Clever, Cunning, and Conniving Chinese

A major American corporation ran an ad back around the 1960s that seemed to praise the Chinese as being "darned clever" for inventing paper many centuries ago, really wanted to brag about how more amazing its paperboard was in lowering the cost of mass distribution.

But Chinese were also often viewed as cunning and conniving in their dealings so that they were not trustworthy.  Consider two examples, which, unfortunately, attest to these negative images.

In 1885, a news article described how some Chinese immigrants go to Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, where they would deliberately leave their luggage and then cross the border into the U.S. at Port Townsend, Washington. Then they go to the customs office at Port Townsend, Washington to obtain a document allowing them to exit the U.S. to get their luggage in Victoria and bring it back with them when reentering the U.S.

A second news article in 1910 described how Mow Yung (English meaning "useless") was slated for deportation even though he was born in the U.S. He did not protest because he saw this as an opportunity for a free trip to visit China for the first time and to get acquainted with relatives.  Meanwhile, his father prepared affidavits that his son was a U.S. citizen and request that the U.S. pay for his trip back to the U.S.

These "clever" tactics, unfortunately, harmed the Chinese in America because it fostered negative images that reinforced prejudices against all Chinese.