La china mexicana, mejor conocida como china poblana

Abstract

Carmen Vázquez discusses a female stereotype that became popular in Mexico City during the mid XIX century. Known for their characteristic attire and uninhibited conduct, the “Chinas” became a center of attraction for men of all social classes, even catching the eye of the haughtiest foreigners visiting Mexico at that time. It seems likely that the name “China” was of Mestizo origin, rather than a link with Oriental cultures. This then, was the product of the racial blending of the three main ethnic groups comprising the Mexican population (indigenous, Spanish and African black groups). Economically independent, these women enjoyed a certain degree of autonomy as reflected by their social customs and, above all, by the way they conceived amorous relations. Free from any association with the mythical Catarina de San Juan, who arrived from Asia in the XVII century as the wife of a Chinese slave, these XIX century “Chinas” were soon referred to as “Chinas Poblanas”, apparently due to a degree of linguistic distortion and the historical memory of the famed China who died in Puebla wreathed in an air of sanctity. The author of this article has conducted her search through etymology, folklore and literature to document the curious association generated by XX century popular imagination between these highly successful, yet frivolous women and an Oriental counterpart who paved the way for religious beatification in XVII century Puebla.