Chino: Anti-Chinese Racism in Mexico, 1880-1940

by Jason Oliver Chang

From the late nineteenth century to the 1930s, antichinismo --the politics of racism against Chinese Mexicans--found potent expression in Mexico. Jason Oliver Chang delves into the untold story of how antichinismo helped the revolutionary Mexican state, and the elite in control, of it build their nation. As Chang shows, anti-Chinese politics shared intimate bonds with a romantic ideology that surrounded the transformation of the mass indigenous peasantry into dignified mestizos. Racializing a Chinese Other became instrumental in organizing the political power and resources for winning Mexico's revolutionary war, building state power, and seizing national hegemony in order to dominate the majority Indian population. By centering the Chinese in the drama of Mexican history, Chang opens up a fascinating untold story about the ways antichinismo was embedded within Mexico's revolutionary national state and its ideologies. Groundbreaking and boldly argued, Chino is a first-of-its-kind look at the essential role the Chinese played in Mexican culture and politics.

Genres: Race, Nonfiction

278 pages, Hardcover

Published March 21, 2017

Reviews

[Sarah left GR]

From an interview with the author:

"Racism is most effective when non-whites practice it against each other. It becomes a part of their own subjugation. That’s the core of what I wanted to show. I didn’t want to write just about the Chinese being persecuted. Antichinismo fucked up Mexican people too. Fucked them up hard. And that’s the tragedy of it: no one won. No one gained from this. It was bad for everyone."

http://remezcla.com/features/culture/...

[Aces Lira · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a fascinating yet dark encounter with Mexican History. Chang delivered a comprehensive look into the multiple layers of influence that fueled anti-Chinese sentiments across Mexico. I was left incredibly fascinated at how he put together the literary tools that analyze the racial history and implications of the US to review and explore Mexico’s legacy of racism.

I’m adding this book as a staple for Mexican History. I not only left with the themes of anti-Chinese sentiment but also a look at the transitions in international relations, presidential changes, gender dynamics, etc. The book truly went through a range of subjects and with such a deep respect for the lives negatively impacted and lost. As a reader, being able to witness the names of people killed in the Torreón Massacre and other events left a powerful impression.

As I read through this, there were moments of pause especially with the current refugee crisis across the US of folks arriving from Venezuela. I couldn’t help but see how government response is pivotal to either alleviating xenophobia or fueling hatred. There are many lessons to take away from this book!

[Tiffany · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was super excited to read this book because there is so little literature on Asians in Latin America, and while I am still grateful for this uncovering, there is a effort to tell a story of Chinese victimhood that I think obscures other aspects that could have been useful in telling the full story. For one, Chang mentions South Asians a few times in the book, but never goes into much detail. Obviously with skin tone it is easy to racialize Chinese Asians and South Asians differently, I was a little disappointed to see no critical engagement with this segment of the population. Furthermore, while this was definitely discussed, I feel like Chang did not treat the subject of anti-Indigeneity with the amount of care that this book probably necessitated. Although antichinismo was part of an effort to incorporate Indigenous peoples into Mexican culture through intermarriage and the creation of a mestizo identity, this also was predicated on the goal of diluting Indigenous blood. Again, this was mentioned, but I felt that the way Chang emphasized the idea of Indigenous folx being mixed into society brushed off the deep violence that is forcing Indigenous people to assimilate to suit the colonizers' interests. All in all, this book is very important in beginning to uncover the formerly invisibilized narratives of Chinese Mexicans, but there is a lot more nuance needed for a just history.

[Anneke · Rating 5 out of 5]

brilliant and well researched. this is a history that I didn’t realize I was searching for and I just want to keep learning. it feels at once personal and distant as a Chinese American who also descended from someone who lived through the revolution as a child in Mexico City. I don’t understand these histories firsthand but I can’t help but feel implicated in them. Chino is so historically dense that it can be a struggle to move through and I do feel like there are many more books worth of material that Chang has in him to contribute, but I’m glad I took my time digesting this small slice of history and life nonetheless. I do kind of wish there were more images of Chinese Mexicans in here and a greater contextualization of what everyday life might look like outside of violence, rather than just having those racist illustrations and the introductory chapter. The maps were very helpful though for visualizing the diaspora and conflicts of the revolution. I have such a parasocial relationship with Jason Oliver Chang, he’s like my academic superhero lol and I’m probably going to end up citing him more than anyone else in my thesis