Chinaman's Peak
English[edit]
Etymology[edit]
Chinaman+peak. From being named for a male Chinese rail worker, Ha Ling, who climbed the peak in 1896. Though his name was documented at the time, it had since been forgotten by the community of Canmore, in the region where the peak exists, thus going by the local nickname of Chinaman's Peak, as the community still remembered that a Chinese man had climbed the peak; replacing its prior nickname of The Beehive. Culturally, at the time of the climb, the white settlers anonymized the Chinese population by referring to them anonymously as Chinamen instead of acknowledging them by name, thus letting the climber's name fall out of local knowledge. The local nickname became the official name of the peak in 1980. The name was changed to Ha Ling Peak in 1997.
Proper noun[edit]
- Former name of Ha Ling Peak.; A mountain peak in Mount Lawrence Grassi, Ehagay Nakoda, Canmore, Kananaskis Country, Alberta, Canada.
Usage notes[edit]
This term is considered offensive, as it contains the term "Chinaman", considered derogatory. It also neglects the heritage and accomplishment of the Chinese man in question, furthering its controversial nature by denying recognition to the climber, Ha Ling.