Paper tiger

Paper tiger is a literal English translation of the Chinese phrase zhilaohu (纸老虎/紙老虎). The term refers to something that seems threatening but is ineffectual and unable to withstand challenge. The expression became well known in the West as a slogan used by Mao Zedong's Chinese communist state against its opponents, particularly the U.S. government.

"Paper tiger" was an ancient phrase used in Chinese culture. It was translated into English in a work by John Francis Davis before 1836.

In a 1956 interview with American journalist Anna Louise Strong, Mao Zedong used the phrase "paper tiger" to describe American imperialism: "In appearance it is very powerful but in reality it is nothing to be afraid of; it is a paper tiger. Outwardly a tiger, it is made of paper, unable to withstand the wind and the rain. I believe that it is nothing but a paper tiger." According to Mao, "all reactionaries are paper tigers". In this view, they are superficially powerful but are prone to overextension that leads to sudden collapse. When Mao criticized Soviet appeasement of the United States during the Sino-Soviet split, Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev reportedly said, "the paper tiger has nuclear teeth". During a February 17, 1973 secret meeting in Beijing with Henry Kissinger, Mao Zedong said, "Yes, I invented the English term 'paper tiger.' "

In The Resistance to Theory (1982), Paul de Man used the phrase to reflect upon the threat of literary theory to traditional literary scholarship in American academia. He said, "If a cat is called a tiger it can easily be dismissed as a paper tiger; the question remains however why one was so scared of the cat in the first place".

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