What is the Real “Sick Man”?

By Joyce Liao

The headline “China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia” published by The Wall Street Journal on February 3rd inflamed public rage in China. China’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs required an official apology from the Journal but received little response. Following steps taken by both governments to restrict the other’s media continued to escalate and the rising tension has aroused extensive concern.

Simply with a glimpse at the title, Chinese people were strongly exasperated. Some went so far as to deplore this as a “malicious insult” of China with obvious racism, denouncing the “American arrogance” behind. For some in the West, though, this title was a smart pun for the COVID-19 period. They were confused by Chinese people’s “overreaction” and might have felt it kind of ridiculous that the Chinese were asking for an apology.

In my perspective, behind this media and diplomatic event is in fact a cultural misconception. I earnestly suggest a better understanding between both sides. To that end, let’s walk in each other’s shoes to carefully examine the origin of the phrase “Sick Man” as well as its connotations in China and the West respectively.

As a Chinese myself, I well understand that there are deep reasons behind Chinese public rage. In the Chinese cultural context, “the Sick Man of Asia” or “the Sick Man of the East” is directly related to the Opium Wars and China’s hundred-year history of being colonized. During that time, many Chinese suffered from weak physical and mental conditions due to opium addiction.

The connection between “Sick Man” and national history of humiliation is ingrained in the Chinese’s minds. As a result, Chinese people are very sensitive about the aforementioned title and, without getting a proper apology, felt even more offended by “American arrogance”.

However, most Chinese don’t know that “Sick Man” is far from an exclusive epithet for China. In fact, the term “Sick Man” originated in 1853 when Tsar Nicholas I of Russia first described the declining Ottoman Empire as "the Sick Man of Europe", mainly referring to its economic issues. Later in 1896, “Sick Man” was used to describe the Chinese Qing Empire that faced social, economic, and political upheavals.

The reason behind the transfer of the epithet from the Ottoman Empire to the Qing Empire is unclear. Perhaps people first thought of it simply because of the comparability of the two declining huge empires, or maybe it was indeed a pun implying Chinese’s weak physical condition due to opium addiction. However, Western media never directly connected “Sick Man” to Chinese people’s health condition.

Interestingly, the first one who fixed a direct connection between “Sick Man” and opium addiction was Qichao Liang, an advocate of domestic reformation around the end of 19th Century. He is highly regarded in Chinese history with household remarks such as “juvenile strong, the country is strong”. He translated “Sick Man” into “bingfu” in Mandarin with elegant accuracy in his work Xinminshuo, a book that called for change in China. Since then, the phrase has held strongly negative connotation of shame and insult. Today, it is a synonym of the dark history of the Opium Wars.

In contrast, “Sick Man” has been used in the West throughout history to describe many countries without any direct connection to the Chinese Opium War. Recently, the phrase has been used regularly by media to discuss global issues.

To offer just a few examples of Western countries: “Germany Becomes the Sick Man of Europe” appeared in Fox Business Network on October 5, 2019; The Financial Times published “Britain is Once Again the Sick Man of Europe” on April 18, 2019; even The United States was previously called “the Sick Man of the Developed World” by Bloomberg News on August 1, 2017.

In the past few years, there are instances of the phrase being used to describe other Asian countries as well: the Philippines was referred to as “the Sick Man of Asia” by The Nikkei Asian Review; The New Straits Times published “Is Singapore the New Sick Man of Asia?”.

The Wall Street Journal itself published an article titled “The Sick Man of Europe Is Europe” in May, 2019. As a result of pandemic of COVID-19, perhaps the Sick Man of the World is the World now. Global collaboration is needed to deal with this extremely challenging global issue.

So, in recent years, “Sick Man” is used in media mainly to describe economic issues, which is in accordance with its origin regarding Ottoman Empire’s economic crisis. However, in China, the phrase is never used to talk about economic issues, instead, it’s always linked to the Opium Wars and national insult. For Chinese people, it’s hard to believe that this connotation is not shared by the mainstream in the West.

But as I read through “China Is the Real Sick Man of Asia” in The Wall Street Journal carefully, I didn’t find traces of “malicious insult” towards China. The article examines short-term and long-term influences of COVID-19 on the Chinese and global economy with an objective and analytical tone. Towards the end, it discusses “black swans” of the 21st Century, including the 9/11 event, Trump, Br-exit, and the corona virus. The article’s stance is relatively neutral.

To sum up, I believe we’d better reexamine the “Sick Man” event by analyzing meanings of “Sick Man” under different historical and cultural contexts. Then people in the West would probably understand Chinese’s “overreaction” is not without reasons, whereas the Chinese would eventually realize that this phrase could have a different meaning in the West.

This event is merely one instance of cultural differences between the East and the West, a topic with much to be discussed. Personally, I believe it might not only be a historic event in the area of media and diplomacy, but also become a typical case cited by cultural anthropologist. In this age of globalization, the issue of cultural differences is worthy of attention in our international interactions. It requires from both sides mutual understanding as well as respect.