Running dog is a pejorative term for an unprincipled person who helps or flatters those more powerful and often evil. It is a literal translation of the Chinese pejorative 走狗 (pinyin: zǒugǒu), meaning a yes-man or lackey, and is derived from the tendency of dogs to follow after humans in hopes of receiving food scraps. Historian Yuan-tsung Chen notes that "In the West, a dog is a man's best friend; but in China, dogs are abject creatures. In Chinese, no idiomatic expression [is] more demeaning than the term 'running dogs.'"[1]
The term "imperialist running dog" (帝国主义走狗; dìguó zhǔyì de zǒugǒu) was used by Mao Zedong to refer to allies of counterrevolutionary imperialist forces.[2] Historian Chang-tai Hung suggests the term was used to invoke negative mental imagery; "The image of... a running dog parallels that of the United States as a wolf. Both bestial representations provide convenient and familiar symbols that political artists can target, but they also validate the use of violence since the annihilation of beasts is justified.... [The representations of enemies as beasts such as running dogs or rats] call to mind repulsive creatures that inflict damage on the nation."[3]
In 1950, an article in The China Weekly Review gave the definition "A running-dog is a lackey, one who aids and accompanies in the hope of being treated kindly and perhaps being allowed to share in the spoils."[4]
In 1953, a Saturday Evening Post article offered a definition for tso kou ("running dog") and kou t'ui tee ("dog's hips"), saying "A 'running dog' was a person who follows obediently after the person whose dog he is, a fellow traveler; a 'dog's hips' was simply an enthusiastic running dog, who exercises his hips while running errands for his master."[5]
Historian James Reeve Pusey captures some of the power of the idiom when telling of Lu Xun's reaction to seeing people in power mistreat others with the idiom "the weak are the meat of the strong".[6] Lu's anger spilt over to the point of having a reaction even against those calling for resistance without vengeance "For the loudest of such people, he thought, were running dogs of the people-eaters, fed at least on scraps of human flesh."[6]
"Vanguards of young Moslems were... urging the overthrow of the 'Kuomintang running-dog'".[7]
More recently, the term has been used in the 21st century by Chinese officials to denigrate foreign leaders. One example is China's consul general to Rio de Janeiro Li Yang, who insulted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a tweet: "Boy, your greatest achievement is to have ruined the friendly relations between China and Canada, and have turned Canada into a running dog of the U.S."[8]
The term is used as the name of a mission referencing its implied meaning in the 2004 action-adventure video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas.[9]
References
Citations
^Yuan-tsung Chen (2008). Return to the Middle Kingdom: One Family, Three Revolutionaries, and the Birth of Modern China. New York City, New York: Sterling Publishing Co., Inc.
^Selected Works of Mao Tse-Tung, Volume 4, p. 455.
^Chang-tai Hung (2011). Mao's New World: Political Culture in the Early People's Republic. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University.
running, pejorative, term, unprincipled, person, helps, flatters, those, more, powerful, often, evil, literal, translation, chinese, pejorative, 走狗, pinyin, zǒugǒu, meaning, lackey, derived, from, tendency, dogs, follow, after, humans, hopes, receiving, food, . Running dog is a pejorative term for an unprincipled person who helps or flatters those more powerful and often evil It is a literal translation of the Chinese pejorative 走狗 pinyin zǒugǒu meaning a yes man or lackey and is derived from the tendency of dogs to follow after humans in hopes of receiving food scraps Historian Yuan tsung Chen notes that In the West a dog is a man s best friend but in China dogs are abject creatures In Chinese no idiomatic expression is more demeaning than the term running dogs 1 The term imperialist running dog 帝国主义走狗 diguo zhǔyi de zǒugǒu was used by Mao Zedong to refer to allies of counterrevolutionary imperialist forces 2 Historian Chang tai Hung suggests the term was used to invoke negative mental imagery The image of a running dog parallels that of the United States as a wolf Both bestial representations provide convenient and familiar symbols that political artists can target but they also validate the use of violence since the annihilation of beasts is justified The representations of enemies as beasts such as running dogs or rats call to mind repulsive creatures that inflict damage on the nation 3 In 1950 an article in The China Weekly Review gave the definition A running dog is a lackey one who aids and accompanies in the hope of being treated kindly and perhaps being allowed to share in the spoils 4 In 1953 a Saturday Evening Post article offered a definition for tso kou running dog and kou t ui tee dog s hips saying A running dog was a person who follows obediently after the person whose dog he is a fellow traveler a dog s hips was simply an enthusiastic running dog who exercises his hips while running errands for his master 5 Historian James Reeve Pusey captures some of the power of the idiom when telling of Lu Xun s reaction to seeing people in power mistreat others with the idiom the weak are the meat of the strong 6 Lu s anger spilt over to the point of having a reaction even against those calling for resistance without vengeance For the loudest of such people he thought were running dogs of the people eaters fed at least on scraps of human flesh 6 The phrase running dog has been in use since the Qing Dynasty and was often used in the 20th century by communists to refer to client states of the United States and other capitalist powers Its first recorded use in English was in Edgar Snow s 1937 reportage Red Star Over China citation needed Vanguards of young Moslems were urging the overthrow of the Kuomintang running dog 7 More recently the term has been used in the 21st century by Chinese officials to denigrate foreign leaders One example is China s consul general to Rio de Janeiro Li Yang who insulted Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a tweet Boy your greatest achievement is to have ruined the friendly relations between China and Canada and have turned Canada into a running dog of the U S 8 The term is used as the name of a mission referencing its implied meaning in the 2004 action adventure video game Grand Theft Auto San Andreas 9 References EditCitations Edit Yuan tsung Chen 2008 Return to the Middle Kingdom One Family Three Revolutionaries and the Birth of Modern China New York City New York Sterling Publishing Co Inc Selected Works of Mao Tse Tung Volume 4 p 455 Chang tai Hung 2011 Mao s New World Political Culture in the Early People s Republic Ithaca NY Cornell University The China Weekly Review 118 Millard Publishing House 1950 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help The Saturday Evening Post 225 Curtis Publishing Company 1953 a href Template Cite journal html title Template Cite journal cite journal a Cite journal requires journal help a b James Reeve Pusey 1998 Lu Xun and Evolution Albany NY State University of New York Dog 8f Oxford English Dictionary 2nd ed 1989 Beijing Announces More Sanctions as Academics Rally Behind Targeted Colleagues China Digital Times CDT 30 March 2021 List of missions in Grand Theft Auto San Andreas Sources Edit running Etymology origin and meaning of running www etymonline com etymonline running dog Wordsmith org Themes in the Korean War Archived 2016 03 04 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Running dog amp oldid 1131212082, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
