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bantha_fodderLast year, I was wandering around online, and discovered that there are people who exist who don't think that Cho Chang is Chinese. This was before the casting of Katie Leung as Cho (which I think, as a move, confirms Cho as being canonically Chinese, so now hopefully the debate has ended). AND I discovered that there are people who, not only do they not think of her, or not really like her, but that actively hate her. There are hate listings.
The Cho that I see when I read the books or read fic is so Chinese that this has never been an issue for me. And now I'm going to talk about her, both in canon and in fanon. Because as you all know, my love for Cho Chang knows no bounds.
The Problem with Cho #1: Her Name
Chang is fairly clearly supposed to be a Chinese name. Cho is more problematic. Cho is maybe Korean. It's definitely not Mandarin, although it's close to 秋 (qiu), even ignoring tones. I like it as a transliteration to 秋, mostly because it means 'autumn,' and that's a nice meaning for a name. Not the most traditional, but whatever. I don't think it's Cantonese, although my Cantonese is not fabulous. Cantonese is, however, the most likely, because she's clearly not a recent migrant (recent = before 1990), and the majority of migration to Britain before that was from Guangzhou, so.
(OMG, WATCH ME WANK)
Obviously, her family could still be (ages ago) from some other province, as there were small percentages of migrants from other provinces, but my knowledge doesn't extend that far, so I shall be quiet on this diverted topic now.
Also, I've seen some speculation that 'Cho' is meant to be a mutated version of 'chou,' as a slander (slut, I think), but I don't know how I feel about this theory. That is to say, I'm not sure of the validity of 'Cho' as mutilation of 'chou,' but I doubt JKR picked it for the reason of its possible translated meaning.
In summary: Cho isn't really a Chinese name, but I think we, as readers, are meant to assume it is.
Which leads us to The Problem with Cho #2: JKR
As is clear from her non-sensical name, Cho is being written by someone who, in terms of 'being Chinese,' doesn't know where she's going. It's like JKR's 'magic gene.' It sounds like a good idea at the time, and gives the reader a vague, nebulous idea to work with/remember, but doesn't hold up under extended analysis.
As a result, we can't expect to ever hear about Cho's difficulties being a Chinese girl in a school where just about everyone else is European/Caucacian (please note my use of 'ALMOST' - I acknowledge that JKR has written at least a handful of other characters of non-European descent).
The Problem with Cho #3: On being Chinese
Cho is Chinese, okay? And on a day to day basis, she probably didn't think about it. She probably didn't walk around the halls of Hogwarts going, "oh, you're different to me," or whatever. But she was coming to terms with all sorts of things, and one of those things would have been the reconciliation between her home life and her life at Hogwarts, and the cultural difference.
I'm not saying, when she was at home she spoke Chinese and prayed to the spirits and ate rice for every meal. Living in GB for at least the majority of her life (as assumed by her love of that Welsh Quidditch team since she was six) means it was not a huge jolt. But I bet there were days when she craved things she couldn't have, desserts and meals that we never hear mentioned in the books. I bet she wanted to celebrate Chinese New Year or Moon Festival, and couldn't.
And she had to reconcile that slight feeling of dislocation and disassociation, with all the people around her.
The Problem with Cho #4: She's a teenager
And yes, everyone around her was feeling similarly dislocated. This is because they're all teenagers. Cho is still a teenager. She's still learning about who she is, and about life and the people around her.
Clearly, she does not have the Muggle --> Wizarding World problem. That transition is clearly a difficult one, but she doesn't have to make it. She does have to deal with the child --> teenager --> adult transition, and I have made a radical assumption: we have not identified any other Chinese people at Hogwarts. Therefore, as minimal a role as her Chinese heritage may play in her day to day life, she is surrounded by people who don't get it.
So she has to combine all of these feelings into one tiny person.
The Problem with Cho #5: FANDOM
Dear Fandom;
Do you know why you suck? Because you totally hate Cho, and you shouldn't. So she's pretty and popular and smart. So she cries, and she doesn't make Harry happy. You know what? They're teenagers. It happens.
Also, you should stop trying to Mary Sue yourself into Harry's life. When she upsets him, he upsets her right back, and he doesn't run off into your arms. OMG.
With Love,
Pen
PS. WHAT IS UP WITH THE HATE LISTINGS?
In summary: so few people like Cho. And you should.
Why I Love Cho:
Because, as little as we know about her, she's just like anyone else. There are people who like her, and there are people who don't. She has friends she's really close to, and ex-boyfriends, and weird adventures at school. She's unsure of herself, but tries to speak up when she really cares. And she has misunderstandings and accidents.
And, okay, she's pretty and popular but I think those aren't reasons to hate a character, I think those are part of who she is.
So, that isn't a lot (of reasons), but it's enough for me.
Cho, Online:
Harry Potter and Cho Chang: Exotified Asian Women and Invisible Filipinos. I have a lot of issues with this article, but at the same time I found it very interesting.
Cho at the HP Lexicon.
From HP4GU: EvilCho as fanon staple.
An interview with Katie about Cho, and a brief discussion of that article.
A Question: I've seen some people say that Cho doesn't ping on their radar. And my question is: why not? Why doesn't Cho interest you?
Cho as Main Character in Fanfic:
Oral History by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
acadine. It contains possibly my favourite line of written text ever, Only at Hogwarts, they joke, would history actually be taught by a dead white European man, and the comments contain some great chit-chat.
How It Feels to Face a Dragon, bybowdlerized. The flow is just beautiful, and Cho is so lovely and she's not perfect, but she's just brilliant and Bow is just brilliant.
Cho as Secondary Character in Fanfic:
The Paradigm of Uncertainty by Lori. Cho here is a sort of bitchy foil that propels Hermione into investigating about Harry's life.
And this is common. Most fics that acknowledge Cho as a secondary character (and I apologise for only giving one example) demonise her, and turn her into this horrible, bitchy caricature.
This is the last thing, I promise:
I wrote something about Cho just the other day. It is basically my attempt to channel my thoughts from this essay into a fiction form: Out from Under. Because we learn so many tiny tidbits about Cho: her loyalty to Marietta; her difficulty in getting over Cedric; her jealousy over Hermione and Harry: and this is my attempt to reconcile what we know with who I think she is.
Okay, the end.
The Cho that I see when I read the books or read fic is so Chinese that this has never been an issue for me. And now I'm going to talk about her, both in canon and in fanon. Because as you all know, my love for Cho Chang knows no bounds.
The Problem with Cho #1: Her Name
Chang is fairly clearly supposed to be a Chinese name. Cho is more problematic. Cho is maybe Korean. It's definitely not Mandarin, although it's close to 秋 (qiu), even ignoring tones. I like it as a transliteration to 秋, mostly because it means 'autumn,' and that's a nice meaning for a name. Not the most traditional, but whatever. I don't think it's Cantonese, although my Cantonese is not fabulous. Cantonese is, however, the most likely, because she's clearly not a recent migrant (recent = before 1990), and the majority of migration to Britain before that was from Guangzhou, so.
(OMG, WATCH ME WANK)
Obviously, her family could still be (ages ago) from some other province, as there were small percentages of migrants from other provinces, but my knowledge doesn't extend that far, so I shall be quiet on this diverted topic now.
Also, I've seen some speculation that 'Cho' is meant to be a mutated version of 'chou,' as a slander (slut, I think), but I don't know how I feel about this theory. That is to say, I'm not sure of the validity of 'Cho' as mutilation of 'chou,' but I doubt JKR picked it for the reason of its possible translated meaning.
In summary: Cho isn't really a Chinese name, but I think we, as readers, are meant to assume it is.
Which leads us to The Problem with Cho #2: JKR
As is clear from her non-sensical name, Cho is being written by someone who, in terms of 'being Chinese,' doesn't know where she's going. It's like JKR's 'magic gene.' It sounds like a good idea at the time, and gives the reader a vague, nebulous idea to work with/remember, but doesn't hold up under extended analysis.
As a result, we can't expect to ever hear about Cho's difficulties being a Chinese girl in a school where just about everyone else is European/Caucacian (please note my use of 'ALMOST' - I acknowledge that JKR has written at least a handful of other characters of non-European descent).
The Problem with Cho #3: On being Chinese
Cho is Chinese, okay? And on a day to day basis, she probably didn't think about it. She probably didn't walk around the halls of Hogwarts going, "oh, you're different to me," or whatever. But she was coming to terms with all sorts of things, and one of those things would have been the reconciliation between her home life and her life at Hogwarts, and the cultural difference.
I'm not saying, when she was at home she spoke Chinese and prayed to the spirits and ate rice for every meal. Living in GB for at least the majority of her life (as assumed by her love of that Welsh Quidditch team since she was six) means it was not a huge jolt. But I bet there were days when she craved things she couldn't have, desserts and meals that we never hear mentioned in the books. I bet she wanted to celebrate Chinese New Year or Moon Festival, and couldn't.
And she had to reconcile that slight feeling of dislocation and disassociation, with all the people around her.
The Problem with Cho #4: She's a teenager
And yes, everyone around her was feeling similarly dislocated. This is because they're all teenagers. Cho is still a teenager. She's still learning about who she is, and about life and the people around her.
Clearly, she does not have the Muggle --> Wizarding World problem. That transition is clearly a difficult one, but she doesn't have to make it. She does have to deal with the child --> teenager --> adult transition, and I have made a radical assumption: we have not identified any other Chinese people at Hogwarts. Therefore, as minimal a role as her Chinese heritage may play in her day to day life, she is surrounded by people who don't get it.
So she has to combine all of these feelings into one tiny person.
The Problem with Cho #5: FANDOM
Dear Fandom;
Do you know why you suck? Because you totally hate Cho, and you shouldn't. So she's pretty and popular and smart. So she cries, and she doesn't make Harry happy. You know what? They're teenagers. It happens.
Also, you should stop trying to Mary Sue yourself into Harry's life. When she upsets him, he upsets her right back, and he doesn't run off into your arms. OMG.
With Love,
Pen
PS. WHAT IS UP WITH THE HATE LISTINGS?
In summary: so few people like Cho. And you should.
Why I Love Cho:
Because, as little as we know about her, she's just like anyone else. There are people who like her, and there are people who don't. She has friends she's really close to, and ex-boyfriends, and weird adventures at school. She's unsure of herself, but tries to speak up when she really cares. And she has misunderstandings and accidents.
And, okay, she's pretty and popular but I think those aren't reasons to hate a character, I think those are part of who she is.
So, that isn't a lot (of reasons), but it's enough for me.
Cho, Online:
Harry Potter and Cho Chang: Exotified Asian Women and Invisible Filipinos. I have a lot of issues with this article, but at the same time I found it very interesting.
Cho at the HP Lexicon.
From HP4GU: EvilCho as fanon staple.
An interview with Katie about Cho, and a brief discussion of that article.
A Question: I've seen some people say that Cho doesn't ping on their radar. And my question is: why not? Why doesn't Cho interest you?
Cho as Main Character in Fanfic:
Oral History by
acadine. It contains possibly my favourite line of written text ever, Only at Hogwarts, they joke, would history actually be taught by a dead white European man, and the comments contain some great chit-chat.How It Feels to Face a Dragon, by
bowdlerized. The flow is just beautiful, and Cho is so lovely and she's not perfect, but she's just brilliant and Bow is just brilliant.Cho as Secondary Character in Fanfic:
The Paradigm of Uncertainty by Lori. Cho here is a sort of bitchy foil that propels Hermione into investigating about Harry's life.
And this is common. Most fics that acknowledge Cho as a secondary character (and I apologise for only giving one example) demonise her, and turn her into this horrible, bitchy caricature.
This is the last thing, I promise:
I wrote something about Cho just the other day. It is basically my attempt to channel my thoughts from this essay into a fiction form: Out from Under. Because we learn so many tiny tidbits about Cho: her loyalty to Marietta; her difficulty in getting over Cedric; her jealousy over Hermione and Harry: and this is my attempt to reconcile what we know with who I think she is.
Okay, the end.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-29 04:27 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-29 04:57 pm (UTC)I've always been a big fan of Cho, that's why I founded
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-29 05:54 pm (UTC)Actually, I was totally going to mention the comm in my links, except it has so little activity, it's not really a useful link. And that makes me sad.
Why do Cho hate listings have more activity than pro-Cho groups? UGH. FANDOM.
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-29 05:52 pm (UTC)And yay that you thought it was awesome? *g*
(no subject)
Date: 2005-10-29 06:17 pm (UTC)