China Hands

China Hands

The term China Hand originally referred to 19th-century merchants in the treaty ports of China, but evolved to reflect anyone with expert knowledge of the language, culture, and people of China. In 1940s America, the term "China Hands" came to refer to a group of American diplomats, journalists, and soldiers who were known for their knowledge of China and influence on American policy before, during, and after World War II. In Mandariin Chinese, "China hand" would be translated as Zhong guo tong (simplified Chinese: 中国通; traditional Chinese: 中國通; pinyin: Zhōng gúo tōng; literally "China expert").

Read more about China Hands:  The Men Who "lost" China, Recognized China Hands

Famous quotes containing the words china and/or hands:

    Riot in Algeria, in Cyprus, in Alabama;
    Aged in wrong, the empires are declining,
    And China gathers, soundlessly, like evidence.
    What shall I say to the young on such a morning?—
    Mind is the one salvation?—also grammar?—
    No; my little ones lean not toward revolt.
    William Dewitt Snodgrass (b. 1926)

    Until you have a son of your own . . . you will never know the joy, the love beyond feeling that resonates in the heart of a father as he looks upon his son. You will never know the sense of honor that makes a man want to be more than he is and to pass something good and hopeful into the hands of his son. And you will never know the heartbreak of the fathers who are haunted by the personal demons that keep them from being the men they want their sons to be.
    Kent Nerburn (20th century)