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You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in Japanese. (September 2025)Click [show] for important translation instructions. View a machine-translated version of the Japanese article. Machine translation, likeDeepL orGoogle Translate, is a useful starting point for translations, but translators must revise errors as necessary and confirm that the translation is accurate, rather than simply copy-pasting machine-translated text into the English Wikipedia. Consideradding a topic to this template: there are already 1,379 articles in themain category, and specifying|topic= will aid in categorization. Do not translate text that appears unreliable or low-quality. If possible, verify the text with references provided in the foreign-language article. Youmust providecopyright attribution in theedit summary accompanying your translation by providing aninterlanguage link to the source of your translation. A model attribution edit summary isContent in this edit is translated from the existing Japanese Wikipedia article at [[:ja:支那]]; see its history for attribution. You may also add the template{{Translated|ja|支那}} to thetalk page. For more guidance, seeWikipedia:Translation.

Shina is a largely archaic name forChina. Its use inJapanese originally had a neutral connotation, but the word came to be perceived as derogatory byChinese people during the course of theFirst andSecond Sino-Japanese Wars. As a result, it fell into disuse afterWorld War II and is now viewed as offensive, with the standard Japanese name for China being replaced byChūgoku (中国).

During the2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, the word was used as a form of protest against theChinese government but also as axenophobic remark against mainland Chinese.

TheSanskrit wordचीन (Cina), meaning "China", wastranscribed into various forms including支那 (Zhīnà),芝那 (Zhīnà),脂那 (Zhīnà) and至那 (Zhìnà). Thus, the termShina was initially created as a transliteration ofCina, and this term was in turn brought toJapan with the spread ofChinese Buddhism. Some scholars believe that the SanskritCina, likeMiddle PersianČīn andLatinSina, is derived from the name of thestate of Qin, which founded adynasty (秦,Old Chinese:*dzin) that ruled China from 221 to 206 BC, and soShina is a return ofQin to Chinese in a different form.

The Sanskrit term for China eventually spread into China, where its usage was closely related to Buddhism. ATang dynasty (618–907) poem titledTi Fan Shu (題梵書, literally "topic of aSanskrit book") byEmperor Xuanzong of Tang uses the term in Chinese支那 (Zhīnà) to refer to China, which is an early use of the word in China:^[1]

The Latin term for China wasSinae, plural ofSina. WhenArai Hakuseki, a Japanese scholar, interrogated the Italian missionaryGiovanni Battista Sidotti in 1708, he noticed thatSinae, the Latin plural word Sidotti used to refer to China, was similar toShina, the Japanese pronunciation of支那. Then he began to use this word for China regardless of dynasty. Since theMeiji Era,Shina had been widely used as the translation of the Western term "China". For instance, "sinology" was translated as "Shinagaku" (支那學).

At first, it was widely accepted that the termShina orZhina had no political connotations in China. Before the ChineseRepublican era, the termShina was one of the names proposed as a "generalized, basically neutral Western-influenced equivalent for 'China'". Chinese revolutionaries, such asSun Yat-sen,Song Jiaoren, andLiang Qichao, used the term extensively, and it was also used in literature as well as by ordinary Chinese. The term "transcended politics, as it were, by avoiding reference to a particular dynasty or having to call China the country of the Qing". With theoverthrow of the Qing in 1911, however, most Chinese droppedShina as foreign and demanded that Japan replace it with the Japanese reading of theChinese characters used as the name of the newRepublic of ChinaChūka Minkoku (中華民國), with the short formChūgoku (中國).^[2]

Nevertheless, the term continued to be more-or-less neutral. A Buddhist school calledZhīnà Nèixuéyuàn (支那內學院) was established as late as in 1922 in Nanjing. In the meantime,Shina was used as commonly in Japanese as "China" in English. Derogatory nuances were expressed by adding extra adjectives, e.g.Japanese:暴虐なる支那兵,romanized: bōgyaku-naru Shina-hei,lit. 'cruel Shina soldiers' or using derogatory terms likechankoro (チャンコロ), originating from a corruption of theTaiwanese Hokkien pronunciation ofChinese:清國奴;Pe̍h-ōe-jī:Chheng-kok-lô͘;lit. 'Qing dynasty's slave', used to refer to any "chinaman" or "chink".^[3]

Despite interchangeability ofChinese characters, Japan officially used the termShina Kyōwakoku (支那共和國) from 1913 to 1930 in Japanese documents, whileZhōnghuá mínguó (中華民國) was used in Chinese ones.Shina kyōwakoku was the literal translation of the English "Republic of China" whileChūka minkoku was the Japanese pronunciation of the official Chinese characters ofZhōnghuá mínguó. The Republic of China unofficially pressed Japan to adopt the latter but was rejected.

Japan rejected the termsChūka minkoku and its short form中國 (Chūgoku) for four reasons:

1. A term referring to China asthe "Middle kingdom" or the "center of the world" was deemed arrogant
2. Western countries used "China"
3. Shina had been the common name in Japan for centuries
4. Japan already has aChūgoku region, in the west of its main islandHonshu.

The nameChūka minkoku was officially adopted by Japan in 1930, butShina was still commonly used by the Japanese throughout the 1930s and 1940s.^[4]

TheSecond Sino-Japanese War fixed the impression of the termShina as offensive amongChinese people. In 1946, theRepublic of China demanded that Japan cease usingShina.

In China, the termShina has become linked with the Japanese invasion andJapanese war crimes, and has been considered an offensiveethnic slur ever since.

In modern Japan, the termChūka Minkoku (中華民国) refers to theRepublic of China, whileChūka Jinmin Kyōwakoku (中華人民共和国) refers to thePeople's Republic of China; the terms use the same Chinese characters (with Japaneseshinjitai simplifications) used officially in both the People's Republic of China and the Republic of China. Likewise, in most cases, words previously containingShina have been altered; for example, the term forsinology was changed fromShinagaku (支那学; "Shina studies") toChūgokugaku (中国学) orChūkagaku (中華学; "Chinese studies"), and the name for theSecond Sino-Japanese War has changed from terms such asShina jihen (支那事變; "The China Incident") andNisshi jihen (日支事變; "The Japan-Shina Incident") toNitchū sensō (日中戦争; "Japan-China War").

WritingShina in Japanese is considered socially unacceptable and subject tokotobagari, especially the kanji form; ifShina is used, it is now generally written inkatakana (シナ) rather than with the kanji (支那), which in Japanese serves as a way tospell offensive words (cf. English "f*ck"). As such, the term has survived in a few non-politicalcompound words in Japanese, and even (rarely) in Chinese. For example, theSouth andEast China Seas are calledMinami Shina Kai (南シナ海) andHigashi Shina Kai (東シナ海), respectively, in Japanese (prior to World War II, the names were written as南支那海 and東支那海).Shinachiku (支那竹 or simplyシナチク), aramen topping made from dried bamboo, also derives from the termShina, but in recent years the wordmenma (メンマ) has replaced this as a more politically correct name. Some terms that translate to words containing the "Sino-" prefix in English retainShina within them, for exampleシナ・チベット語族 (Sino-Tibetan languages) andシナントロプス・ペキネンシス (Sinanthropus pekinensis, also known asPeking Man). Meanwhile, one of the Chinese names forIndochina isyìndù zhīnà (印度支那).

Even so, it is still sometimes seen in written forms such asShina soba (支那そば), an alternative name forramen, a dish which originates from China. Many Japanese are not fully aware of Chinese feelings towards the term, and generally findShina merely old-fashioned and associated with the early and mid-20th century, rather than derogatory and racist. This difference in conception can lead to misunderstandings. The term is a slur when used towardRyukyuans bymainland Japanese people.^[5]

SinologistJoshua A. Fogel mentioned that, "Surveying the present scene indicates much less sensitivity on the part of Chinese to the termShina and growing ignorance of it in Japan". He also criticizedShintaro Ishihara, aright-wing nationalist politician who went out of his way to use the expressionShinajin (支那人) and called him a "troublemaker".^[4] He elaborated further:

Many terms have been offered as names for countries and ethnic groups that have simply not withstood the pressures of time and circumstance and have, accordingly, changed. Before the mid-1960s, virtually every well-meaning American, black or white and regardless of political affinity, referred to blacks as 'Negroes' with no intention of offense or slight. It was simply the respectful name in use; and it was superior to the openly reviled and offensive term "colored," still in legal use by people in the South (to say nothing of the highly offensive term in colloquial use by this group) ... By the late 1960s, few if any liberals were still using 'Negro' but had shifted to 'black,' because that was declared the ethnonym of choice by the group so named.^[4]

Japanese Canadian historian Bob Tadashi Wakabayashi mentioned that there are two classes of postwar Japanese that have continued to use derogatory terms likeShina: poorly educated and/or elderly persons who grew up with the term go on using these from force of habit.^[6]

Someright-wing Japanese appeal to etymology in trying to ascribe respectability to the continued use of Shina, since the term Shina has non-pejorative etymological origins. Wakabayashi disagreed: "The termJap also has non-pejorative etymological origins, since it derives from Zippangu (ジパング) inMarco Polo'sTravels ... If the Chinese today say they are hurt by the terms Shina or Shinajin, then common courtesy enjoins the Japanese to stop using these terms, whatever theetymology or historical usage might be."^[6]

During theJapanese occupation of Hong Kong, the Japanese government classified Hong Kong residents asShinajin (支那人), as the term was used to refer to all who were ethnically Chinese. Hongkongers that were considered useful to the Japanese government, as well as prominent local figures such asbankers andlawyers, were recorded in a census document called the "Hong Kong Shinajin Magnate Survey" (Japanese:香港在住支那人有力者調查表,romanized: Honkon zaijū Shinajin yūryokusha chōsahyō).^[7] In 2016, a Hong Kong reporter was calledShinajin by Japanese nationalist politicianShintaro Ishihara.^[8]

InHong Kong, the Cantonese pronunciation ofShina (Jyutping:zi1 na5,Yale:Jī-nàh; approximated in English-language sources asCheena) is used in a derogative sense under the backdrop of ongoingtensions between Hong Kong and mainland China, even in official capacity,^[9] for example byHong Kong localist politiciansYau Wai-ching andSixtus Leung during theircontroversial oath swearing as elected members of the Hong Kong legislature.^{[10][11][12][13]}

On 15 September 2012, a Hong Kong online community organized aprotest against mainlanders andparallel traders. During the protest, some demonstrators chanted "Cheena people get out!" On 24 September 2013, the Hong Kong political group Hongkongers Priority breached the front entrance of theChinese People's Liberation Army Forces Hong Kong Building, the first such incident since the handover of Hong Kong.^[14] Billy Chiu, the leader of Hongkongers Priority, later announced on social media that Hongkongers Priority had successfully broken into the "Cheena Army Garrison".^[15] In October 2015, anHKGolden netizenremade the South Korean song "Gangnam Style", with lyrics calling mainland Chinese "locusts" and "Cheena people", titled "DisgustingCheena Style" (Chinese:核突支那Style).^[16]

Inside Hong Kong university campuses, mainland Chinese students were referred to as "Cheena dogs" and "yellow thugs" by local students.^[17][18] On 18 September 2019, the 88th anniversary of theJapanese invasion of northeast China, a celebration poster was put up on the Democracy Wall of theUniversity of Hong Kong, glorifying the Japanese invasion while advocating for democracy in Hong Kong.^[17] Hong Kong journalist Audrey Li noted the xenophobic undertone of the widespread right-wing nativism movement, in which the immigrant population and tourists are used as scapegoats for social inequality and institutional failure.^[17][19]

In Hong Kong, some people considerhate speech and even discrimination toward mainland Chinese morally justified^[20] by asuperiority complex influenced by Hong Kong's economic and cultural prominence during theCold War, and nostalgia toward British rule.^[19] Some protesters choose to express their frustrations on ordinary mainlanders instead of the Chinese government. With risingtribalism andnationalism in Hong Kong and China, xenophobia between Hong Kongers and mainlanders is reinforced and reciprocated.^[21][22] Some critics of Hong Kong's pro-democracy movement argue that the prevalence of ethnic hatred and xenophobia amongst its supporters is mostly ignored by the media, which often frames the situation as simply a fight between democracy and authoritarianism.^[17]

• Names of China
• Chinaman
• Chink
• Chinky
• Locust
• Wokou
• Xiao Riben
• Ethnic issues in Japan

• Joshua A. Fogel, "The Sino-Japanese Controversy over Shina as a Toponym for China," inThe Cultural Dimension of Sino-Japanese Relations: Essays on the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries, ed. Joshua A. Fogel (Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1995), 66–76.
• Lydia He Liu.The Clash of Empires: The Invention of China in Modern World Making. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2004).ISBN 0674013077), esp. pp. 76–79.

• Political terminology
• Racism in Japan
• Names of China
• Anti-Chinese slurs
• Ethnic and religious slurs

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