words American newspapers used to describe us, John Chinaman. It was a time in which such words were deemed acceptable when the Chinese Exclusion Act was passed. Exactly 140 years ago on 6 May 1882.…
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May Fourth Movement, Commemorating the Dead and Liberation Day
Today is the fifth of May. In a tiny country in northwestern Europe, the liberation from foreign occupation, German in this case, is celebrated. Yesterday, the fourth of May, the entire country would remain silent for two minutes in order to remember and honour the Dutch lost who their lives in WWII and other subsequent…
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Asian Pacific American Heritage Month
Here it is, the Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. While I appreciate the sentiment, it implies that every other month isn’t Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. It feels like we’re being thrown a bone from the table of the master as he gets to enjoy the real prize, whatever that might be. At any rate,…
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Ten Reasons to stop Gambling
Gionai was a gvsai da (Regiment Colonel) and in charge of alban taqikvi baita (official education affairs). He published his essay jiha efire be targabure juwan haqin (ten reasons to stop gambling) in the third year of Saiqvngga Fengxen (Jiaqing, the third year is 1798). He mentions that he found an essay titled “ten precepts…
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Guangzhou: Islam in Tang China
This article covers the spreading of Islam to China. It focuses on the Tang Dynasty events and discusses trade and military contact between the Islamic world and the Chinese world. Special attention is paid to the situation in Guangzhou, as it was frequently mentioned in Arabic sources.
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Hakka-Punti Armed Conflicts: A Violent History
An article on the violent history of the Hakka and the Punti. It will survey some topics regarding Hakka identity and Punti identiy. The second part of this article will delve into the minutiae of the war.
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The Conquest of Xinjiang
Xinjiang has over the past few years frequently reached the headlines as China is questioned over the treatment of its inhabitants and China’s legitimacy over the area. While this article shall not directly discuss those highly controversial and politicised topics, I do hope that my attempt to survey the history of Xinjiang will give the…
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Hells Canyon Massacre
The date was May 27, 1887 when 34 Chinese miners were murdered, stripped naked, hacked to pieces and then thrown into the Snake River in Oregon. It was the worst massacre of Chinese in the history of the American West and the murderers got off unpunished. Today, 133 years later, we remember this atrocity.
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Islam in China: the Sultanate of Yunnan (1/2)
Today is May 19th. It marks a dreadful day in history oft forgotten. It marks the Kunming Massacre of 1856. A three-day period that claimed the lives of thousands of Muslim Yunnanese. It saddens me to say this was only one of the massacres in a series of massacres, albeit the one that directly sparked…
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Sunburnt Dragon: The Treaty of Shimonoseki
Today we remember 17 April 1895, the day Qing Empire and Japan signed the Treaty of Shimonoseki 下関条約/馬關條約. After losing horrendously against the Japanese Empire, The Qing Empire gave up its suzerain status over Korea. Liaodong, Penghu (the Pescadores) and Taiwan were officially ceded to Japan. Qing China was forced to pay 200 million taels…
Afakv's Memories 