I love languages. There are so many intriguing stories hidden behind them, and there is so much I can learn from just one word. Today I’m sharing with you the Chinese character “胡“, which I find perfectly illustrates the connections (trade and communication) and conflicts (war and distrust) between Han and Hu in history. It also reflects the ego-centric perspective of the Han people living back then and their discriminative attitudes towards foreign cultures. Discriminatory languages like this exists in lots of time and places, and the process of human understanding of the world is also the process of gradually getting out of egocentricity. It has never been smooth or easy, and I’m still learning. (P.S. Be aware of the oversimplifications of the historical events in the story. The post here focuses on the use of language, but if you are interested in further understanding the complicated relationship between Han and Hu, some historians have dedicated their lives studying and writing about it. I’d encourage you to find books and articles!) #chinesecharacters #learnchinesewords #chinesehistory #languageandhistory #chineselanguageandculture #discriminatorylanguage #learnchinesecharacters #studychinese #胡 #tinyeyescomics https://www.instagram.com/p/CBGc1D7iZOJ/?igshid=5cfloyy9xrln
