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;Shina meaning "Chinese" | ;Shina meaning "Chinese" | ||
:Although the core meaning of '''shina 品''' is "objects/items/goods/wares", it is interesting to note that '''shina 支那''' is also an old Japanese term for "Chinese", nowadays considered pejorative. | :Although the core meaning of '''shina 品''' is "objects/items/goods/wares", it is interesting to note that '''shina 支那''' is also an old Japanese term for "Chinese", nowadays considered pejorative. | ||
:Of particular interest in this respect is the half-humorous, half-chauvinistic cartoon [http://www.myjapanesehanga.com/home/artists/kiyochika-kobayashi-1847-1915-/juggler-of-the-chinese-ball "Juggler of the Chinese ball"] (Shinadama-tsukai or Shina tama-tsukai 支那玉遣ひ). A Japanese officer is simultaneously performing two acts: a balancing act with some military gear, and a juggling act with balls that are shaped as caricatural Chinese people. In line with the intended pun ("doing with the Chinese as if they were balls" – and only needing one hand, too!), the caption combines the ordinary term '''shinadama/shinatama 品玉''', by replacing the ordinary/neutral '''shina 品''' with the pejorative '''shina 支那'''. | :Of particular interest in this respect is the half-humorous, half-chauvinistic cartoon [https://web.archive.org/web/20211127055141/http://www.myjapanesehanga.com/home/artists/kiyochika-kobayashi-1847-1915-/juggler-of-the-chinese-ball "Juggler of the Chinese ball"] (Shinadama-tsukai or Shina tama-tsukai 支那玉遣ひ). A Japanese officer is simultaneously performing two acts: a balancing act with some military gear, and a juggling act with balls that are shaped as caricatural Chinese people. In line with the intended pun ("doing with the Chinese as if they were balls" – and only needing one hand, too!), the caption combines the ordinary term '''shinadama/shinatama 品玉''', by replacing the ordinary/neutral '''shina 品''' with the pejorative '''shina 支那'''. | ||
:Also interesting is how some descriptions of the '''shinatama ningyō 品玉人形''' puppet specifically mention that the doll is wearing Chinese-style clothes (chūgoku kaze no fukusō 中国風の服装). There are no pejorative connotations in this case, and '''shina 支那''' does not appear explicitly either, but possibly we are looking at a "running gag" in Japanese culture, where the '''shina 品''' radical can act as a magnet for Chinese stereotypes, regardless of context. | :Also interesting is how some descriptions of the '''shinatama ningyō 品玉人形''' puppet specifically mention that the doll is wearing Chinese-style clothes (chūgoku kaze no fukusō 中国風の服装). There are no pejorative connotations in this case, and '''shina 支那''' does not appear explicitly either, but possibly we are looking at a "running gag" in Japanese culture, where the '''shina 品''' radical can act as a magnet for Chinese stereotypes, regardless of context. | ||
;Standalone meanings of 品 and 玉 | ;Standalone meanings of 品 and 玉 |