"Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees, look at these" is a

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one race over another. It may also mean prejudice, discrimination, or antagonism ...

playground chant in the United States used to mock children of Asian origin. One rendering of the chant gives it as "Chinese/Japanese/Dirty Knees/Look at these Chinese Japanese/Dirty Knees". A 2005 ''Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century'', mentioning it among "fifty well-known jingles, jump-rope rhymes, and singsong parodies that we kids chanted", lists it as Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees / Look at these.' (Point to your tits.)" Many

Asian Americans Asian Americans are Americans of Asian ancestry (including naturalized Americans who are immigrants from specific regions in Asia and descendants of such immigrants). Although this term had historically been used for all the indigenous people ...

recalled being taunted or bullied with this chant in their youth in the 20th century. Children who sang it would sometimes pull their eyes into slits to make clear the object of their contempt.

Gregory B. Lee Gregory B. Lee (born 1955) is an academic, author, and broadcaster. Lee is Founding Professor of Chinese Studies at the University of St Andrews. He was until July 2020, Director of the French research Institute for Transtextual and Transcultur ...

, writing that "many a Chinese immigrant child over the past 100 years has had to endure" the chant, notes that " e allusion to dirt in this ditty is not aleatory", linking it to the stereotype of unclean "Orientals". In 2020, the film '' Monster Hunter'' caused an uproar on Chinese social media because of what was seen as a reference to the chant. In a scene, MC Jin's character jokingly asks: "Look at my knees!", and to the question "What kind of knees are these?", he replies: "Chi-knees!". The film was removed from circulation, and Chinese authorities censored references to it online.

References

{{Anti-Chinese sentiment Anti–East Asian sentiment in the United States Playground songs American children's songs Songs about China Songs about Japan Songs about East Asian people Ethnic humour Race-related controversies in music