Pocket Guide to China

Introducing American G.I.’s to their Chinese Allies.

This well-intentioned, but unfortunately racist, volume was published by the Government Printing Office in 1942 for distribution to American servicemembers in China. The opening tone is set with an (alleged) Chinese proverb: “When you enter a neighborhood, ask what is forbidden; when you enter a country, ask what the customs are.”

Dozens of pages of informative text provide background details on the national geography, social traditions, and numerous cultural ‘quirks’ that would have been very unfamiliar to young men from the States. Currency exchange rates, a short phrase book, and a comparison of weights and measures provide practical military applications. Two maps are included showing China and its position in the Pacific Theater, plus a small diagram comparing the size of the nation to the United States. Perhaps even more helpful is the advice included throughout – don’t pet the dogs, crowds will follow you most places, expect a lot of tea, etc. A notable excerpt reads, “They are better than we are, perhaps, at human relationships.”

This magnaminous multicultural attitude is tempered somewhat by an entire section dedicated to ‘How to Spot a Jap.’ A series of cartoon panels illustrated by comic artist Milton Caniff (creator of Terry and the Pirates) are supposed to provide military personnel with the necessary tools to distinguish people of Chinese and Japanese descent. The clumsy effort quickly devolves into absurd stereotypes – The Japanese has legs that look joined to his chest, Chinese eyes have a marked squint (vs. slant), Japanese have buck teeth, etc. Utterly ridiculous to a modern audience, the illustrated comparisons offer serious insight into contemporary racial attitudes (lemon yellow is used to describe skin color). The comic was removed from the 2nd (1944) printing of the booklet.