Baizuo

Baizuo (Chinese: 白左; pinyin: báizuǒ, Mandarin pronunciation: [pǎɪ.tswò]; literally "white left")[1] is a Chinese neologism used to refer to Western leftist ideologies primarily espoused by white people. The term baizuo is related to the term shèngmǔ (simplified Chinese: 圣母; traditional Chinese: 聖母; pinyin: shèngmǔ; literally "Holy Mother"), a reference to those whose political opinions are perceived as being overly driven by emotion.[2]

"Western leftism" redirects here. For the history of left politics in the west and elsewhere, see Left-wing politics.

Definition

"Baizuo" is a popular political epithet commonly used on the Chinese Internet. The literal translation is "white left" which derogatorily refers to western white leftists who advocate civil rights movement, environmentalism, feminism and multiculturalism.[3] According to Chinese political scientist Chenchen Zhang, the word "Baizuo" refers to those who "only care about topics such as immigration, minorities, LGBT rights and the environment", but lack a concept of "real problems in the real world". It is also used to describe those "hypocritical humanitarians who advocate political correctness just to satisfy their own sense of moral superiority". Some used this word to indicate those "ignorant and arrogant westerners" who "pity the rest of the world and think they are saviours".[4]

History

The term baizuo was apparently coined in a 2010 article published on Renren Network by user Li Shuo, entitled The Fake Morality of the Western White Left and the Chinese Patriotic Scientists (simplified Chinese: 西方白左和中国爱国科学家的伪道德; traditional Chinese: 西方白左和中國愛國科學家的偽道德; pinyin: Xīfāng báizuǒ hé zhōngguó àiguó kēxuéjiā de wěidàodé), initially used as a general critique of certain socialist values in the American left. No further use of the term is known until 2013, where it enjoyed prominence in the Chinese forum Zhihu through 2013–2015.

Substantial use in Chinese Internet culture began in early 2016, at first at MIT BBS, a bulletin board system used by many Chinese Americans, during the 2016 United States presidential election. Baizuo was used there to criticize the Democratic Party's emphasis on the affirmative action policies perceived as discriminating against Asians.[5]

This term also gained some attention in Germany where it was used to criticize Angela Merkel's immigration policies.[6][7]

The term has been referenced approvingly by American conservatives, including Tucker Carlson and Rod Dreher.[8]

Similar terms in Hong Kong
See also: Socialism in Hong Kong

A different term was widely used for similar effect in Hong Kong, called zo gaau (Chinese: 左膠; Jyutping: zo2 gaau1; literally "left dumbass" or "leftard"). The term gain popularity in HK in the 2010s, and became widespread after the 2014 Hong Kong protests.[9][10]

See also
Look up 白左 or 左膠 in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

References
  1. Mair, Victor (17 May 2017). ""White left" — a Chinese calque in English". Language Log. University of Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on 21 May 2017. Retrieved 1 May 2020.
  2. Zhang, Chenchen (11 May 2017). "The curious rise of the 'white left' as a Chinese internet insult". openDemocracy. Archived from the original on 10 June 2017.
  3. Zhang, Chenchen (March 2020). "Right-wing populism with Chinese characteristics? Identity, otherness and global imaginaries in debating world politics online". European Journal of International Relations. 26 (1): 88–115. doi:10.1177/1354066119850253. Retrieved 20 March 2023.
  4. Democracy, Open (20 May 2017). "The curious rise of the 'white left' as a Chinese internet insult". Hong Kong Free Press HKFP. Retrieved 14 January 2022. Although the emphasis varies, baizuo is used generally to describe those who "only care about topics such as immigration, minorities, LGBT and the environment" and "have no sense of real problems in the real world"; they are hypocritical humanitarians who advocate for peace and equality only to "satisfy their own feeling of moral superiority"; they are "obsessed with political correctness" to the extent that they "tolerate backwards Islamic values for the sake of multiculturalism"; they believe in the welfare state that "benefits only the idle and the free riders"; they are the "ignorant and arrogant westerners" who "pity the rest of the world and think they are saviours".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  5. Fang, Kecheng (10 December 2017). "方可成："白左"污名化与社会达尔文主义". Red Song Society (in Simplified Chinese). Archived from the original on 6 June 2018. Retrieved 2 February 2019.
  6. Graw, Ansgar (23 November 2017). "Baizuo": Chinesen verspotten Merkel als naiven weißen Gutmenschen". WELT (in German). Archived from the original on 28 November 2017. Retrieved 10 December 2017.
  7. "Nach dem Jamaika-Aus wird Merkel in China als "naive, weiße Westlerin" verspottet". FOCUS Online (in German). Archived from the original on 12 December 2017. Retrieved 11 December 2017.
  8. Weigel, David (2 December 2021). "Analysis | The Trailer: In three swing states, abortion bans could be on the midterm ballot". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 25 January 2022.
  9. 香港01記者 (6 September 2016). "BBC教你「港豬」、「熱狗」、「左膠」英文點講". 香港01 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  10. "SUN奇古怪：Sun潮語【和理非非】". 太陽報 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Retrieved 28 November 2021.
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