Paper tiger is a literal English translation of the Chinese phrase zhǐ lǎohǔ (Chinese: 紙老虎), meaning something which seems as threatening as a tiger, but is really harmless. English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States The tiger ( Panthera tigris) is a member of the Felidae family the largest and the most powerful of the four " Big cats quot in the Genus

The phrase is an ancient one in Chinese, but sources differ as to when it entered the English vocabulary. The Culture of China (traditional Chinese 中國文化 simplified Chinese 中国文化 is home to one of the world's oldest and most complex Civilizations covering a history Although some sources may claim it dates back as far as 1850 [1], it seems the Chinese phrase was first translated when it was applied to describe the United States using propaganda tactics. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Propaganda is a concerted set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people In 1956, Mao Zedong said of the United States:

In Mao Zedong's view, the term could be applied to all allegedly imperialist nations, particularly the United States and the Soviet Union (following the Sino-Soviet split): Mao argued that they appeared to be superficially powerful but would have a tendency to overextend themselves in the international arena, at which point pressure could be brought upon them by other states to cause their sudden collapse. Imperialism has two meanings one describing an action and the other describing an attitude The United States of America —commonly referred to as the The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR was a constitutionally Socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991 The Sino-Soviet split was a gradual divergence of diplomatic ties between the People's Republic of China (PRC and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev at some point remarked to Mao that although the "U. Premier of the Soviet Union is the commonly used English term for the offices of Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR (Председатель Nikita Sergeyevich Khrushchev (April 17 1894 – September 11 1971 served as First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953 to 1964 following S. is a paper tiger, it has nuclear teeth". ^[1]

References

External links

• Etymology Online entry for 'paper'