While living in Mongolia from 2005-2007, I saw many examples of anti-Chinese sentiment. I felt every Mongolian held a historical grudge against their Han neighbors. When I asked people about the reasoning behind their anti-Chinese feelings they would often respond in reference to the 200-year domination by the Manchu Qing Dynasty. But it was never consistent between Mongolians exactly why they held these feelings. It wasn’t until I did this research project that I discovered why many Mongolians feel this way towards the Chinese.
Franck Billé’s Research
At the beginning of this research project, I realized that research on this topic is very scarce. After searching for some time for valuable articles, I encountered a reference to some research by Franck Billé at Cambridge University who did some field-work for this very question about anti-Chinese Sentiment among Mongolians. I contacted him and he was generous enough to give me access to a published paper he’s written which discusses some major narratives on why Mongolians bear these sentiments. During his time in Mongolia, he interviewed many people, read the newspapers, watched the news, and was aware of other social activity in relation to anti-Chinese feelings among the everyday Mongolians. In his paper he writes that from his research, he found three general areas where Mongolians feel threatened by China and its people: the threat to the nation’s territory, the threat to the body, and the threat to Mongolian reproduction.
It is no historical mystery that Mongolia and China have had its fair share of territorial problems in the past. After all, the Great Wall was built to keep the Mongols out of China. Billé states that in many of his interviews Mongolians referred to a map that Chinese use where Mongolia is not an independent country, but is still part of China’s territory. This urban legend is likely referring a map made in 1991-1992 by a Taiwanese company based out of Hong Kong. As you can imagine, Mongolians were not happy with this. Ever since the Guomindang (GMT) left the mainland for Taiwan around 1949, the Republic of China (ROC) has primarily continued to claim Mongolia as part of its original territory. It was not until 2002 that the ROC officially recognized Mongolia’s independent status. This map has led many to believe that China, whether it’s the ROC or the PRC seems to make no difference to the Mongolians, did not sincerely accept Mongolia’s independence. Many Mongolians believe that if China did not accept this, than they will try to take over Mongolia again in the future. An extension of this territorial threat has recently focused on Chinese mining activities in Mongolia. Mongolians feel China cannot politically or militarily take over Mongolia so it is robbing Mongolia of its precious natural resources, which in essence, is the same as taking over its land or territory.
The second threat that Billé found through his research is the feeling of a Chinese threat to the body. Some Mongolians feel that Chinese fruits and vegetables are poisoned, making them dangerous to those who buy them. Billé also cites a belief in the 80s where people were afraid to buy Chinese jeans because they believed that they would cause male infertility. Today, many Mongolians buy Russian-made clothes for infants, out of fear that the dyes used in the clothes are dangerous to the baby’s health. During Billé’s stay in Mongolia, he heard rumors among Mongolians about poor, homeless Mongolian children ‘adopted’ to China where their organs were harvested. Regardless of whether or not these fears are based on facts or reality, the current anti-Chinese sentiment among Mongolians is often built upon this foundation of rumors and urban legends and must be taken into account.
The third threat Billé discovered is that many Mongolian’s fear a Chinese threat to Mongolian reproduction, or in other words, a threat to the Mongolian populatin. Mongolians seem to be very particular about race. Blood is a very important matter in terms of personal, communal, and national identity. Billé recorded many interviews where Mongolians expressed concerns over Chinese men abducting young, inopportune Mongolian women and either forcing them into prostitution, or impregnating them. From a Mongolian’s perspective, this is a very serious problem because their nation’s population is small enough as it is, and there is a great fear of being swallowed up by China’s strength in numbers. Billé draws an interesting connection here by saying that Mongolian women are like symbols of Mongolianness. Just as Mongolians fear that Mongolia is being victimized and used by China, Mongolians also fear that Mongolian women (as a symbol of Mongolia) are being victimized and used by Chinese men.
Currently, there is a Mongolian Nationalist group called Dayar Mongol which, acting as vigilantes, tries to protect the national identity of Mongolia by shaving the heads of Mongolian women who they believe are having sexual relations with Chinese men. This fact is not speculation but something Billé personally discussed with the leader of Dayar Mongol during his research in Mongolia.
Billé was unable to locate any singular origin or cause for these sometimes unbelievable urban legends. However, he does attribute much of Mongolia’s suspicion towards China to its longstanding relationship with the Soviet Union and Russia, and Mongolia’s political alignment away from China during most of the 20th century. Between 1930 and 1990 contact between Mongolia and China was extremely rare and Billé reports the current xenophobia in Mongolia may be a result of Soviet-Marxist propaganda against China. Billé states that some welcomed inconsistencies in his research arise in “Mongols who have personal experience with China (for instance through extended study periods) no longer align themselves with mainstream discourse. This is particularly true for Mongols who have visited ‘modern’ cities such as Shanghai or Hong Kong that belie the Russian/Socialist descriptions of the Chinese as dirty and uneducated peasants” (Billé, p. 20). He also found that Mongolian women tend to be less nationalistic and more willing to look beyond the social stigmas towards Chinese.
Pujee’s Perspective
After reading and researching Franck Billé’s material, I decided to interview my good Mongolian friend, Pujee, to see if her personal views and opinions matched those researched by Franck Billé. Before our interview, I didn’t discuss any of Billé’s research with Pujee, so I was surprised to hear similar viewpoints and opinions. Pujee spoke from her own personal experience, but also took the time to ask a few friends in Mongolia about current thoughts and feelings towards Chinese. She focused her attention on these four sources of Mongolian suspicions: 1) the map where Mongolia is part of China, 2) some poor-quality Chinese goods that sterilize women, 3) Chinese workers in Mongolia break the law and commit crimes, sometimes kidnapping people and forcing women into prostitution, and 4) rather than a political or military takeover, China is taking over Mongolia through its economics—in other words, through a huge influx of Chinese goods.
Similar to Billé’s findings about inconsistencies among Mongolians who have traveled abroad, and Mongolian women, Pujee’s interview is important because it reveals a solution to these anti-Chinese sentiments. She stated towards the end of our interview that the Gospel of Jesus Christ has helped her look past the tendency to see Chinese as bad people. When she traveled to China, she said the inability to speak Chinese made her feel like she was being taken advantage of. She has noticed at BYU, that as she speaks English with her Chinese friends, these negative feelings tend to disappear. She also recognizes the importance of education. As her education has progressed through the years, she has gained a greater world view and sees things for the way they really are. Today, she has a lot of Chinese friends and knows they are really good people. She notices that she and other Mongolian friends, especially Church members, don’t feel these bad things about Chinese people (Pujee, interview 2010).
If this is any measure of how to improve the general opinion and beliefs held by Mongolians regarding the Chinese, it would be important to promote more cross-cultural interaction between Chinese and Mongolians. Interaction at the business or economic level doesn’t seem to improve the situation, but education opportunities abroad have helped Pujee to overcome her socialized perspective of sinophobia.
Other Sources
In another book, Mongolia in Transition, it gives some more substantial evidence to support the threat of national territory. Referring to the infamous Chinese maps that still show Mongolia as part of China, it reads, “Beijing’s recent affirmation of Mongolia’s independence has not prevented the publication in China of books, documents and maps reiterating Chinese claims that Mongolia is part of China” (Sanders, 1996). The book goes on to say:
“Proof that the Border of Chinese Territory Has Been Changed, a publication of the PRC tourism and Education Publishing Committee printed by the Academy of Military Sciences Press in January 1993, was quoted in the Mongolian Unen, in December 1993 as saying: ‘Outer Mongolia is Chinese territory. It is a matter of history that the Qing government appointed a governor to rule Outer Mongolia.’” (Sanders, p. 223)
Another example giving credibility to this specific suspicion of Mongolia’s territorial integrity is given in:
“The Secret of Mongolia’s Independence, published in Beijing in April 1993, claimed that Mongolia was not independent but a Soviet creation and really part of China. The Mongolian press published passages from the book, giving prominence to such quotations as ‘Mongolia ins China’s sacred territory’ and reproducing the book’s map, showing Mongolia as part of China. A Chinese government spokesman claimed that the book did not represent official policy.” (Sanders, p. 223)
In April 1994 PRC Prime Minister Li Peng visited Mongolia and outlined China’s five-point policy towards Mongolia, which clarified the PRC’s respect for Mongolia’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. This may have alleviated some political pressure, but it’s clear from Billé and Pujee’s statements that it has not translated very well into the everyday Mongolian’s perspective.
In Mongolia’s Culture and Society, Hyer writes that:
“Mongols, as a whole, prize ‘purity’ of nationality and have misgivings toward persons or groups who are too influenced by alien ways…this tendency is now particularly marked in Inner Mongolia, which has been inundated by forced Chinese migration and settlement, and where there is serious threat to the purity of the Mongol people” (Jagchid, p. 142).
The case of the Inner Mongolians seems to confirm the fears of other Mongolians that contact with China will lead to the eventual assimilation and cross-culturalization. The example of Inner Mongolia is remembered by Mongolians that “Chinese Communists dispatched great numbers of Chinese immigrants to non-Chinese areas, settling them under duress and making the non-Chinese peoples minorities even in their own homelands. These were all calculated steps for the final assimilation of minorities into the Chinese mass” (Nijhoff, 1988). For this reason, I believe Mongolians today are still very suspicious of Chinese tourists, immigrants, and workers. Many Mongolians fear the loss of their language, culture, traditions and ultimately, their national identity. From this perspective, it becomes easier to understand their suspicion of China’s posing threat.
The last example I wish to show of evidence which may give support to the Mongolian’s suspicions regarding Chinese activity is in Truth, History, and Politics in Mongolia by Christopher Kaplonski. Based on his research, he records that it was very common to hear in the mid 1990’s about people getting sick because of Chinese food or drinks, “Children ended up in the hospital, comatose, because of Chinese sugar; a man went blind from Chinese alcohol; Chinese grain was infested with insects. The stuff the Chinese were selling as salt wasn’t really salt, either…” (Kaplonski, p. 43). He attributed most of these stories to urban legends, and none whom he met actually met or knew anyone that had taken ill because of Chinese food or drinks. However, he proposed that their mere presence suggested the general attitudes of Mongolians towards the Chinese, “They were often cited as examples of how the sneaky Chinese couldn’t be trusted” (Kaplonski, p. 43).
Conclusion
These different sources of research have led me to believe that the Mongolian’s suspicions regarding Chinese may be exaggerated, but are also rooted in small, perhaps unintended instances. Given the historical Mongolian mistrust of the Chinese, exacerbated while Mongolia was very close to the Soviet Union, it is understandable that these folk tales and beliefs could grow and expand across space, time and generations. I neither condemn nor condone these beliefs but rather seek to find a potential remedy to this regional tradition of mistrust. In terms of a solution, I recommend cross-cultural exchanges, not just business exchanges. Language barriers must be overcome and mutual respect needs to be promoted. As Mongolia develops and accessibility to education and literature expands, I predict that these anti-Chinese sentiments among Mongolians will decrease and lessen in severity and credibility.
Bibliography
Billé, F. (2008). Faced With Extinction: Myths and urban legends in contemporary Mongolia. Cambridge Anthropology , 28 (1).
Jagchid, S. a. (1979). Mongolia’s Culture and Society. Boulder: Westview Press, Inc. .
Kaplonski, C. (2004). Truth, History and Politics in Mongolia. London: RoutledgeCurzon.
Nijhoff, M. (1988). Discrimination Against Minorities in China. In S. Jagchid, Essays in Mongolian Studies (pp. 252-261). Provo: Brigham Young University.
Sanders, A. J. (1996). Foreign Relations and Foreign Policy. In O. a. Bruun (Ed.), Mongolia in Transition (pp. 217-251). Surrey: Curzon Press Ltd.
I want to make a life, not just a living. 
Joseph Gabriel 
FWIW- I’ve been to Mongolia seven times since 2005, leaving at the end of July for trip #8. I’m involved in conservation activities there, supporting a women’s felt craft collective, working with Mongol artists and, as an oil painter, specializing in Mongolian subjects. I’m also learning the language.
So I come to this issue from, shall we say, the Mongolian side, not the Chinese, and I’ve also come to share, in a general way, the suspicion and distrust many Mongols have for the Chinese. When a foreign company bids on the mining rights to a huge coal mine and it’s found that behind it is a huge Chinese company whose involvement had not been disclosed, it’s understandable that the Mongol people wouldn’t like it. At this point concerns about the safety of food from China are more than justified. Because he was once “in China”, the Chinese even try to claim Chinggis Khan as their own, which I find personally offensive.
If you read Owen Lattimore’s books (“Mongol Journeys” in particular), you will also get an insight into why the Mongols feel as they do, since up to the early 1920s the Chinese were doing their very best, as a matter of official policy, to keep the Mongols destitute and helpless. Almost every traveler I’ve read who was in the country during the early 20th century remarks on this. If not for the Russians/Soviets it’s possible that they may not have survived as a viable, cohesive people, which would have been a serious loss to the world.
There are only 2.9 million Mongols. They have only to look at what the Han Chinese have done to the Tibetans and the Uighers to be legitimately concerned.
I am not, of course, addressing the connection and understanding that occurs between individuals, but the unfortunate collective cultural attitude of the Han Chinese towards, it appears, just about everyone else; how the ethnic Mongols of Inner Mongolia are oppressed and abused and what the Chinese gov’t is provably capable of based on its past actions.
I disagree with the first sentence of your conclusion, as what has occurred in the past in terms of Chinese involvement and oppression in Mongolia has been neither “small” nor “unintended”. And that, if anything, anti-Chinese sentiment is going to increase, and with good reason, in the coming years.
Literacy in Mongolia is close to 100%. The bookstores in Ulaanbaatar have all the same books one would find in any literate and educated country. The fact that you would even say something like “As Mongolia develops and accessibility to education and literature expands…” reveals your Chinese bias and lack of knowledge of the Land of Blue Skies. Mongolia also has its own deep literary tradition of song, poetry and story, going back many, many centuries.
I would also point out that no westerner is going to “find a potential remedy to this regional tradition of mistrust” and that it’s rather arrogant to think that one could.
NB- I found your blog via a link on Facebook from the (provocatively named) Southern Mongolia Human Rights NGO, which I follow.
Hello foxstudio!
Thank you for your comments, it’s great to have another westerner to talk to about these kinds of things. I wish you the best of luck in your study of Mongolian, it’s a beautifully challenging language 🙂 let me know if you need any Mongolian resources.
This is a fascinating topic. In Mongolia I got the Mongolian perspective, in China I got the Chinese perspective, and we stand somewhere on the outside looking in with our unique perspectives as well.
I appreciate your extra insights and am always happy to clarify my position in relation to them.
As a little extra background to this paper, I had been studying Chinese for about a year at the time and was presenting it to a group of about 40 Chinese students and faculty members. Apparently the Chinese “bias” in this paper is heavier than I originally intended, as I was going for neutrality.
If I were to re-write this paper, I would make a clearer distinction between the opinions of individuals, and the general tenor of a race, nation or country.
In my concluding statement, when I mentioned “Mongolian’s suspicions regarding Chinese may be exaggerated, but are also rooted in small, perhaps unintended instances,” I’m referring to the previous examples I listed as the cited examples of Anti-Chinese sentiment: the map where Mongolia is part of China, 2) some poor-quality Chinese good that sterilize women, 3) Chinese workers in Mongolia that break the law, commit crimes, kidnap people and force women into prostitution. I’m not referring to the wide scale historical injustices China forced on the Mongolians.
Mongolia’s literacy IS approaching 100%, which is a great blessing to its people. However, the most biased individuals I encountered were also the least traveled, and least educated. I met people every day that couldn’t read, children that didn’t go to school, and people that get by every day selling coal on the side of the dirt roads next to their home. This is not meant as derogatory, they were the most welcoming and hardworking people I have ever met, but their world views are lodged in a state sponsored hatred against China and its people, which does NOTHING to improve or protect Mongolia.
I believe Mongolia and Mongolians DO have every reason to protect and strengthen their unique heritage, their wonderful way of life, their territorial integrity, and their national pride. However, my main concern (and perhaps it wasn’t expressed as well as I would have liked), was that most, if not all of the Mongolians that I personally interacted with, (and I worked there for 2 whole years, 12 hours a day, every day, with dirt poor Mongolians, and I loved every minute of it) these people had a single distrust and hatred for China and Chinese people, and yet almost none of them had ever even met a Chinese person. Is this justified? Maybe, maybe not.
Older Mongolians have strong Anti-Chinese sentiments that are almost solely against the Chinese government, and not extended to its citizens. Younger Mongolians hate both the Chinese government and its people, sketchy businessmen and honest construction worker alike. It is on this individual level that I hope Mongolians will one day be able to distinguish friend from foe.
Perhaps a better way to write the paper is that while commonly quotes suspicions against individual Chinese people may or may not be founded in fact, they are absolutely founded in broader, more longstanding prejudices which are likely in response to China’s historical oppression of Mongolians. I like that better.
I don’t profess to have a deep, perfect understanding of Mongolia or China, they’re separate and connected histories, or the complexities of their governing bodies, but I can tell you that I have spent thousands of hours (this is no exaggeration) speaking with, listening to, working next to, and trying to understand Mongolians.
You are right in that no westerner is going to “find a potential remedy to this regional tradition of mistrust.” Am I “rather arrogant to think that one could?” You bet I am. That’s the spirit of a young man who still believes he can conquer the world, fix every problem, and make a difference however small. Is it realistic? Probably not, but I’m ok with that.
Every time a Chinese person tells me that Chinggis Khan was Chinese, I scold them. Every time they tell me that Mongolia used to be part of China, I kindly remind them that China used to be part of Mongolia. I recently attended a Mongolian film in Beijing showcasing Mongolian Hip Hop, and how it’s the purest form of protest against corruption in Mongolia. I sing a Mongolian to my son when putting him to bed, and hum the Mongolian music extolling their love for mother, land, and nation. Mongolia is in my blood, sir. Please, Do not mistake my bias.
You come to this issue from “the Mongolian side”, and I love that. The Mongolian side needs as many supporters as it can get.
Also kindly remind them that, Mongolia was never a part of China! They were under the Manchus – not the Hans. Manchus were also nomadic people with a completely different language and traditions than the Han Chinese. It completely baffles me how they condemn anyone that is not Han Chinese, but at the same time want to dub everyone (Tibet, Manchus etc…) as Chinese!
Interesting point. This shows the cloudiness of history, and our (mankind’s) unwillingness to accept the past at times. According to Mongolia, neither before nor during the 200 yearish period of Qing (Manchu) domination, Mongolia wasn’t part of China. But if you ask a Chinese person, Mongolia (or Outer Mongolia as they’d call it) was most definitely a part of historical Chinese territory until Russia stepped in.
While there is definitely some Han Chinese superiority mentalities today, Manchu, Jurchen, Mongolians, Tibetans etc. and all of the 56 minority ethnicities are seen as a definite part of the Chinese ethnic mosaic by Chinese people. I’ve also heard how the Qing (Manchu) dynasty, and every minority for that matter, has in a sense been overcome by “Chinese” culture, and thus became part of the great Chinese history.
The most non-Chinese ethnicity in China, but still Chinese citizens, are the Uyghurs (Chinese Muslims), largely in the north-western Xinjiang province of China.
One time I pointed out to a Chinese friend how it was the minority races on all the tiny currency bills (think pennies and nickels in terms of values). Almost to point out the Han-centric, Han-superior view apparent in China.
Thanks for reading!
Perhaps we can, leave the “Mongolian side” alone for a second and think about looking at other perspectives. How about the deep-rooted Chinese disrespect toward other peoples and cultures, and how about not just Mongolians but almost all peoples and countries/regions bordering China more or less have the same trust issue toward China and the Chinese. Well, you think Mongolians may need “education” and may need to be “healed”? How about the Chinese? Didn’t it occur to you that they may need these things more than anyone else?
While the majority of the Chinese bow down to the “Western” culture, considering them superior and “progressive”, they have very little or no respect for anyone else’s not just cultural traditions but also for the persons. You can’t find any other nation in whose language there at least one derogatory nickname for every nation close by, for Japanese, for Indians, for Koreans, for Russians, of course for Mongolians too (need I list them for you?), and you can see them being used every day in Internet discussions and forums. No official spokesperson of any other nation but of China calls a universally respected spiritual leader and an elderly person, the Dalai Lama, a “jackal in monk robe”. What kind of human quality is that? The Chinese have no concept of natural environment, let alone preserving and protecting it. Read 《天山景物记》 by 碧野, originally published in 《人民文学》1956年12月号 but today you can find it in the literature textbook of senior high school in China, describing how beautiful the nature was in Tener Mount Range (the so called “Tian Shan”) in the 1950s. Now look at the same mountain today, and everything is destroyed by the Chinese settlers and their government. A Chinese friend once told me that no other nation can match the Chinese in terms of cruelty. That may be an overstatement, but the Chinese population (at least the government) in general tend to show a serious lack of respect toward any life, including human. In nowhere else but in China you can see a toddler girl being ran over by a vehicle on the street, later by a second vehicle and they leave without a hurry. And while all this is happening, 18 people pass by, watching, doing nothing, and going around. Food safety in China? I should be damned if no Chinese in China hadn’t ever complained to you about it and everybody knows that this is now a very serious issue for Chinese themselves. Don’t you read weibo? As to Chinese goods, I saw recently a very long message being circulated around amongst the Chinese through QQ and Wechat, in which listed all the problems with today’s China, particularly with the ruling class. One joke in it says that a Chinese person asked her English teacher how 山寨 (pirated goods) should be translated into English,. The English teacher thought about it a bit and said “Made in China”. So in conclusion, I’m not trying to pretend blind to the narrow-mindedness of certain Mongolians toward outside world. But it should be pointed out that the Mongolian distrust toward the Chinese has very little to do with how much school education they received. In fact the Mongolian population is generally better educated than the Chinese. You mentioned “state-sponsored hatred”. Such thing may have existed during the cold war in all nations involved. However, while it’s something of past in today’s Mongolia, the Chinese state still instigates hatred toward others, mainly toward the West, toward the US, and domestically toward Uyghur people, to say the least. Haven’t you heard stories of Uyghurs being denied hotel stays in Beijing or Shanghai just because they’re Muslim and Uyghur? This happens at directives from the government and the worst part is that the ordinary Chinese see nothing wrong in it. Since you’re on a quest for a “remedy” to “heal” this problem, my suggestions are two. One, go above and beyond the notion of “healing” the Mongols alone as they may not be the root of the problem. Try to look into the issue from as many different perspectives as you can. Go talk to the Koreans, the Japanese, the Russian, the Kazakhs, the Taiwanese, The Pilipino, the Vietnamese, the Thai, the Nepalese, the Ethiopian and other Africans as well as Central and South East Asians, and think why (almost?) everyone hating Chinese but more about whether there is something seriously wrong with the Chinese themselves. Two, go beyond the “Communists making China this way” model. Communism is a problem but when it comes to China, communism is just a blink of its history. Maybe the Chinese cultural tradition had serious flows in the first place and some things from that tradition is what is still clinging to the Communism thing and just wouldn’t let it go? After all, Mongolians were not the people who once bound women’s feet. Best of luck to you!
Okay, I get that you think the post is one-sided and unfair. But so is this comment.
None of the stuff you’ve mentioned is unique to China, or even more pronounced in China. China does have its problems, but It’s entirely unfair to paint a country as some sort of special civilization of psychopaths.
I am from the USA, and on many of those things, frankly we dwarf China on. Do you think ethnic chauvinism, bystander effect, cruelty, exploitation, racist words, are Chinese things? They’re human things.
A very good article. I found it realistic and true. But, when it comes to a solution, I think it will be a really tough thing to consider. Depending on particular individuals, potential approach for decreasing anti-Chinese sentiment may vary. While some are attracted by Chinese culture and philosophy, some may attracted by Chinese language or its music. In my experience, I started to like China only when I started to learn Mandarin language by force (I had to choose Chinese as 3rd language as my major was international economics). After a while, the ugliest language to me turned out to be the most beautiful language I’ve ever learned. Since then I’ve traveled throughout China and made many friends and the experience was indeed great. Then I realized that not liking someone with no specific reason behind is just stupid.
I also have a few thoughts to share in response to – Dugar’s comment:
First of all, I felt a little negativity in your comments and I guess that’s probably because you did not really like when there was some education-related statements regarding Mongolians. As a Mongolian, of course, I didn’t like it either. I’ve seen many highly educated Mongolians who hate China as well. But since this is merely a little research project, rather than one’s opinion (except for the recommendation in conclusion part), it is pretty much has to be based on actual sources and facts. And I believe that in his research, the people who didn’t have bad sentiments towards Chinese were only educated Mongolians (or at least those who traveled more than others).
Secondly, I think that it is really pointless to bring up the subject like other nations’ Sinophobia into this, while the research is just about Anti-Chinese Sentiments among Mongolians!!
Seriously, as far as I’m concerned, there are so many nations and people who have sentiments against China and we ALL already know about it. Who likes when the label is “Made in China”!? – No one. Even China itself.
But this case is not about how many countries hate China or why they hate!? This is only about us, Mongolians.
Third, it is really great to see that you read and watch lots of stuffs about China. But, I don’t think every Mongolian citizen is aware of those details (including me). I am sure that there are plenty of Mongolian folks who don’t know about any of those news and still hate Chinese. Moreover, I don’t like Chinese people only when they say that Mongolia used to be a part of China or Chiggis Khan was a Chinese. So, to me, the article is more realistic.
Author never mentioned that China has no food quality issue. He just couldn’t find anything but rumors or urban legends regarding Chinese products. If he did research somewhere else, he would probably have found some sort of “evidence” regarding their food safety. But once again!, the research was conducted in Mongolia among Mongolians, and it is NOT about author’s knowledge. It is a research project!!!
Thanks for checking out the article! Now that it’s been a few years since I did this, I agree the solution is far-fetched, and not really a solution at all. If anything, doing unbiased 3rd party research and sharing it with people from both Mongolia and China is a much better way to personally make a change, even if it’s just a small change.
Since writing this article, I lived in China with my family for almost a year and can say that I had some great experiences. Most importantly, China has so many facets of complexity (like any country, culture, and history), that it’s difficult to really know what’s going on sometimes.
Admittedly, I have a particular bias about education in Mongolia. I lived in Erdenet, Darkhan, and Khovd and worked with some super poor people, and some very wealthy folks too. But it was a general observation that those with less education seemed to buy into the anti-Chinese rumors much more easily than those who were both educated and had traveled outside of Mongolia.
When doing this research, I had a really hard time finding any similar research and had to draw a lot of unique conclusions. Hopefully other researchers, especially Mongolians and Chinese people, can look more into this topic and help clear up my mistakes.
Thanks for reading!
Pingback: About Zavkhan and Uliastai | Min in Mongolia
Hi Joseph,
Great article! Hating something with no hard evidence is a sign of stupidity. Excuse me if what im about to write is unstructured 🙂
As i was reading through the article i was catching myself thinking that i have the same thought. As my grandma described Mongolia back when Soviet and Chinese relations were in a great condition, Chinese and Mongolians lived in harmony together in Ulaanbaatar. But after the Cultural revolution in China, Soviets began spreading anti-China propaganda and since then it stuck with us. As my fellow commenter Shaking my head said the Hans never occupied Mongolia, the Manchu did, and Hans were occupied by the Manchu’s too.
As American teenage flicks show in movies, after graduating high school jocks and nerds have completely different paths, jocks cant keep up with the university life so they drop university and work at mcdonalds, and the nerds become successful in life, when high school reunion comes the jocks drown in nostalgia and live in the past, and the nerds remember the past but doesnt cling to it, but looks forwards and rise to fame. Its the same situation with Mongolians, instead of glorifying Chingis khan (who is dead for centuries, and didnt leave anything significant for mongolian nation, except an echo of a collapsed empire), look forward and build a better country for the future generation.
An average Mongolian:
– has a dislike towards the Chinese and justify the feeling with false legends heard or read in tabloids. But an average Chinese doesnt even know where is Mongolia.
– is very patriotic. but its only in words “My Mongolia…”, but in my experience if you are a true patriot you wouldnt spit, litter on your land (i dont think they spit inside their home), wouldnt smear Mongolian name in other countries (i had a “delightful” experience when i was in VIenna, Austria; while shopping at a high street store the store salesgirl asked where i was from, when i said from Mongolia she called the security and apparently she said to the guy keep an eye on me because he was following me around. another incident is in Bay area, California the police noticed asians who become rowdy after few shots of alcohol and are on a lookout for specific asians who have a high cheek bone)
If you have traveled to Zamyn Uud you can see what Chinese government built for the Mongolians- A whole city Erlian, starting from the Border control you can see the huge gap between how Mongolians treat themselves and how Chinese treat Mongolians. The reason im saying how the Chinese treat Mongolians is because majority of people passing the Zamyn Uud-Erlian border are Mongolians. Mongolian border control is disgusting, filthy, dark- Chinese border control – is clean, green, bright and even has a waiting area with cafe.
I suspect all the urban legends and news reports about Chinese workers misbehaving are a propaganda.
If you really hate China then just dont eat, wear, use what is made in China, or better yet ban all products made there. So in the end hating for just the sake of hating is just stupid.
Education level, exposure to other cultures, experiencing life in different countries are essential to have clear mind, but sadly i know people who are highly educated, traveled extensively and even study China for living has a sinophobia.
Sorry didnt finish my thought:)
Sometimes I feel Asia’s just hopeless. In every Asian country people seem to harbour an extreme and irrational hatred of some other Asian country, partly based on facts, partly on history, partly on prejudice and urban myths
In Mongolia they hate China, in China and Korea they hate Japan, in Vietnam they hate China, in Cambodia they hate Vietnam.
The idea that you shouldn’t stereotype and that you should look at yourself critically first seems to be almost absent from most people’s way of thinking. Grow up!
Interesting article, and quite well put together.
Was personally curious what others thought about this subject and a few searches lead me here.
Gave me a lot of food for thought.
As an aside, it surprised me to see your name pop up though. 🙂
Firstly, the People’s Republic of Mongolia ceased to exist in 1992. Now it is simply Mongolia.
Xenophobic extremism is the same for any country and is always inversely correlated with economic fortunes. Very fitting that they choose Hitler as their role model, because they are basically using the same playbook the Nazi party did through the 1920s and 1930s, but replace Jews with Chinese.
But why Chinese? In other words, why not their other juggernaut neighbour and alternative major source of foreigners, the Russians?
For the last 100 years, Mongolia had been under continuous Russian influence; it was and still is a de facto vassal state of Russia. Even today, my friends who visited Ulanbataar described the atmosphere as “Russian”.
Ironically, Mongolians were taught into thinking that Russia was their caring big brother. Even the Soviets (and now Russians) jokingly refer to Mongolia as the 16th Republic [of the (ex-)Soviet Union].
And the Russians do not like the Chinese.
Ergo, the Mongolians do not like the Chinese.
This is the simple version of the answer you seek, but there is more.
Abridged Story of Modern Mongolia (last 100 years)
In 1911, the Qing Dynasty was replaced by the Republic of China. In the same year, many regions used that opportunity to unilaterally establish themselves as an independent sovereign. Mongolia was one of them. However, due to the political maneuvering of the Russian Empire and the Republic of China, the declaration was largely meaningless, and Mongolia remained part of China albeit very autonomous, i.e. independent in all but name. But in reality, behind the scenes, Japan and Russia had secretly split their spheres of influence, i.e. colonies in all but name, into Inner Mongolia for Japan, and Outer Mongolia for Russia.
In 1917, the Russian Empire was replaced by the Soviet Union, and communists threatened to invade Mongolia. The ROC took advantage of this to abolish the autonomous arrangement in Outer Mongolia with central rule. Unfortunately, this cemented the narrative that the Chinese are the “bad guys”. This had lasting effect on the (Outer) Mongolian psyche: fuck the Chinese, we want full independence. But unlike the Chinese revolution where there was widespread popular discontent, Mongolia’s desire for independence was largely power play between ruling factions: the theocratic and the communist elements.
In 1921, the invasion of Russian Imperial remnants expelled Chinese forces from Outer Mongolia, and the theocracy was (re)established: this cemented the ideal that the Russians are the “good guys”. In 1924, Soviets invaded and destroyed the Russian Imperials and the Mongolian Theocracy, establishing the People’s Republic of Mongolia, the de facto 16th republic of the USSR. This was not without cost to Mongolia either: Tannu Uriankhai was carved out of Outer Mongolia and given nominal independence, but de facto the 17th republic of the USSR (and later became “reality” as it joined the Russian Soviet Republic as an autonomous oblast).
Mongolia’s independence was secured by the USSR, but like other Soviet allies, they were screwed by the collapse, as subsidies stopped and the economy plummeted. It was the Cuba of Asia: Mongolia was on its own. Foreign policy switched overnight to be friendly to (and play off) both Russia and China, but after Stockholm Syndrome for a good part of the 20th century, feelings are much harder to change.
Fast forward to today: neglected Mongolia is only famous for two things: its glorious history and its shipping registry.
And home of the world’s first velociraptor find 🙂
No wonder ultra-nationalists are having a field day manipulating the opinions of the Mongolia people.
An open letter to Mongolian ultra-nationalists
Your xenophobic views towards China is unfair and you should cease immediately. If you are going to embark on the path of the dark side, you should hate equally.
Now, allow me to call out your hateful hypocrisies:
China stationed troops and occupied our nation. Well, after the Chinese were expelled, the Russians occupied Mongolia ever since: first the Imperial Remnants and then Soviet troops, for your “protection”. Your independence really came in 1992, not 1922.
China is economically invading us and stealing our jobs. Well, the Chinese have been quite late to that game. The Russians had a 100 year head start! Even so, xenophobia is not the solution to your woes. Entrepreneurship is. Don’t blame foreigners on your own personal failures.
China is stealing our women. Probably just as much as the Russians are. And maybe even more so if Mongolia has the same white-worshipping culture that still infects the rest of its Asian neighbours. And this assumes that Mongolian women have absolutely no say in the personal decision that is who they choose to be with.
China is a melting pot, and our identity is being absorbed by the Chinese. The juggernaut effect of Chinese influence is not to be underestimated, after all, there are literally a billion other people that all subscribe to that macro culture, but at the same time, China is much more accepting of your cultural differences and even embrace it. I mean, you guys write Mongolian in fucking Cyrillic! I love Cyrillic, but if that does not say “we are Russia’s bitch”, I don’t know what does. Even if they don’t get it right all the time, at least Inner Mongolians try to use Mongol script in everyday life. As a linguist, I am bitterly disappointed at the failure of the Mongolian state to celebrate, much less protect, something so fundamentally Mongolian. Don’t be afraid of turning Chinese… you have already turned Russian.
China looks down on us. Because Chinese call your country “Outer Mongolia”? That sounds as derogatory as “16th Republic”… hum, actually it is worse. I can tell you that Outer Mongolia (外蒙古) is out of lazy but non-condescending habit for many people, as there still is an entity called Inner Mongolia (內蒙古), but it takes a lot more effort to conjure up “16th Republic” seeing that there is no predetermined ordered list of Soviet Republics in social circulation. Actually, no. On second thought, it is not lazy habit… it is for disambiguation, because if you just say 蒙古, people are not 100% sure if they missed the 内 in front of it (Inner Mongolia) or if you meant (just) Mongolia. I recommend you not give a shit about what others call your country. Some Americans call my country “Canuckistan” because of Canada’s “socialist ideals”, and some of us call the US “Jesusland” because… yeah. Some of this is obviously not in jest, but who cares.
China looks down on us #2. Because Chinese have been calling your country and people barbarians (北狄) throughout history? Newsflash: Russians did not think too highly of you either, or maybe worse. Chinese people do not hate Mongols anymore for killing off a sizeable portion of the population and subjugating the survivors under a brutal regime. Apparently, even today, European Russians still hold grudges from the Tatar Yoke days. And the (Russian) Comintern leader once said, “the people of Mongolia are not important, the land is important.” Racist-to-racist heart-to-heart: at least you are still a fellow yellow to racist Chinamen. You can’t convince racist Russians that white is not better than non-white. Tell me with a straight face that you face less discrimination in Moscow than in Beijing as a Mongolian.
China stole our history. Was Kublai Khan the leader of China or Mongolia? Was Genghis Khan the founder of the Mongol Empire or the Chinese (Yuan) Empire? Who cares? Everyone has their own narratives and interpretations of history. FYI, it was Kublai Khan that retroactively crowned granddaddy Genghis as the founder of the Yuan Dynasty, and it was his conscious decision to adopt the Chinese Imperial system. It also does not make him more or less Mongolian or Chinese. Countries can share histories. Who gets the honour of being the only ones to successfully burn down the White House (in 1814)? Canada? Britain? Shared history… though I obviously like to credit the Canadians 😉
China stole our lands. Sure, Inner Mongolia is Mongolian. But what about Tannu Uriankhai, unfairly carved out of your country and given to your big brother? What about the rest of your brethren in Central Asia and Siberia and the “Russian” Far East? Mongol tribes live in these lands. Your big brother has been stealing from your room since 1533.
Also: a nation split between countries is also not that unique. China itself is split between the PRC and ROC (your “tormentors”). Korea is split into two. Germans are split between like 5 countries. French are also split between like 5 or so.
China plots against the unity of Mongols. Actually, China did the opposite: they grouped all the Mongol tribes together under one group and now everyone is equally Mongol. Before the modern era, the Mongol clans were actually each other’s enemies, which is why Genghis Khan’s unification under one leadership was a big deal. The Southern Mongols (aka Inner Mongolia) have traditionally been allies of the Chinese and were given preferential treatment, and very likely the decisive factor to which People’s Republic they wanted to be part of. Remember the vast Mongol population living in Russian lands? Did they ever desire unification under modern times? Did you know that the USSR had been actively working against pan-Mongolian nationalism since the 1930s via population migration restrictions and relocations, and Stalinist purges… they really did think of your country as their 16th Republic.
China wants to own us again. No, they don’t. Compared with the rest of the PRC, Mongolia is not strategically important. They want your resources? Yes, as do the Russians. Neither of them want to invade you for them though, since it is more cost effective to trade than to wage war.
You think Chinese are assholes. Well, your bros the Russians are assholes too. The game of geopolitics are only played by assholes. If you choose to continue hating, please limit it to the governments, past and present. Don’t extend it to the people.
Your attempts to make Mongolia proud and powerful is achieving the exact opposite: you are emphasizing that your country is a has-been power with major insecurities. Hate is never recommended. Mongols may have had a spectacularly violent historical legacy, but it was not one of hate.
As an involuntary member of the Chinese race and a fellow yellow, I wish Mongolia all the best. Live long and prosper.
Jesus – This looks like to be some trashy post from years ago and the last comment I made was from a year ago. Yet this miserable soul still isn’t able to let it go and keeps biting at it? Have you nothing better to waste your pointless ranting on, i. e. Trump? See this here is exactly what’s wrong with you self-satisfied and half-witted American librals: going about the world and trying to lecture people (largely just because you’re White), based merely on quotes from your textbooks, throwing around labels and names, brainlessly reciting out of pathetically simplistic sets of categories and codes and formulas, without growing least sense of humbleness and ever genuinely willing to learn about others’ worlds. Look where this being so full of yourselves got you to today: Trump! And you got to admit that no matter how much you may “not like” Trump, you are actually also Trump and Trump is you! And you cannot escape from your destiny, so here we are today.
I was just late on approving all of the previous comments, that’s why you’re just seeing his replies now. Let’s please keep the dialogue academic, this post has absolutely nothing to do with American politics and bringing it into the dialogue detracts from the primary topic of discussion. Thanks!
Academic my ass! If you are really capable of comprehending what you read, I was not at all talking about “US politics”.
On Sun, Nov 27, 2016 at 11:57 PM, Joseph Gabriel wrote:
> Jobi commented: “I was just late on approving all of the previous > comments, that’s why you’re just seeing his replies now. Let’s please keep > the dialogue academic, this post has absolutely nothing to do with American > politics and bringing it into the dialogue detracts fro” >
Pingback: Mongolian-Chinese Relations | History at Normandale