In Sinorama Vol. 21 No. 9 (September 1996 domestic edition), I was surprised and saddened to see you use the phrase "Yellow Peril." Sinorama is known for its penetrating analysis and clear language, but most regrettably on this occasion, simply for linguistic effect, you unthinkingly used a phrase which is extremely insulting to the Chinese nation and deeply racist in nature.

The term "Yellow Peril" originated in Europe in 1241. It was a term applied to the Mongols, with implications which included barbarism, cruelty and racial difference. Its racist overtones are clear. Today, apart from the above meanings, it also represents a dark and barbaric period in European history. So the name "Yellow Peril" is by no means complimentary. For Europeans it recalls a painful period of history. What does it mean for Chinese to refer to ourselves as the "Yellow Peril," other than insulting ourselves?

In January 1237, Genghis Kahn's grandson Batu marched west along a route roughly following the path of the modern Transsiberian Railway.

The might of Batu's army was such that none could resist it. He took Moscow the same year and Kiev in 1240. When the Russian armies saw Batu's flags from afar, they dared not engage him in battle, but simply fled. This shows the reputation of the Mongolian horde. But Mangu had an unwritten rule: wherever the Mongol armies went, if a city resisted them in any way, after it was taken the army would destroy it and kill all its inhabitants. But with their homelands in danger, of course the defending garrisons resisted. So everywhere Batu's armies went they burned and slaughtered and countless towns and cities were reduced to ashes.

Batu's strategy was brutal in the extreme: any prisoners taken, whether by surrender or capture, were killed without exception. This was one reason why the Russian armies would not take him on lightly.

"Yellow Peril" is a name coined by Europeans for the Mongols in this barbaric period of history. It is not respectful to the Mongols, and has nothing to do with the Chinese. Although we say that the Mongols are part of the Chinese nation, the Yuan dynasty was not established in China until 1279, so Batu's western campaigns had nothing to do with the Chinese. Hence this European term of abuse for the Mongols has nothing to do with the Chinese either, and still less do we Chinese have any reason to go out of our way to apply this insulting term to ourselves. What do you think?

Editor's reply: The term "Yellow Peril" did indeed originate as a hostile appellation applied by white Europeans to the yellow peoples of Asia, but for many years it has also often been used with reference to misunderstanding or hatred of Chinese in other lands. Our writer's use of the term was mainly based on this latter usage, and alluded to the xenophobic attitudes faced by many immigrants of Asian descent in Australia and New Zealand. This is why we placed the term Yellow Peril in quotation marks, to indicate its controversial nature.

Correction: Regarding our article in the last issue on the trade in elephant ivory, Traffic Taipei has kindly informed us that the downgrading of the endangered status of the elephant only applies to Zimbabwe, Botswana, and Namibia; moreover, this step has been taken because elephant populations have remained stable in these three countries, all of which have been relatively successful in elephant conservation.