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Fenqing (), or FQ (abbreviation), which is itself an abbreviation for ''Fennu Qingnian'' (), means literally "angry youth". It mainly refers to Chinese youth who display a high level of
Chinese nationalism Chinese nationalism () is a form of nationalism in the People's Republic of China (Mainland China) and the Republic of China on Taiwan which asserts that the Chinese people are a nation and promotes the cultural and national unity of all C ...
.Chinese Education & Society, V39#3 (May–June 2006), P3-9 This term first appeared in
Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...
in the 1970s, referring to those young people who were not satisfied with Chinese society and sought reform. It has now evolved into a term used predominantly in
Internet slang Internet slang (also called Internet shorthand, cyber-slang, netspeak, digispeak or chatspeak) is a non-standard or unofficial form of language used by people on the Internet to communicate to one another. An example of Internet slang is " LOL" ...
. Whether ''fenqing'' is
derogatory A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...
or not usually depends on the person. Chinese critics often refer to them using the homophone characters "" which are pronounced identically but translate to "shit-youth". This is often changed further to ''fènfèn'' () as a
derogatory A pejorative or slur is a word or grammatical form expressing a negative or a disrespectful connotation, a low opinion, or a lack of respect toward someone or something. It is also used to express criticism, hostility, or disregard. Sometimes, a ...
nickname.


Development

The phenomenon of ''fenqing'' arose after the "
reform and opening up The Chinese economic reform or reform and opening-up (), known in the West as the opening of China, is the program of economic reforms termed "Socialism with Chinese characteristics" and "socialist market economy" in the People's Republic of Ch ...
" of the
Chinese government The Government of the People's Republic of China () is an authoritarian political system in the People's Republic of China under the exclusive political leadership of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It consists of legislative, executive, mi ...
, during the period of fast economic development that occurred in China. Some people argue that ''fenqing'' are a natural reaction to recent neoconservatism in Japan and the neoconservatism in the United States. ''Fenqing'' and these foreign neo-conservative elements intensely dislike each other, but all of them share certain similarities: distrust of foreign powers, support for the
military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distin ...
and boundary disputes, etc. However, ''fenqing'' are not to be confused with Chinese neoconservatives, who espouse a more pragmatic and gradualist approach to political reforms and favor the development of an "East Asian Community" with Japan and Korea, an idea that is anathema to the ''fenqing'' As a group, ''fenqing'' are very diverse in their opinions. However, they are usually nationalistic and
patriotic Patriotism is the feeling of love, devotion, and sense of attachment to one's country. This attachment can be a combination of many different feelings, language relating to one's own homeland, including ethnic, cultural, political or histor ...
, are often left-wing in political ideology, and tend to defend
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the List of national founde ...
's controversial actions during the Great Leap Forward and the
Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated go ...
. The ''fenqing'' are very much concerned with political issues, especially in domestic policy relating to
Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...
and foreign policy relating to Japan,
Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the northe ...
, or the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...
. They often harbour negative attitudes towards Japan due to the invasion and occupation of China by
Imperial Japan The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent for ...
, and support aggressive political stances towards Japan. For example, many believe that the Japanese government's apologies for
Japanese war crimes The Empire of Japan committed war crimes in many Asian-Pacific countries during the period of Japanese imperialism, primarily during the Second Sino-Japanese and Pacific Wars. These incidents have been described as an "Asian Holocaust". Some ...
are insincere and inadequate (some even believe no apologies will ever be adequate). More recent incidents, such a former Japanese prime minister's patronage of the
Yasukuni Shrine is a Shinto shrine located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. It was founded by Emperor Meiji in June 1869 and commemorates those who died in service of Japan, from the Boshin War of 1868–1869, to the two Sino-Japanese Wars, 1894–1895 and 1937–1945 re ...
, territorial disputes surrounding the Senkaku Islands (known as Diaoyu in China), and the revisions of history textbooks by
uyoku dantai refers to Japanese ultranationalist far-right activists, provocateurs, and internet trolls (as '' netto-uyoku'') often organized in groups. In 1996 and 2013, the National Police Agency estimated that there were over 1,000 right-wing group ...
(Japanese right-wing extremists), lead these young people to conclude that the Japanese government is again seeking to expand militarily. These
anti-Japanese sentiment Anti-Japanese sentiment (also called Japanophobia, Nipponophobia and anti-Japanism) involves the hatred or fear of anything which is Japanese, be it its culture or its people. Its opposite is Japanophilia. Overview Anti-Japanese senti ...
s are not necessarily only directed against the Japanese government and military, but often fiercely towards the
Japanese culture The culture of Japan has changed greatly over the millennia, from the country's prehistoric Jōmon period, to its contemporary modern culture, which absorbs influences from Asia and other regions of the world. Historical overview The ance ...
, economy, and
people A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of proper ...
. ''Fenqing'' also refers to "20-somethings often use the Internet to publicly express their views on politics and society."


Characteristics

Some support
Chinese boycotts of Japanese products Boycotts of Japanese products have been conducted by numerous Korean, Chinese and American civilian and governmental organizations in response to real or disputed Japanese aggression and atrocities, whether military, political or economic. 20t ...
, for historical reasons and in response to the events described above. They may dislike Chinese Japanophiles and other Chinese who are more Westernized and free-market oriented, calling them
Hanjian In Chinese culture, the word ''hanjian'' () is a pejorative term for a traitor to the Han Chinese state and, to a lesser extent, Han ethnicity. The word ''hanjian'' is distinct from the general word for traitor, which could be used for any cou ...
("Chinese traitors"). Some ''fenqing'' view Taiwan as a part of China, and believe that
Taiwan independence Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a Country, country in East Asia, at the junction of the East China Sea, East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the China, People's Republic of China (PRC) to the n ...
should be prevented by any means necessary. Many tend to consider war to be feasible, if not immediately necessary. A few may even favor the use of nuclear weapons against Taiwan. Some view American or Western attention to issues such as
human rights Human rights are moral principles or normsJames Nickel, with assistance from Thomas Pogge, M.B.E. Smith, and Leif Wenar, 13 December 2013, Stanford Encyclopedia of PhilosophyHuman Rights Retrieved 14 August 2014 for certain standards of hu ...
,
Falun Gong Falun Gong (, ) or Falun Dafa (; literally, "Dharmachakra, Dharma Wheel Practice" or "Law Wheel Practice") is a new religious movement.Junker, Andrew. 2019. ''Becoming Activists in Global China: Social Movements in the Chinese Diaspora'', pp. 23 ...
, Tibet, etc. as attempts to undermine the rise of China. Most support the ideal of
democracy Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which people, the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation ("direct democracy"), or to choo ...
, but view Western attempts to spread democracy as self-serving, subversive propaganda. However, only a few truly believe in
communism Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society ...
. In May 1999, China's embassy's was bombed in the Republic of Yugoslavia by American army. This event irritated the “angry youth” and they made remonstration to it. Chinese hackers attacked many American websites. In the demonstrations, the most eye-catching slogans calling for a boycott included ‘Burn all McDonald’s in China’ and ‘Damage American intellectual property by practical action: free provision of pirated software’. After the Hainan Island incident in April 2001, hackers in both countries began their fight again. Most of the “angry youth” believe that the United States doesn't want China to develop. Some have the view that the Chinese Communist government is invincible and justified at all cases. They may unconditionally defend all action by the
Communist Party of China The Chinese Communist Party (CCP), officially the Communist Party of China (CPC), is the founding and sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Under the leadership of Mao Zedong, the CCP emerged victorious in the Chinese Civil ...
, or by
Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; also Romanization of Chinese, romanised traditionally as Mao Tse-tung. (26 December 1893 – 9 September 1976), also known as Chairman Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary who was the List of national founde ...
against countries they feel that "threaten China's rise". However, others simply defend the Chinese government because they believe it to be better than an alternative government which they believe would be dominated by Westerners. Some are very passionate about irredentist claims. In addition to the official claims made by the
People's Republic of China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, most populous country, with a Population of China, population exceeding 1.4 billion, sli ...
, such as Taiwan,
Arunachal Pradesh Arunachal Pradesh (, ) is a state in Northeastern India. It was formed from the erstwhile North-East Frontier Agency (NEFA) region, and became a state on 20 February 1987. It borders the states of Assam and Nagaland to the south. It share ...
, the Senkaku Islands, and the South China Sea Islands, some ''fenqing'' also make irredentist claims to
Outer Mongolia Outer Mongolia was the name of a territory in the Manchu-led Qing dynasty of China from 1691 to 1911. It corresponds to the modern-day independent state of Mongolia and the Russian republic of Tuva. The historical region gained ''de facto' ...
,
Tuva Tuva (; russian: Тува́) or Tyva ( tyv, Тыва), officially the Republic of Tuva (russian: Респу́блика Тыва́, r=Respublika Tyva, p=rʲɪˈspublʲɪkə tɨˈva; tyv, Тыва Республика, translit=Tyva Respublika ...
,
Outer Manchuria Outer Manchuria (russian: Приаму́рье, translit=Priamurye; zh, s=外满洲, t=外滿洲, p=Wài Mǎnzhōu), or Outer Northeast China ( zh, s=外东北, t=外東北, p=Wài Dōngběi), refers to a territory in Northeast Asia that is now ...
, the Hukawng Valley of northern
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
, parts of
Central Asia Central Asia, also known as Middle Asia, is a region of Asia that stretches from the Caspian Sea in the west to western China and Mongolia in the east, and from Afghanistan and Iran in the south to Russia in the north. It includes the former ...
east of
Lake Balkhash Lake Balkhash ( kk, Балқаш көлі, ''Balqaş kóli'', ; russian: озеро Балхаш, ozero Balkhash) is a lake in southeastern Kazakhstan, one of the largest lakes in Asia and the 15th largest in the world. It is located in the ea ...
,
Bhutan Bhutan (; dz, འབྲུག་ཡུལ་, Druk Yul ), officially the Kingdom of Bhutan,), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is situated in the Eastern Himalayas, between China in the north and India in the south. A mountai ...
,
Ladakh Ladakh () is a region administered by India as a union territory which constitutes a part of the larger Kashmir region and has been the subject of dispute between India, Pakistan, and China since 1947. (subscription required) Quote: "Jammu a ...
, and
Sikkim Sikkim (; ) is a state in Northeastern India. It borders the Tibet Autonomous Region of China in the north and northeast, Bhutan in the east, Province No. 1 of Nepal in the west and West Bengal in the south. Sikkim is also close to the Siligu ...
. They generally abhor political corruption within the government and government organizations. Many ''fenqing'' care greatly about the poor and believe they are the voice of the poor, advocating social security policies, and despise what they call the "elites" of China. Most ''fenqing'' are highly skeptical about the free market and often blame it as the source of corruption, social inequalities and the weakening of the central government. They also generally perceive the government as being too nice or ineffectual in a variety of issues, such as the Taiwan Straits, relations with Japan or the U.S., and Tibetan and Xinjiang independence. For some their role models are
Lu Xun Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun (or Lu Sun; ; Wade–Giles: Lu Hsün), was a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. W ...
and the activists of the
May Fourth Movement The May Fourth Movement was a Chinese anti-imperialist, cultural, and political movement which grew out of student protests in Beijing on May 4, 1919. Students gathered in front of Tiananmen (The Gate of Heavenly Peace) to protest the Chin ...
. Some ''fenqing'' believe if Lu Xun were still alive today, he would continue fiercely criticizing the government. The Chinese Communist party does not officially espouse
Han chauvinism Han Chinese chauvinism is a political ideology that speaks out for the ethnic Han Chinese people and its uniqueness throughout history. Technically, it is slightly different from Chinese chauvinism, as it refers only to Han Chinese ethnicity wh ...
. It espouses
Zhonghua minzu ''Zhonghua minzu'' (, ) is a political term in modern Chinese nationalism related to the concepts of nation-building, ethnicity, and race in the Chinese nationality. ''Zhonghua minzu'' was established during the early Beiyang (1912� ...
nationalism, which emphasizes assimilation into a modern nation of multiethnic origins, and emphasizes the Zhonghua nation's modern-era struggles against the "Imperialists": the West and Japan, and the historical multiethnic Zhonghua nation's insistence on unity under a single imperial state. Militant nationalist websites, whether Zhonghua or Han, are often suppressed by the government because they appear to be elevating popular discussions into political levels. The government simply has a habit of clamping down on any kind of political discussions to prevent them from becoming ideologies that can replace official Zhonghua-Marxo-Capitalism. Zhonghua nationalist websites tend to style themselves as "ultra-left socialist", venerating Mao as an anti-colonial icon over his capitalist successors, and identify Japan and US as their prime enemies, and focus very heavily on the goal of militarily invading Taiwan. Uyghurs and Tibetans are discussed as if they are mainly law-abiding Zhonghua citizens, with a minority elements instigated by overseas "separatist exiles".


See also

* Angry white man – a similar phenomenon among white American and Australian men *''
Baizuo ''Baizuo'' (, Mandarin pronunciation: ; literally "white left") is a Chinese neologism used to refer to Western world, Western leftist ideologies primarily espoused by white people. The term ''baizuo'' is related to the term (; literally "Holy ...
'' * Brothers and Uncles of Victoria Park (Hong Kong) *
Chinese Exclusion Act The Chinese Exclusion Act was a United States federal law signed by President Chester A. Arthur on May 6, 1882, prohibiting all immigration of Chinese laborers for 10 years. The law excluded merchants, teachers, students, travelers, and diplo ...
*
Chinese nationalism Chinese nationalism () is a form of nationalism in the People's Republic of China (Mainland China) and the Republic of China on Taiwan which asserts that the Chinese people are a nation and promotes the cultural and national unity of all C ...
* Gammon *''
Idaenam (), abbreviated from (), is a term used in South Korea to refer to men in their 20s with negative tendencies toward feminism. The term first emerged in the late 2010s. Its antonym is (), abbreviated from (). Views have a negative tendency ...
'' (South Korea) *'' Netto-uyoku'' (Japan) *
Red Guards Red Guards () were a mass student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized and guided by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 through 1967, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes According to a Red Guard le ...
*
Stereotypes of East Asians in the United States Stereotypes of East and Southeast Asians in the United States refers to ethnic stereotypes of first-generation Asian immigrants as well as Americans with ancestry from East and Southeast Asian countries that are found in American society. ...
*''
Vatnik Vatnik (russian: ватник) is a political pejorative used in Russia and other post-Soviet states for steadfast jingoistic followers of propaganda from the Russian government. The use of the word originates from an Internet meme first sprea ...
''


References


Further reading

* {{Chinese nationalism Chinese words and phrases Chinese culture Chinese nationalism