An illustration in Harper’s Weekly, titled ‘The Yellow Peril’ (1895), comes with an exhortation: ‘Nations of Europe! Join in the defence of your faith and your homes!’
Opinion
Opinion
On Reflection
The Chinese were white – until white men called them yellow
- Europeans referred to East Asians as white until the end of the 18th century
- But as the Chinese and Japanese resisted cultural assimilation they darkened – both in Western eyes and their own
An illustration in Harper’s Weekly, titled ‘The Yellow Peril’ (1895), comes with an exhortation: ‘Nations of Europe! Join in the defence of your faith and your homes!’