Hop Sing

Hop Sing was the Cartwright family's cook on the US television series "Bonanza" which ran on the NBC network from 1959-73. Victor Sen Yung played the Chinese immigrant.

The servile character of Hop Sing first appeared as a laundryman of the same name in 1876, in Bret Harte's play "Two Men of Sandy Bar". Folklorist Wolfgang Mieder cites his comically accented Pidgin English diction as the likely source for the proverbial ethnic slur, "No Tickee, no Washee". Although in his considerably toned down reincarnation as a TV character, the character of Hop Sing still incorporated some Chinese-American stereotypes, such as being a servant (an economic niche also shared by African Americans in the American South), he is not commonly cited as an offensive use of an Asian (known as Oriental at the time) character. The Chinese were historically marginalized in the labor market of the American west into niches where they would not compete with Caucasians. Marlo Thomas was also cast as a Chinese in one episode, and other prominent Chinese-Americans would also be cast on Bonanza.

During the western's fourteen year run, just two episodes centered around the character. The first dealt with Hop Sing saving Little Joe from a false murder charge via the ancient science of fingerprinting or (as Hop Sing referenced) "chops". The second episode, written by Michael Landon, dealt with Caucasian biases against Asians in the 1880s, when Hop Sing fell in love with a white woman.

In 2001-02, the character was revived in David Dortort's PAX-TV prequel, "Ponderosa". The depiction of Hop Sing here, was quite different from the original series, where he was sometimes used as a comic figure wielding a butcher knife. The glaring pidgin English was replaced with a softer, wiser delivery. Hop Sing was depicted as a trusted family counselor and herbal healer.