The phrase "sick man of Asia" or "sick man of East Asia" (Chinese: 東亞病夫; pinyin: Dōngyà bìngfū) originally referred to China in the late 19th and early 20th centuries when it was driven by internal divisions and taken advantage of by the great powers. British merchants were importing opium into China in order to trade for tea. Many people were addicted thus the term “sick”. The Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) Emperor was forced to sign a series of unequal treaties, culminating in the Japanese invasion of China from 1937 to 1945. The phrase may also be considered derogatory as it implies a weakened state. The Qing government was also undergoing economic distress, corruption and political disintegration at the time, thus a “sick” state.[1].
The phrase originated as a parallel to the "sick man of Europe", referring to the weakening Ottoman Empire and later to the Austrian-Hungarian Habsburg Empire during the same period. After World War l the phrase was applied to various European countries including France, Italy, the UK, and Germany[2] According to Duke University Professor Nicole Barnes in one of her published books, the frequent use of the phrase "Sick man of East Asia" in media in the 19th century, when racism was common, quickly turned this phrase into a "universal epithet for all Chinese."[3]
猜猜看文盲知不知道最后一句啥意思
