John Chinaman

[1] Also referenced by Mark Twain and popular American songs of the period,[2] John Chinaman represented, in western society, a typical persona of China.

John Chinaman minstrel songs from the 1850s presented Chinese men as effeminate and unmanly.

[3]: 26  Such songs frequently revolved around John Chinaman's failed pursuit of white women.

In Nast's cartoon "A Matter of Taste", published March 15, 1879 (seen at right), John Confucius expresses disapproval of Senator James G. Blaine for his support of the Chinese Exclusion Act.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the term first emerged with British sailors who, uninterested in learning how to pronounce the names of the Chinese stewards, firemen, and sailors who worked as part of their crews, came up with the generic nickname of "John".