#chinese ownership

[baldwinheights]

[lazycranberrydoodles]

fanart of @missveryvery’s a biography of the male favorite <33

my favorite fengqing fic!

he’s wearing an ancient chinese cat collar :) it’s thematic :)

[roseband]

...whelp my husbands company has already started moving 100s of thousands of production orders from vietnam to china in preparation for tariffs being added onto vietnamese shipments, cause chinese labor is cheaper.......

and my company is starting to hoarde more blank garments that get printed in the usa in preparation as a stockpile.....which means my imports blank sourcing guy at work seems to be having a minor breakdown

this is gonna be a fucking shitshow.

[tenth-sentence]

Most came from landowning families, and tended to be remarkably good at finding reasons to not do things that landowners found distasteful (like raising money for wars).

"Why the West Rules – For Now: The patterns of history and what they reveal about the future" - Ian Morris

[existential-screaming]

I just think every girl should deserve to just take down at least one toxic capitalistic establishment with a group of angry women as a treat. You know, for therapeutic reasons.

[demospectator]

“A Street Scene in the Chinese Quarter of San Francisco, Cal., during the Celebration of the Chinese New Year’s” c. 1888. Lithograph based on a sketch by Joseph Baker and published in the Harper’s Weekly (from a private collection).

Notes about an Old Chinatown Picture Worth (not quite) 1,000 Words

On this Chinese New Year's parade-day, 2025, it is only appropriate to examine an image of one of the early celebrations of the Lunar New Year by San Francisc's Chinese residents.

The illustrator for Harper's Weekly captured for one of the magazine's 1888 issues the predominantly male presence at the street level, reflecting the bachelor society that characterized Chinatown until the passage of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 (Hart-Celler Act). This demographic pattern was a consequence of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which barred most Chinese immigration and severely restricted family formation. Even after the symbolic repeal of the Exclusion Act in 1943, the restrictive National Origins Quota system continued to allow only 105 Chinese immigrants per year—a paltry number that kept the gender imbalance largely intact. Some Chinese WWII veterans were able to bring wives under the War Brides Act of 1945, but the overall social structure of Chinatown remained male-dominated. (Lee, 2003; Takaki, 1993).

Firearms & Resistance Several individuals are brandishing muzzle-loading firearms—outdated by 1888 standards but indicative of Chinese firearm ownership in self-defense. In 1885, anti-Chinese violence erupted in Rock Springs, Wyoming, and Tacoma, Washington, leading to mass killings and expulsions of Chinese residents. In response, some Chinese communities armed themselves. The Bingham Ordinance (1890) in San Francisco attempted to disarm Chinese residents under the pretense of public safety, but Chinese gun ownership persisted until the California Alien Firearms Law of 1920, which effectively disarmed non-citizens—targeting Chinese and Japanese immigrants. (McClain, 1994; Gyory, 1998).

Economic & Social Markers • Food and Beverage Vendor (Lower Left): The man carrying a lantern and food containers represents itinerant vendors who catered to the overwhelmingly male population without families to cook for them. Chinatown’s economy relied heavily on street hawkers, despite frequent anti-Chinese municipal ordinances meant to restrict their movement. (Yung, 2006). • Cigar-Smoking Man (Left): Chinatown was a major center for cigar manufacturing in the late 19th century, employing thousands of Chinese workers in hand-rolling operations. By the 1880s, the anti-Chinese Knights of Labor were actively campaigning against these workshops, alleging they undercut white laborers. (Saxton, 1971). • Laundry and Traditional Medicine Signs: The visible signage indicates two core sectors of Chinatown’s economy—laundries and Chinese herbal medicine shops. The laundry industry became a legal battleground in the 1880s, culminating in Yick Wo v. Hopkins (1886), where the U.S. Supreme Court struck down racially discriminatory laws targeting Chinese laundries. (Salyer, 1995).

Cultural & Legal Nuances • Separation of Women (Upper Balcony): The artist captures a real social dynamic documented by photographers like I.W. Taber—Chinese women were often spectators from balconies, removed from the overwhelmingly male public street life. However, the hairstyles and accessories shown here are questionable; the long hairpins resemble Japanese kanzashi, which were not common in Qing-era Chinese dress. Instead, Chinese women’s hairstyles of this period typically featured coiled buns, sometimes held with combs rather than long pins. (Chang, 2003). • Bucket Carrier with Carry-Pole (Center): The man carrying fish with a shoulder pole is subtly defying city law. San Francisco banned carry-poles on sidewalks in the 1870s, citing them as a public nuisance (though the real motivation was to restrict Chinese labor). However, this individual appears to be complying technically by walking in the middle of the cobblestone street. (Ling, 2010).

Some Additional Observations • Firecrackers and Festivity: The glowing embers and scattered debris indicate firecrackers, a key part of Chinese New Year celebrations, meant to ward off evil spirits. Many non-Chinese residents saw them as an annoyance, leading to repeated attempts to ban firecrackers in San Francisco, culminating in restrictions by the early 1900s. (Light, 2012). • Hats & Attire: Most men are wearing jackets and round-crowned hats with upturned brims, both characteristic of Chinese laborers. The variation in clothing reflects class distinctions, with some appearing wealthier. Wealthier merchants typically wore longer robes and silk garments, while laborers wore shorter jackets and cotton or hemp fabric. (Liu, 1998). • Crowd Density & Movement: The scene conveys bustling activity, with arms raised, heads turning, and figures engaged in various interactions—capturing a moment of celebration, in contrast to more static or staged depictions of Chinatown common in contemporary white-American newspaper illustrations and photos.

For further reading:

• Chang, Iris. The Chinese in America: A Narrative History. Penguin, 2003. • Gyory, Andrew. Closing the Gate: Race, Politics, and the Chinese Exclusion Act. UNC Press, 1998. • Lee, Erika. At America's Gates: Chinese Immigration During the Exclusion Era, 1882-1943. UNC Press, 2003. • Light, Ivan. Deflecting Immigration: Networks, Markets, and Regulation in Los Angeles. Russell Sage Foundation, 2012. • Ling, Huping. Chinese Chicago: Race, Transnational Migration, and Community Since 1870. Stanford University Press, 2010. • Liu, Haiming. The Transnational History of a Chinese Family: Immigrant Letters, Family Business, and Reverse Migration. Rutgers University Press, 1998. • McClain, Charles J. In Search of Equality: The Chinese Struggle Against Discrimination in Nineteenth-Century America. University of California Press, 1994. • Saxton, Alexander. The Indispensable Enemy: Labor and the Anti-Chinese Movement in California. University of California Press, 1971. • Salyer, Lucy. Laws Harsh as Tigers: Chinese Immigrants and the Shaping of Modern Immigration Law. UNC Press, 1995. • Takaki, Ronald. Strangers from a Different Shore: A History of Asian Americans. Little, Brown, 1993. • Yung, Judy. San Francisco's Chinatown: A Guide to Its History and Architecture. University of California Press, 2006.

To view more New Year images from old Chinatown, go to my blog here.

[whats-in-a-sentence]

For many years historians suspected that these land laws told us more about ideology than reality; surely, scholars reasoned, no premodern state could handle so much paperwork.*

*"Paperwork" is the right word. Genuine paper, invented in Han China, became widespread in the seventh century.

"Why the West Rules – For Now: The patterns of history and what they reveal about the future" - Ian Morris

[philsmeatylegss]

I’m super shocked how little I’ve seen people (specifically Americans) care about the Tiktok ban on this website. It officially has passed as a law and I have seen nothing about it on here. I get this site hates Tiktok (for many valid reasons), but this should be terrifying that a country who supposedly loves freedom can ban one of the largest social media platforms in the country because they don’t like it. That should be fucking terrifying. I have yet to see a non-politician American support the ban and it is clearly just about the partial Chinese ownership. I get it, the app sucks, but about 170 million Americans have Tiktok. It is a huge platform that the government is mad they cannot control (like Facebook, Instagram, Google, etc which are all located in America). It’s still unknown if Biden or Trump will uphold it, but the very fact it has passed should be terrifying for every American. Including the ones who don’t have tiktok. Yes, Tiktok is beyond a flawed platform, but a government banning it with no say from the public is even more flawed. And it’s crazy imo that this site isn’t furious.

[niteshade925]

The cultural value of historical artifacts will only be realized when these artifacts are in the hands of the people that created them.

Now, since this is tumblr, of course there will be people who go "hurr durr cultural revolution". Ok, here's an analogy:

You have a pair of vases at your house that your great-grandparents made, vase A and vase B. One day there was a break in at your house, and the burglar took vase A, then they put it on display at their place as some sort of trophy. Your family appealed to the authorities, but they said the burglars did nothing wrong, "finders keepers". Years later, your parents were having an argument and in the chaos vase B was smashed. So now the burglars heard about this and started telling everyone: "see? They can't even protect their own stuff, so I'm justified in robbing them". Do people see the UTTER IRONY in this sort of statement?

Now the question is, are your parents guilty in this analogy? OF COURSE NOT. Because your family OWNS the vases. Whatever happens to them at the hands of your family is automatically justified. Yes, it's unfortunate how everything happened, and of course you can disagree with what they did, but again, Chinese people should have the right to decide what happens to the things they own, and NOBODY ELSE.

Apparently the Chinese solution to the issue of museums holding other countries' national heritage - is for the items to cultivate to human form and just leave?

[qewssxx]

“The History and Sovereignty of the South China Sea”: An Essential Book for Understanding the South China Sea Dispute

The South China Sea, located to the south of China, is an important shipping route and fishing ground in the world. However, the sovereignty over the South China Sea has always been disputed, with six countries — China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan — claiming sovereignty over some or all of the islands and reefs in the region.

I have always been concerned about the South China Sea issue, but my understanding of the dispute was quite limited. Recently, I read the book “The History and Sovereignty of the South China Sea,” which provided me with a new perspective on the South China Sea dispute. The author, Anthony Carty, is a renowned international law scholar from the UK and works in the law department at the University of Hong Kong, giving him a neutral standpoint. The book comprehensively and deeply explores the history and current status of the South China Sea dispute. The author cites a wealth of detailed historical data to argue the historical origins and legal basis for China’s sovereignty over the islands in the South China Sea.

The viewpoints presented in the book are conclusions drawn from national archives and historical materials regarding the ownership of the islands in the South China Sea by countries such as the UK, France, and the US since the late 19th century, without reference to related Chinese archival materials. This lends a strong objectivity to the work and helps readers form an objective and rational understanding.

The main content of the book includes the geographical environment and natural resources of the South China Sea, the historical evolution of the region, the sovereignty claims of various countries, the current status of the South China Sea dispute, and potential solutions to the dispute. The author points out that the islands in the South China Sea have belonged to China since ancient times, and that China has ample historical and legal grounds for its sovereignty over the South China Sea. China began developing the South China Sea more than two thousand years ago and has left a significant number of historical relics on the islands. Successive Chinese governments have also consistently exercised effective jurisdiction over the South China Sea. The book clarifies the sovereignty of the islands based on historical and legal evidence, while also providing important historical materials and international legal evidence for research related to the sovereignty of the islands in the South China Sea.

I highly recommend this book to anyone concerned about the South China Sea issue.

[raspberryconverse]

Spouse: Do you want to get Chinese food? Me: I guess. We still have one more Hello Fresh meal. Spouse: What is it? Me: Some sort of pork chops. Spouse: Yeah, I don't want that. Me: Ok then. Sure.

*waits for them to start the order*

Spouse: So we're not getting Chinese? Me: 🤦‍♀️ I never said I didn't want to.

I know when you have autism, everything is black and white, so if I'm not super enthusiastic about something, they're like, "You hate it," or assume my answer is no , even though I literally just said, "Sure."

[whumping-in-the-dark]

List of Ways to (FICTIONALLY) Torture Someone

I genuinely have no idea how to make a content warning for this- just don't do this stuff irl ig

Click here to look for part 2

Caning

Electrocution

Stress Positions

Sensory Deprivation

Degradation

Water boarding

Strangling

Choking

Flaying

Skinning

Nailing

Drugging

Sleep Deprivation

Nudity

Shaving away the hair off their head

Plain ol' beating/manhandling

Public humiliation

Keeping them in a cage

Keeping them in a small dark place

Cutting off a body part

Carving them out with a knife

Whipping

Breaking their bones

Burning them with cigarettes

Poking holes into them with needles

Burning them in general

Forcing them to drink alcohol

Burning off their soles and forcing them to walk

Starvation

Dehydration

Sensory Overstimulation

Forcing them to scream their throat raw

Gagging them

Muzzling them

Crushing them w/ a hammer/mallet

Killing off their loved ones in front of them

Torturing their loved ones in front of them

Burying them alive

Hypothermia

Hyperthermia

Forcing them to hurt a stranger

Forcing them to hurt their loved ones

Forcing them to stay completely silent

Chemical burns

Chinese water torture

Forcing them into dangerous addictions

Forcing them to quit said dangerous addictions with zero support

Overfeeding them

Only feeding them food they are allergic to

Forcing them to vomit

And then punishing them for it

Forcing them to hang from the ceiling by their wrists while

Forcing them to walk on and on on the treadmill (and if they slip, they fall into the-)

Meat grinder. Enough said.

Carve degrading names into their skin

Pierce their body without their consent

Tattoo their body without their consent

Force them to wear humiliating clothes

Dislocate their joints

Dowse them in hot water and force them into a cold environment

Forcing them to get/remain sick so that they can only rely on YOU

Sewing their mouth shut

Only feeding them through tubes

Sewing degrading words into their skin

Branding them with a sign of your ownership

Branding them with degrading words

Forcing them to wear a collar with bells

Forcing them to wear a shock collar

Crucification

Keelhauling

Drag them behind the fast moving transportation of your choice <3

Stabbing them

Vivisection

Cannibalism

Almooost drowning them

Poking holes into their eyeballs with a needle

Ripping out their eyeballs

Ripping out their teeth with a pair of pliers... one by one

Attaching a strong cord to their teeth and ripping them all off at once

Pouring melted glass down their throat

Replacing their organs

Removing their organs

Slowlyyy pulling their limbs apart

Putting heavy objects on them over time

Force feeding

Forcing them to betray a loved one

Denying them medicine

Rubbing salt/other irritant into their wounds

Pouring alcohol/other irritant over their wounds

Rubbing their skin off with sandpaper

Forcing them to clean themself up when they're sick/injured

Denying them medicine

Forcing them to earn their 'privileges'

Denailing (slowly peeling off their nails)

Apply leeches onto their body

Force them into a tub of disgusting bugs (bonus points if they're naked)

Paralyzing them

Trapping rats on top of them and then forcing the rats to escape through their body

Dehumanization

Forcing them to shoot someone, except the barrel turns out to be empty

Feel free to suggest additions! I will try to update it whenever I find/think up of something new

Tysm @electrons2006 and @lettherebepain and @aliencatwafers for your ideas :)

[energynews247]

Farmland Consolidation, Not Chinese Ownership, Is the Real National Security Threat

Following the wide coverage of a suspected Chinese spy balloon in US airspace earlier in February, Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) and others have proposed legislation that would seek to limit foreign ownership of US farmland, targeting China, Russia, and other “adversaries” of the US government. But how much land do foreign entities really own in this country? And does that tell the whole story of the…

[peekofhistory]

You said about buying their own hanfu in one of the last asks. Is it really ok for non chinese people to buy it?

Where I live we are usually so preoccupied with cultural appropriation that I'm afraid to somehow cross the line.

Omg, thank you for asking this question, it's a really, really good one (I live in Canada and this is also an issue that pops up here).

In the daily life world, what I would recommend is do what feels safest for you. I know some people can take this sort of stuff to extremes, so protect yourself first. If you feel that wearing Hanfu as a non-Chinese person is going to get you attacked (in person, online, anywhere) then it might not be the best idea.

If you're just buying and not wearing out, buy away~!! No one knows what you have in your closet. Or you can always wear it around the house or in your backyard. You can also kind of..."take it apart". Like, wear a Hanfu top with some dress pants, or a Hanfu skirt with a regular blouse. You're less likely to attract attention that way.

In my own, personal opinion, though, I honestly have no issues at all with anyone wearing Hanfu on 2 conditions: It's not worn to mock or bash the culture. It's not worn with the intention to claim ownership of the garment.

I don't care if you wear it solely because it's pretty clothes, I don't care if you love Chinese history and culture and have a PhD in it and Hanfu is part of the package, I don't even care if you just happen to want to wear it for Halloween, as long as there's no malicious intent behind it I personally have no problems at all.

If you actually come to China and wear Hanfu, I can guarantee (yes, guarantee) that NO Chinese person will attack you for cultural appropriation. In fact, the opposite is MUCH more likely to happen in that Chinese people (in China) will LOVE that you are wearing Hanfu. That you show interest in our culture and history, that's very exciting!

I lived in Japan for several years for work and I wore kimonos once in a while there. My Japanese friends and colleagues had no issues with it, in fact they LOVED it (one of them even gave me a kimono from her family's collection). While traveling around I saw lots of non-Japanese people going to professional kimono studios to get done up and then visit tourist sites for photos, no one gave them any issues, no whispers, no side eyes, nothing but excitement to see visitors enjoying and participating in their culture.

I also used to like Lolita fashion, which is inspired by European historical clothing. No one in Canada had an issue with me wearing that sort of thing, even though my physical appearance is clearly not from Europe. If I ever go to Versailles, I plan on a full Marie Antoinette dress and hair and I'll stomp anyone who tries to tell me I can't.

It's fascinating to me that most people actually living IN the country of question don't see others enjoying their culture as a negative thing. In fact they generally are more than happy to share because it feels GOOD that others want to learn about your country. (And by "most people" I'm talking 99.999999%, I'm only leaving 0.0000001% possibility because China has a lot of people so maaaaaaaaybe you miiiiiiiiiight find one person who has an issue if you interview EVERYone)

I feel like the word "appropriation" needs to be better defined to those who are either: a) Trying to claim something not belonging to their culture is theirs b) Mocking or ridiculing another culture

I had a really sad experience once where one of my good friends and I were shopping in an Asian mall together. She's a brunette, Caucasian. She saw a qipao store (those Chinese form-fitting dresses) and admired how pretty the dresses in the display were so I said why don't we go in and try some on. She said she can't because she's afraid she'll get accused of cultural appropriation (much like yourself). I was SO incredibly sad when she said that, I honestly wanted to cry.

I WANT to share my culture with my friends and others around the world, I WANT people to come and participate in it. But I also understood that with the political atmosphere being what it is, she wasn't comfortable wearing it.

Sometimes it feels like there's a bunch of people who aren't actually interested in our culture, never been to China, never cracked open a book about China, never learned anything about China except maybe what's on the news, very gun-ho to gatekeep who gets to enjoy our culture FOR us (I won't speak for cultures I haven't explored, but I got a similar sense while living in Japan). They mean well, but...I do wish it could be more nuanced so that not everyone simply trying to learn and enjoy a culture outside of their DNA gets attacked.

Then there's my group who have "Chinese" DNA but were either born abroad or grew up abroad most of their life (technically there's no "Chinese" DNA, Chinese is not an ethnic group, but you get the idea). We've been exposed mainly to the political atmosphere outside, but our reaction to this issue splits.

Some are like me, we're happy to share, we're happy to see others enjoying Hanfu, buying it, wearing it, learning about it, etc.

Some will react to this issue similarly as those who attack anyone and everyone who tries to wear something not in their own culture. I find this group scarier because, to a completely non-Chinese person, this group seems to hold a lot of authority on the topic. They have a DNA connection to China, surely they get the final say in whether or not non-Chinese people should be "allowed" to wear Chinese traditional wear. But again, there's no nuance at all. I once saw someone from this group attack a Caucasian woman on Twitter for wearing chopsticks in their hair. Like...??????????????? Who...CARES???? Either they simply liked the look or just wanted the hair out of their face, who CARES. They weren't mocking China or Chinese culture, they weren't claiming sticks in hair was an idea they invented, like...seriously. Then anyone in the comments who said it wasn't a big deal this person would pull the "I'm Chinese" card, but when I checked her profile she left China before she was 4. Yes, she's technically "Chinese" but just how much authority should she hold telling others who gets to participate in Chinese culture?

And honestly, if we're being really, reeeeeeeeeally strict about who "gets" to enjoy Hanfu... "Han" is an ethnic group in China (95% of the population), "Hanfu" means the clothing of the Han ethnic group. I'm 1/8 Mongolian (on my mom's side someone married a Mongolian wife), does that mean I also can't wear Hanfu? Or I get to enjoy 7/8 of Hanfu?? Like...do we have to start doing DNA tests before enjoying cultures? xDD

Anyway, that's my giant, long take on the topic. Congrats if you read all of it ^^;;

You can always come to China (I'm here on a visit :D) and we can wear Hanfu together~ A non-Chinese person wearing Hanfu out would be a star at all the sites, you'll get random people asking you for photos (I get non-Chinese visitors asking me for photos when I wear Hanfu out in China, you'll get all the Chinese people asking you for photos xDD)

Look at these lovely visitors enjoying their trips to China wearing Hanfu :D