Surely you have heard, or maybe even yourself, more than once you have made the last Chinese warning to someone. The meaning of phraseology is intuitive to many, but the history of this expression is also very interesting. Our article will tell you about all the details.
China in the midst of conflict
A short digression into the history of the Middle Kingdom will help us understand the meaning of phraseology “the last Chinese warning”. This country with a unique culture and beautiful nature, inhabited by talented and hardworking people, has attracted foreigners for centuries. But not all of them rushed to the Far East to admire the ancient architecture and taste unusual national dishes.
After China was opened by European mariners, it became a real "tidbit." The Old World immediately and peremptorily hung on new lands the label of "second-rate power." The colonialists rushed to the Celestial Empire, trying to grab a larger piece.
War, devastation, the destruction of cultural monuments, the extermination of the local population - all this was done by newcomers from the West with virtually impunity. As a result, China was torn into many colonies. The situation was further aggravated by the Xinhai Revolution of 1911. A civil war followed. China has almost collapsed. Centralized state power was completely lost.
Sheet music of Mao Zedong
This continued until the Great Mao came to power. His unwavering authority and iron will allowed to revive and re-create in the long-suffering Celestial Empire at least some semblance of a state. However, at the initial stage, while the upholding of independence was still in full swing, in fact, China could not yet give a serious rebuff to any of the opponents.
It is from this moment that the history of the latest Chinese warnings began. Where this expression came from is not known for certain. Unfortunately, the story is silent about the first of the last warnings. But it is known for certain that this happened during the reign of Mao. Trying to maintain the authority of the state in the international arena, the official Chinese authorities began sending diplomatic notes of protest to their opponents. It is worth noting that the authors were well aware of the hopelessness of these documents, but they simply could not do anything else.
But what could the authorities of a fragile country do except to warn a obviously much stronger opponent? By the way, here you can draw a couple of analogies. A card cheater in such a situation would say "bluff", and a representative of some youth subculture of the beginning of the XXI century would use the phrase "take on a show." Such comparisons and the selection of synonymous expressions help to better understand the meaning of the statement about the last Chinese warning. As you can see, his main idea is to permanently frighten the opponent in the absence of real prospects for influence.
Taiwan conflict
In the very beginning of the 1950s, Chiang Kai-shek came to power in Taiwan. Its representatives even took their place in the UN Security Council (only in the 70s delegates of the DPRK were invited instead). America recognized his authority and was on his side during the 1954-1958 conflict between Taiwan and China. The subject of contention was the disputed islands. In those days, under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek, Taiwan tried to build its own model of communism. Oddly enough, the United States provided this country with comprehensive support, including military support.
During the armed confrontation, the air and water space of China was repeatedly violated by American reconnaissance aircraft. The authorities of the Middle Kingdom were infinitely indignant at such invasions. In response to the blatant shamelessness, China, through the UN, began sending out those very “latest warnings” to the American side. Each of them was carefully executed in accordance with all the rules, including, without limitation, the assignment of a serial number. Experts say that over nine thousand have accumulated such warnings during the conflict! Moreover, each time the Chinese side assured that this time things are nowhere more serious, and a tough response will follow the warning. However, the case never went further than shooting down drones.
States reaction
The USA openly ignored the messages of the Chinese, and the world press covered all the details of the confrontation, not forgetting to mention the next “last Chinese warning”. The value of phraseological units eventually acquired an ironic coloring. Journalists scoffed at the next official appeal by the Chinese, full of threats and assurances about the seriousness of the situation, publishing even his three- or four-digit number.
328 recent alerts
Apparently the confrontation with the Americans and the complete fiasco with notes of protest could not convince China of the futility of such a practice. After all, not so much time has passed as the story repeated itself! This time, the Soviet Union was the opponent of the Celestial authorities. The cause of the conflict was Damansky Island, which both powers claimed.
China was bombarded with warnings from the USSR Foreign Ministry. There were exactly 328 of them. It is worth recognizing that by that time everyone was already tired of the expression “the last Chinese warning”. The value of phraseology allowed its use quite widely, and it became so popular that in the end it became boring. The press coverage of the conflict around Damansky Island revived fading interest. The most advanced and politically literate Soviet workers, on occasion, began to jokingly give each other not just the last, but the last 328th Chinese warning.
