Why is India called Asan?

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Why do the Chinese call Indians Asan?

Red-headed Asan" may be an unfamiliar term to today's young people, but to today's sixty- and seventy-year-olds It is very familiar to people in Shanghai. The reason why it is called "Red-headed Asan" is roughly as follows: All Indian policemen wear red scarves on their heads (in fact, Indian policemen serve as traffic police and patrol policemen). There are two theories about "Asan": one is that Indians are slaves who have subjugated their country, and their status in the eyes of Shanghainese is lower than that of Xi'an and Hua'an. Ranked third; there is another saying that Indians have the mantra "I say" and "I say", which are homophonic to "Ah San". The red head plus Ah San is called "Red Head Ah San".

Yinqiao was a product of the colonial period in Shanghai and was unique in our country. In August 1843 (the 23rd year of Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty), Shanghai was forced to open up as a treaty port by Western colonists. Foreign adventurers came in droves to purchase goods in Shanghai. On November 29, 1845, under the threat and deception of the British Consul Barfur, Mujiu, the Shanghai Daotai Palace of the Qing government, announced the foreigners' "Shanghai Land Rental Regulations" in the name of Daotai. . Since then, the British Concession has become a "state within a state" for the British invaders in Shanghai.

In 1849 (the 28th year of Daoguang reign of the Qing Dynasty), the French consul Mintiny cited the precedent of the British colonists. Shanghai Daotai Lingui succumbed to the pressure of the colonialists and designated the site of the French Concession on April 6, 1849.

Since the Shanghai Concession is a "state within a state", it naturally requires armed forces. and other tools of suppression, which are the merchant corps of all nations, the fleet sailors and patrols. The merchant corps of nations is the main body of the concession's armed forces, and its main responsibility is to protect the concession. The fleet sailors are the backing of the merchant corps of nations. . Patrolmen, that is, policemen. At first, patrolmen were all Westerners, so they were called Western Policemen. At that time, the French Concession Public Security Bureau had a clear regulation: "The patrolmen should all be French or declare to obey the French consulate and return to France from now on." Judicial jurisdiction consists of foreigners. "There were at most 160 Westerners in the British Concession. The Westerners' salaries are high, otherwise they would not be able to find Westerners, which would increase the expenses. In addition, Westerners have various limitations, such as conducting reconnaissance incognito, and their appearance cannot be concealed; and For example, when going to public places to inquire, the difficulty caused by the language barrier is difficult to overcome; in addition, there are gang organizations in the concession, and it is difficult for the West Police to penetrate deeply due to various reasons. It is also difficult to find suitable candidates to be the eyes and ears, and the efficiency of solving the case is greatly reduced. In short, since the patrol house was opened in 1854, the number of criminal cases increased with the increase in population, and the disadvantages became more prominent, so it was changed from 1870 onwards. In order to allow Chinese to serve as patrolmen, they were called Chinese policemen. Due to the obvious results of this change, the priorities were gradually reversed, that is, the number of Chinese policemen in the Western Concession was greatly reduced. For example, in 1883, there were 200 policemen in the British and American concessions. There were as many as 170 Chinese captives. After that, the number of Chinese captives increased, and the colonists were afraid that it would be difficult to control them. In 1884, they began to "import" Indian patrol officers from the British colony, namely "red-headed Asan" colonists. When patrolling "Exit", the personnel are carefully selected. They must be Sikhs from India. They are all tall, tall, and bearded, making them intimidating. However, they also have similar shortcomings to those arrested in the West, so most of them serve as patrol officers, prison guards, and traffic police. Police. "Red-headed Asan" came from the British colony, and technically their status was lower than that of the Shanghainese in the concession, but they were loyal "watchdogs" of the British and used their police sticks all day long to satisfy the Shanghainese. It was common for the street vendors and cart drivers to suffer the consequences of being beaten with batons and leather boots by the "red-headed Asan". In order to use the "red-headed Asan" to work loyally for them, the colonists paid them twice as much as the Chinese prisoners. Allotment of housing, etc., and a three-story Indian church was built in the then Gordon Road patrol house (after liberation, it was the Jiangning Road Public Security Bureau). The existence of Indian police was canceled with the end of the concession.

The French Concession’s practices in this regard were roughly the same as those of the British Concession. What they “imported” were Annan patrolmen, that is, Vietnamese. In the eyes of Shanghainese, their body shape and skin were similar to those of Cantonese, so they did not send them. What are their nicknames or nicknames?

█Indian Asan evolved from "Red-headed Asan", because "Red-headed Asan" refers to Indians.

The etymology of "Red Head Asan" comes from the local dialect of Shanghai. In the old days, there were concessions (from various countries) in Shanghai. Most of the ordinary police officers (little policemen) in the British concession were Indians transferred from the British colonial India. Because they believe in Hinduism, they all wear turbans on their heads (of course, they usually wear white turbans before going on duty). As a uniform, the Indian police's turbans are labeled "red", which is the origin of "red head".

As for Asan, there are two ways to say it:

First, people at that time described monkeys as "Asan" (why is unknown). It seems that they all behave like monkeys, especially the Indians, whose faces are even darker. Moreover, due to the "superiority" of the nation, they feel that their own family is still higher than India..., so they (scornfully) call the Indians 'Asan' '

Secondly, it is said that because of the colonial relationship, Indians need to know English to be civil servants. However, because they know English, they also like to show off in front of the Chinese, usually saying something inappropriate. When you are fluent in Chinese, you will always unconsciously add "I SAY..." (I say...). Since the pronunciation of I say is very close to that of "Ah San", the name "Ah San" came into being. call.