黑人 - etymological question

[Scoobyqueen]

Just read an essay about a man born in the 50s who was handicapped and moreover at a disadvantage trough being 黑人.

I thought 黑人 was a word that sprung out of the one-child policy which I thought was 80后。

Is that correct ?

[StevenD]

黑人 is black person, or person of African descent. As far as I know, it has nothing to do with the one-child policy. If I'm wrong, maybe someone with more knowledge of recent Chinese politics can chime in...

sd

[Scoobyqueen]

黑人 I have mostly heard used for children who cannot be properly registered because their parents are too poor to pay for the fee for this illegal child. The essay is not about an African person.

Edited July 24, 2008 at 10:12 PM by Scoobyqueen
incorrect info

[StevenD]

So I did a google search and did find another reference to 黑人 as an unregistered "extra child" born after the one child policy, which began in 1979. But you say the essay is from the 1950s? That's odd.

I think it's safe to say, though, that by far the most common meaning of 黑人 is "black person/person of African descent" making research into the etymology a little difficult. Good luck.

[kevinleexx]

i never heard other meanings of 黑人 ,but african ...

[jade-]

黑人：1. A black person of African descent

2. A person without proper document to prove he/she is a legal resident in the area, in Chinese way, is without a 户口。

The children who were born as “the extra” ones due to one-child policy are ascribed as黑人 since they don’t have a户口. As for the people in 50s being ascribed as黑人, they were those who disobeyed their local governments, or were persecuted by their local officials/powerful people, or were forced out from their villages because of famine. They became vagrants/drifters in the other areas, especially in the big cities, so the locals called them 黑人 since they don’t have a local户口.