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"Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees" is a racist playground chant that has been used to mock children of Asian origin.

One rendering of the chant is "Chinese/Japanese/Dirty Knees/Look at these Chinese Japanese/Dirty Knees". Other renderings give the chant as "Chinese, Japanese, dirty knees, look at these," with a breast-related gesture accompanying the "look at these" phrase (such as pinching the front of one's shirt into mock breasts). The reference to breasts alludes to promiscuity, according to Philip Nel, an English professor.

Many Asian Americans recalled hearing the chant, and in some cases being taunted or bullied with the chant, in their youth in the 20th century. Children who sang it would sometimes pull their eyes into slits. Gregory B. Lee, writing that "many a Chinese immigrant child over the past 100 years has had to endure" the chant, notes that "he allusion to dirt in this ditty is not aleatory", linking it to the stereotype of unclean "Orientals".

In 2020, the film Monster Hunter caused controversy on Chinese social media because of a pun that some critics said was a reference to the chant: In a scene, MC Jin's character jokingly says: "Look at my knees!", and to the question "What kind of knees are these?" replies "Chi-knees!". Although the filmmakers and actors denied that the line had anything to do with the chant, the film was removed from circulation, and Chinese authorities censored references to it online.

References

1. Xing, Jun (1998). Asian America Through the Lens: History, Representations, and Identities. Walnut Creek, CA: AltaMira Press. p. 162. ISBN 0-7619-9175-1. OCLC 39051806.
2. ^ Zaloom, Shafia (2003). "Dirty Knees". In Kane, Pearl Rock; Orsini, Alfonso J. (eds.). The Colors of Excellence: Hiring and Keeping Teachers of Color in Independent Schools. New York: Teachers College Press. p. 26. ISBN 0-8077-4282-1. OCLC 53093570.
3. Mansour, David (2005). From Abba to Zoom: A Pop Culture Encyclopedia of the Late 20th Century. Kansas City, MO: Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 262. ISBN 978-0-7407-9307-3. OCLC 776997651.
4. Ulen, Eisa. "8 Children's Nursery Rhymes That Are Actually Racist". Reader's Digest. Retrieved September 12, 2024.
5. Pusey, Shirley Budd (2005). "Emily". Adoption Reunion Stories. Phoenix, AZ: Acacia Publishing. p. 143. ISBN 0-9762224-5-0. OCLC 61362752.
6. Rhee, Michelle (2013). "Chapter 1". Radical: Fighting to Put Students First. New York: Harper. ISBN 978-0-06-220400-4. OCLC 825116527.
7. Lee, Gregory B. (2003). Chinas Unlimited: Making the Imaginaries of China and Chineseness. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. p. 45. ISBN 0-8248-2680-9. OCLC 51722034.
8. Davis, Rebecca (December 5, 2020). "'Monster Hunter' Pulled From Chinese Cinemas Over Scene Said to Be Racial Slur". Variety. Retrieved December 5, 2020.

• Anti–East Asian sentiment in the United States
• Playground songs
• American children's songs
• Songs about China
• Songs about Japan
• Songs about East Asian people
• Ethnic humour