Chinese Whispers

A child's game probably originating in China. A message is whispered to a child, who whispers it to her friend, who whispers it to the next in line, and so on until the end, when it is revealed to the delight of all. What results from even a short chain is unrecognizable as the original message.

Do we have a source saying that this game actually came from China? It's just as easy to imagine it being invented somewhere else, like the U.S., and then being given the name "ChineseWhispers" because of associations people have with Chinese culture, language, etc.

I would be extremely surprised if this game were not far, far, older than the US.

Entirely possible. I'm just saying we shouldn't conjecture here. Just because something has another country's name in it doesn't mean it actually is from another country. Do Chinese fire drills come from China?

The best I can find with a quick Google search is this page: http://www.angelfire.com/ne/UBIPage/viewer.html. What's there isn't very helpful, though:

: The New Model Army was a highly trained and motivated fighting force that turned the course of the English Civil War in the 1640's. It was led by Thomas Fairfax and was the nearest thing England ever had to a revolutionary army. After the war was won, the common soldiers became highly politicized and the army became a hotbed of ideas about democracy (universal suffrage), religious freedom and socialist principles. As to exactly why and who decided the name still remains a mystery. There are numerous musical groups, hearing aids, etc. that cash in on the phrase.

... and now that I go back and reread that page, I think the person was mistakenly answering the wrong question, which puts us right back at square one, facts-wise.

The Word Detective (http://www.word-detective.com/back-x.html#chinese) describes "chinese fire drill" as a slur dating from World War I, when the British apparently used the prefix "chinese" in a general derogatory sense.

In the same vein, I first heard of this game as "russian telephone."

I have to admit, I've always thought that "chinese fire drill" came from a reference to certain typical sequences in chinese opera (lots of people rushing about in apparent confusion which is actually quite organized. Note that the term "opera" might be misleading confusing to westerners-- chinese opera typically includes a lot of acrobatics). I can't say where I picked this up; perhaps from my parents, who spent several years in Asia.

In the US (or at least in my experience) this is better known as "Telephone." (see TelephoneGame) -- David Wolff

Or BrokenTelephone.

In US Corporations, this is known as "chain of command." The "Org chart" describes who gets to whisper to whom (at least officially).

(But if they're allowed to whisper it, then why are they whispering?)

In Southeast US it is also called 'Gossip.'

In Finland, it is known as ... (turning back) What did you say?... -- MarcGirod

In Austria and Germany: "Stille Post" (=silent mail).

In reality it is called life and the imperfection of human communication.

Online, the best version is at http://www.tashian.com/multibabel/

Meek Llama, Oui?

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