Worth A Thousand Words: Day Two

Foreign Devil, Foreign Monkey

Maybe you've heard the term "foreign devil".

The Chinese word "guilao" can be literally translated as "ghost man" and it dates back several thousand years to a time when European barbarians invaded China and made a really bad first impression.  The term has been carried down through generations as a candid description of unwelcome outsiders.  It is certainly still in circulation today but China is changing rapidly and with the changes comes a shift in how they view foreigners.  We have rarely heard (or felt) the term "foreign devil".  However, there is a newer term that better describes the opinion of the outsiders like us.

"Laowai Houzi"  or "Foreign Monkey"

The general idea is that the foreigner goes on display and draws a crowd.  You don't have to live in China for long before you get to play the monkey.  It's generally well intentioned, much appreciated and often an opportunity to show that you're a good sport and build a relationship.  Westerners, however, often let their arrogance cloud their vision.  "Wow, these people really like me, I must be a superstar!"  They haven't learned yet that these people also really like monkeys.

We haven't seen a lot of real monkeys in China but when we do we are sure to snap a picture.   

Monkeys for Charity

This was a three man, two monkey operation that we saw 

on the street just a few weeks ago.  The trainer fed and 

whipped the monkeys while they did tricks.  Notice the 

disabled boy on the side who watched the show.  The third 

man was in the crowd with a tin can making sure spectators 

paid for the pictures they took.

Monkeys on Motorcycles

This was a show on Monkey Island.  A short ski lift ride from Hainan island

in the south China Sea it is inhabited with thousands of monkeys and is a 

popular tourist attraction.  It comes complete with monkey shows, monkey 

swimming pools, monkeys chained to the ground and a monkey prison for 

bad monkeys who attack guests and steal their bananas.

Monkey on her back

Trainer gets 10 kuai (about $1.50).  Monkey gets a piece of popcorn.  We get

a beautiful, lifetime reminder of the one moment that LaWanda let a real, live 

monkey climb on her back and rest his elbow on her head.  I think we got 

the best part of that deal.

Cute Monkey

Just don't walk around with Cheeto's in your pocket.