--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Oriental’ has connotations of bamboo and…" description: "\"“Oriental’ has connotations of bamboo and flutes and red sunsets. It should only really be used to describe carpets, as the word has an inherent exotic..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/nikesh-shukla-29888_quote_oriental-has-connotations-of-bamboo-and_1419576.jpg" --- # Oriental’ has connotations of bamboo and flutes and red… ![“Oriental’ has connotations of bamboo and flutes and red sunsets. It should only really be used to describe carpets, as the word has an inherent exoticism that I’m not sure a boy growing up in Wiltshire can ever fully embody. In the US ‘Asian Americans’ have rejected the term ‘oriental’. Here, the…” quote by Nikesh Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/nikesh-shukla-29888_quote_oriental-has-connotations-of-bamboo-and_1419576.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/nikesh-shukla-29888_quote_oriental-has-connotations-of-bamboo-and_1419576.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/3f3/nikesh-shukla-29888_quote_oriental-has-connotations-of-bamboo-and_1419576.jpg) > ““Oriental’ has connotations of bamboo and flutes and red sunsets. It should only really be used to describe carpets, as the word has an inherent exoticism that I’m not sure a boy growing up in Wiltshire can ever fully embody. In the US ‘Asian Americans’ have rejected the term ‘oriental’. Here, the Chinese (at least) have positively embraced it, because we appear to be a pragmatic species and aren’t known as the ‘model minority’ for nothing.”” [Nikesh Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikesh-shukla/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The term “oriental” carries exotic stereotypes that can feel inauthentic, especially for those outside its cultural context; its usage varies across regions and communities. **In simple terms:** “Oriental” feels stereotypical and unevenly accepted. Key Takeaway Use language that respects self‑identification. Themes identity stereotypes language culture representation Mood reflective critical Type observational analytical When to use this quote - academic discussion - media writing - personal introductions - cross‑cultural marketing Key Concepts postcolonial theory social identity semantic shift Questions to Reflect On - How does language shape cultural perception? - When should we prioritize community‑chosen terms? A Different Perspective The word may still be used without harmful intent, but can perpetuate outdated power dynamics. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Oriental](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oriental/) ## Related quotes > [The only thing Oriental about me is my face,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soong-may-ling/the-only-thing-oriental-about-me-is-my-face/) [Soong May-ling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soong-may-ling/) > [Through the din and desultoriness of noon, even in the most Oriental city, is seen the fresh and primitive and savage nature, in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/through-the-din-and-desultoriness-of-noon-even-in-the-most-oriental/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Since the Greeks, Western man has believed that Being, all Being, is intelligible, that there is a reason for everythingand that the cosmos is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/since-the-greeks-western-man-has-believed-that-being-all-being-is/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [“Since you came to birth in this world at this time, in this place, and with this particular destiny, it was this indeed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/since-you-came-to-birth-in-this-world-at-this-time-in-this-place-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [“you're the fly on the wall hearing all, seeing all ears of a wall hearing all the secrets perhaps you're the vines creeping over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moonshine-noire/you-re-the-fly-on-the-wall-hearing-all-seeing-all-ears-of-a-wall/) [Moonshine Noire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moonshine-noire/) > [You'll never plumb the Oriental mind, and if you did, it isn't worth the toil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/you-ll-never-plumb-the-oriental-mind-and-if-you-did-it-isn-t-worth/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [I love how British people call Asian people 'oriental' unless they're talking about Indian people, who get to be called Asian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-h-k-choi/i-love-how-british-people-call-asian-people-oriental-unless-they-re/) [Mary H.K. Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-h-k-choi/) > [“In the West, people learn through the Socratic tradition. The education system was influenced by Western philosophy and is based on constantly questioning the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharanya-haridas/in-the-west-people-learn-through-the-socratic-tradition-the-education/) [Sharanya Haridas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharanya-haridas/) > [Those Oriental people work like dogs. That’s why they’re successful in life. I went to Seoul, South Korea, I went to Taipei, Taiwan. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-ford/those-oriental-people-work-like-dogs-that-s-why-they-re-successful-in/) [Rob Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-ford/) > [I love Puccini and that oriental influence in his music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-mathis/i-love-puccini-and-that-oriental-influence-in-his-music/) [Johnny Mathis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-mathis/) > [Those Oriental people work like dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-ford/those-oriental-people-work-like-dogs/) [Rob Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-ford/) > [The world today needs both western thinking and oriental vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-keqiang/the-world-today-needs-both-western-thinking-and-oriental-vision/) [Li Keqiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-keqiang/) > [In London, I really like going to the Mandarin Oriental. They can even do my feet without tickling me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-stone/in-london-i-really-like-going-to-the-mandarin-oriental-they-can-even/) [Lara Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-stone/) > [Faulkner was almost oriental. I never got into Faulkner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/faulkner-was-almost-oriental-i-never-got-into-faulkner/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) > [Behold the difference between the Oriental and the Occidental. The former has nothing to do in this world; the latter is full of activity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/behold-the-difference-between-the-oriental-and-the-occidental-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) ## More by Nikesh Shukla > [“These themes are explored through fantasy figures such as wizards, giants and elves. At the same time, amongst the teachers and pupils at Hogwarts,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikesh-shukla/these-themes-are-explored-through-fantasy-figures-such-as-wizards/) [Nikesh Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikesh-shukla/) > [“Respectability politics is the dogged belief that if black people just shape up, dress right, and act right, racists would suddenly have a dramatic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikesh-shukla/respectability-politics-is-the-dogged-belief-that-if-black-people/) [Nikesh Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikesh-shukla/) > [“I had long since realised that if there was greatness in Britain, then it lay in its everyday citizens, and not in its institutions.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikesh-shukla/i-had-long-since-realised-that-if-there-was-greatness-in-britain-then/) [Nikesh Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikesh-shukla/) > [“To be an immigrant, good or bad, is about straddling two homes, whilst knowing you don't really belong to either.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikesh-shukla/to-be-an-immigrant-good-or-bad-is-about-straddling-two-homes-whilst/) [Nikesh Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikesh-shukla/) > [“We'd taken up our positions on the benches between the school hall and a newly-installed outdoor basketball court. Being hip-hoppers, we were obliged to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikesh-shukla/we-d-taken-up-our-positions-on-the-benches-between-the-school-hall/) [Nikesh Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikesh-shukla/) > [“Ravi, you big massive racist. Rap is the music of revolution. Rap is the reason we have rights.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikesh-shukla/ravi-you-big-massive-racist-rap-is-the-music-of-revolution-rap-is-the/) [Nikesh Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikesh-shukla/) > [“Tell me about Gang Starr,' said Nishant, in an effort to start a conversation I'd be interested in. 'One MC, one DJ...' 'Classic combo,'…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikesh-shukla/tell-me-about-gang-starr-said-nishant-in-an-effort-to-start-a/) [Nikesh Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikesh-shukla/) > [“I dodged him for a few months with excuses about not being able to, not having the time to, not being bothered to tape…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikesh-shukla/i-dodged-him-for-a-few-months-with-excuses-about-not-being-able-to/) [Nikesh Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikesh-shukla/) > [“I do think it’s interesting that this idea of being a model minority is tied up with essentially being quiet,’ she says. ‘Just sitting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikesh-shukla/i-do-think-it-s-interesting-that-this-idea-of-being-a-model-minority/) [Nikesh Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikesh-shukla/) > [“Everything around me was so starkly white that I began to believe that I would turn white sooner or later. I was quietly being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikesh-shukla/everything-around-me-was-so-starkly-white-that-i-began-to-believe/) [Nikesh Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikesh-shukla/) > [“While 'Rap Trax!' recorded, Neel found some scrap paper and we started writing our first lyrics. Bandying about subject matter and title, we got…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikesh-shukla/while-rap-trax-recorded-neel-found-some-scrap-paper-and-we-started/) [Nikesh Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikesh-shukla/) > [“It’s a tree falling in a forest conundrum: if a white kid raps all the lyrics to ‘Gold Digger’ and there isn’t a black…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikesh-shukla/it-s-a-tree-falling-in-a-forest-conundrum-if-a-white-kid-raps-all-the/) [Nikesh Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikesh-shukla/) > [“We laughed over our difference then spent years bonding over things that made us the same.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikesh-shukla/we-laughed-over-our-difference-then-spent-years-bonding-over-things/) [Nikesh Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikesh-shukla/) > [“Integrate well. Move upwards in society. Be praised - until people worry that you're doing too well, and then they remember that you're foreign.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikesh-shukla/integrate-well-move-upwards-in-society-be-praised-until-people-worry/) [Nikesh Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikesh-shukla/) > [“I was proud to be brown in my own way. Well, I was at school; at school I was brown about the funky stuff…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nikesh-shukla/i-was-proud-to-be-brown-in-my-own-way-well-i-was-at-school-at-school/) [Nikesh Shukla](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikesh-shukla/) [Explore all 18 Nikesh Shukla quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nikesh-shukla/) ## More Oriental quotes > [The only thing Oriental about me is my face,](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/soong-may-ling/the-only-thing-oriental-about-me-is-my-face/) [Soong May-ling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/soong-may-ling/) > [Faulkner was almost oriental. I never got into Faulkner.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-t-hall/faulkner-was-almost-oriental-i-never-got-into-faulkner/) [Tom T. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-t-hall/) > [In London, I really like going to the Mandarin Oriental. They can even do my feet without tickling me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lara-stone/in-london-i-really-like-going-to-the-mandarin-oriental-they-can-even/) [Lara Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lara-stone/) > [The world today needs both western thinking and oriental vision.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/li-keqiang/the-world-today-needs-both-western-thinking-and-oriental-vision/) [Li Keqiang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/li-keqiang/) > [Those Oriental people work like dogs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-ford/those-oriental-people-work-like-dogs/) [Rob Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-ford/) > [I love Puccini and that oriental influence in his music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johnny-mathis/i-love-puccini-and-that-oriental-influence-in-his-music/) [Johnny Mathis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johnny-mathis/) > [Those Oriental people work like dogs. That’s why they’re successful in life. I went to Seoul, South Korea, I went to Taipei, Taiwan. I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-ford/those-oriental-people-work-like-dogs-that-s-why-they-re-successful-in/) [Rob Ford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-ford/) > [“In the West, people learn through the Socratic tradition. The education system was influenced by Western philosophy and is based on constantly questioning the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sharanya-haridas/in-the-west-people-learn-through-the-socratic-tradition-the-education/) [Sharanya Haridas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sharanya-haridas/) > [I love how British people call Asian people 'oriental' unless they're talking about Indian people, who get to be called Asian.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-h-k-choi/i-love-how-british-people-call-asian-people-oriental-unless-they-re/) [Mary H.K. Choi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-h-k-choi/) > [You'll never plumb the Oriental mind, and if you did, it isn't worth the toil](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rudyard-kipling/you-ll-never-plumb-the-oriental-mind-and-if-you-did-it-isn-t-worth/) [Rudyard Kipling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rudyard-kipling/) > [“you're the fly on the wall hearing all, seeing all ears of a wall hearing all the secrets perhaps you're the vines creeping over…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/moonshine-noire/you-re-the-fly-on-the-wall-hearing-all-seeing-all-ears-of-a-wall/) [Moonshine Noire](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/moonshine-noire/) > [“Since you came to birth in this world at this time, in this place, and with this particular destiny, it was this indeed that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-campbell/since-you-came-to-birth-in-this-world-at-this-time-in-this-place-and/) [Joseph Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-campbell/) > [Since the Greeks, Western man has believed that Being, all Being, is intelligible, that there is a reason for everythingand that the cosmos is,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-barrett/since-the-greeks-western-man-has-believed-that-being-all-being-is/) [William Barrett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-barrett/) > [Through the din and desultoriness of noon, even in the most Oriental city, is seen the fresh and primitive and savage nature, in which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/through-the-din-and-desultoriness-of-noon-even-in-the-most-oriental/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Behold the difference between the Oriental and the Occidental. The former has nothing to do in this world; the latter is full of activity.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/behold-the-difference-between-the-oriental-and-the-occidental-the/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) [Browse all 19 Oriental quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/oriental/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Oriental’ has connotations of bamboo and flutes and red sunsets. It should only really be used to describe carpets, as the word has an inherent exoticism that I’m not sure a boy growing up in Wiltshire can ever fully embody. In the US ‘Asian Americans’ have rejected the term ‘oriental’. 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