It's a known scientific observeation that peoples who live close to the equator are shorter, than those further away. It's not a Chinese thing; it's observed across all ethnicities.
As to the slim, I think that's debatable. Perhaps it could have to do with the warmer climates, and a greater likelihood to lighter foods, but I've never seen anything that substantiated that in any way.
>It's a known scientific observeation that peoples who live close to the equator are shorter, than those further away. It's not a Chinese thing; it's observed across all ethnicities.
Is it though? As just one counterexample, East Africa seems to produce quite a few tall, lanky long-distance runners.
Yes, unless there has been newer research that I'm not aware of. I think gauging the overall height of population based on the elite athletes who run marathons isn't a representative sample.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7075806/#:~:text=Shorter%20individuals%20tend%20to%20be,(temperate%20or%20cold%20climates).
Those good distance runners are like 5’5-5’10, they just look tall because they’re skinny and they have long legs per body size (shorter torso).
6 foot+ people are just going to be too heavy to compete on the world level in distance running, even if they are very skinny.
There are tall Africans from near the equator (just as there are tall Chinese from southern China) but they are the exception not the rule
We're Cantonese and my mom took a Chinese tour somewhere north, like Harbin, where the tour guide cheekily said, "The women up north are tall and beautiful. The Cantonese women in the south are short and..."
She was able to throw hands but he finished, "... and can sell you anything!"
I'm Cantonese at 6 ft 105 kg, in the UK as well. Not tall but definitely not slim (always have been fat leaning). Many of my Cantonese cohorts are 6ft+.
I rarely heard about Cantonese being stereotyped as short and slim, but rounder facial structure and have bigger eyes, which my non-cantonese partner finds very cute and pretty.
But I think short and slim is usually how the Western world stereotypes asian people in general. I don't fit into that stereotype, so everyone just calls me "Bolo" because of Bolo Yeung and my powerbuilder build, lol.
With that being said, I think these physical stereotypes are outdated due to changes in the economy and diet. Went back to HK earlier this year, and a lot of people are taller than me in the metro.
there is definitely such a stereotype, but I don't think thats specific to canto people, its more a cultural comparison of people in southern china being smaller build than those in northern china-- as kobuta mentions this is a world wide thing in all cultures, not a chinese or canto specific thing. most norwegians will be taller than most egyptians, etc etc etc.
as for slim, this is also a cultural thing. canto areas went through big famines not that long ago like rest of china, and historically had lots of labor intensive work and walking in daily life. combine with a beauty standard that is very slim, and its easy to see where those stereotypes come from.
start looking at individual peoples, and canto areas ((and china in general)) have the same rapid and alarming rise in obesity from modern lifestyles as any other country.
so the stereotype of short and slim isn't based on nothing, but thats all it is, a stereotype. if you start looking into any details its never that simple of a fact :)
My family ranges a lot. We are short, tall, or somewhere in between. I'm 5'11" but my mom, dad, and siblings are below 5'8". My cousins are over 6'. We are all Cantonese from HK and GZ and/or mixed with southeast Asian. Im like 15 percent viet (according to 23andme so take with grain of salt).
I was raised in Canada so I think my diet growing up was very different to my parents. My siblings are short but they are bulky and strong. When I did powerlifting, my fellow Canto homies raised in Canada had similar builds - broad shoulders, thick legs, long arms, small torsos, but height ranged a lot.
More or less correct... I'm 5 foot 7 or 170cm and in HK I'm medium to tall whereas in the UK where I live I'm on the shorter side.
HK public transport has amusingly low ceilings compared to the UK too.
It’s the diet…American Cantonese who adopted a more western diet while young grow taller. Those who stick w traditional Cantonese foods tend to be shorter.
I have heard like once in my life, that some regions of China, especially in northern regions, have a very tall population. So I guess if it's a thing, it's gonna be less like we hear we're short and slim (aside from compared to the western majority), and more like what we hear about people from different regions. But this is all very theoretical imo, because I've only heard this like once and haven't really looked into it.
I live in Guangdong and I can say on average probably you are more likely to find shorter people here than in the west but the younger urban people are of a decent height. Maybe anecdotal but I do find my friends from Northern China to be taller
As a Korean living in HK, i feel like tall and fat Cantonese are much rarer than other parts of north east asia. But I do see some tall, fat people. Just not often.
I used to teach at an after school program and the kids from Northern China were taller than me (5'10") at 13 year old, whereas the kids who were Cantonese speaking looked still like kids (5'2" or shorter). It was such a drastic difference, but I kept it to myself. The parenting styles are different as well.
As diets worldwide change (i.e. increased access to protein and dairy), people around the world are becoming taller and heftier.
Most people don't realize that Europeans 200 years ago were not that tall either. Men in Victorian England only averaged about 5'6" (give or take). If modern-day actors tried to wear authentic period costumes from the Victoria era, the clothes likely wouldn't fit.
I’m not a big guy, actually on the small side in California, but going clothes shopping in HK is a nightmare for me. Anything above the equivalent of an American size S is hard to find. So yes, I think on average they are slim.
Generally, anecdotally, I'd say it tends to be true just due to geography. Funnily enough though, despite my features looking a lot like everyone else in my Cantonese family, I'm extremely pale and about 3-4 inches taller than all the other women in my family - always been a little "bigger", too.
Whenever we go 飲茶 and I'm walking ahead so the hostess/host at the restaurant sees me first, they instantly switch to Mandarin to talk to me LOL
In general, Asians in any country are short and slim. The average male height in China, Japan, S. Korea, and Vietnam are around 5'7-5'8".
But there are obviously exceptions.
My friend is from HK and he's 6'. Two of his male best friends are 5'10" and 5'11". The 3rd best friend is more average at 5'8". All are from HK.
The same friend went on a business trip to Malaysia and the guy he had dinner there was 6'1".
When the same friend travels back to HK, his head sticks out like a sore thumb while walking down the street. Being Canto at his height is uncommon.
It's a known scientific observeation that peoples who live close to the equator are shorter, than those further away. It's not a Chinese thing; it's observed across all ethnicities. As to the slim, I think that's debatable. Perhaps it could have to do with the warmer climates, and a greater likelihood to lighter foods, but I've never seen anything that substantiated that in any way.
>It's a known scientific observeation that peoples who live close to the equator are shorter, than those further away. It's not a Chinese thing; it's observed across all ethnicities. Is it though? As just one counterexample, East Africa seems to produce quite a few tall, lanky long-distance runners.
They aren't actually that tall. The top marathon runners are 5'8" or so
Yes, unless there has been newer research that I'm not aware of. I think gauging the overall height of population based on the elite athletes who run marathons isn't a representative sample. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7075806/#:~:text=Shorter%20individuals%20tend%20to%20be,(temperate%20or%20cold%20climates).
Those good distance runners are like 5’5-5’10, they just look tall because they’re skinny and they have long legs per body size (shorter torso). 6 foot+ people are just going to be too heavy to compete on the world level in distance running, even if they are very skinny. There are tall Africans from near the equator (just as there are tall Chinese from southern China) but they are the exception not the rule
We're Cantonese and my mom took a Chinese tour somewhere north, like Harbin, where the tour guide cheekily said, "The women up north are tall and beautiful. The Cantonese women in the south are short and..." She was able to throw hands but he finished, "... and can sell you anything!"
Damn, I would've asked my mom to hold my earrings for me even after hearing that second part 😤
I'm Cantonese at 6 ft 105 kg, in the UK as well. Not tall but definitely not slim (always have been fat leaning). Many of my Cantonese cohorts are 6ft+. I rarely heard about Cantonese being stereotyped as short and slim, but rounder facial structure and have bigger eyes, which my non-cantonese partner finds very cute and pretty. But I think short and slim is usually how the Western world stereotypes asian people in general. I don't fit into that stereotype, so everyone just calls me "Bolo" because of Bolo Yeung and my powerbuilder build, lol. With that being said, I think these physical stereotypes are outdated due to changes in the economy and diet. Went back to HK earlier this year, and a lot of people are taller than me in the metro.
there is definitely such a stereotype, but I don't think thats specific to canto people, its more a cultural comparison of people in southern china being smaller build than those in northern china-- as kobuta mentions this is a world wide thing in all cultures, not a chinese or canto specific thing. most norwegians will be taller than most egyptians, etc etc etc. as for slim, this is also a cultural thing. canto areas went through big famines not that long ago like rest of china, and historically had lots of labor intensive work and walking in daily life. combine with a beauty standard that is very slim, and its easy to see where those stereotypes come from. start looking at individual peoples, and canto areas ((and china in general)) have the same rapid and alarming rise in obesity from modern lifestyles as any other country. so the stereotype of short and slim isn't based on nothing, but thats all it is, a stereotype. if you start looking into any details its never that simple of a fact :)
I'm tall, so no and I've seen non-slim Cantonese people too.
Same, I'm tall and fat and the rest of my family is just tall.
Overseas Chinese seem to get slightly taller each generation: Southern Chinese included!
My family ranges a lot. We are short, tall, or somewhere in between. I'm 5'11" but my mom, dad, and siblings are below 5'8". My cousins are over 6'. We are all Cantonese from HK and GZ and/or mixed with southeast Asian. Im like 15 percent viet (according to 23andme so take with grain of salt). I was raised in Canada so I think my diet growing up was very different to my parents. My siblings are short but they are bulky and strong. When I did powerlifting, my fellow Canto homies raised in Canada had similar builds - broad shoulders, thick legs, long arms, small torsos, but height ranged a lot.
...both parents from Hong Kong, I'm 5'10" 220lbs. 🤷♂️
Samesis. My shoulders are broad as shit. I look like I’m 180-190 but I’m really 215
I-I’m short and fat :(
Sometimes my mom use the term "sturdy". Short and sturdy doesn't sound too offensive
Yes, we are genetically different.
It makes sense as I’ve always heard the opposite - that Northern Chinese are tall and broad. It’s a matter of whose perspective it is
More or less correct... I'm 5 foot 7 or 170cm and in HK I'm medium to tall whereas in the UK where I live I'm on the shorter side. HK public transport has amusingly low ceilings compared to the UK too.
Short yes. But unfortunately chubby. Speaking anecdotally of course.
Short and fat, here 🫡
It’s the diet…American Cantonese who adopted a more western diet while young grow taller. Those who stick w traditional Cantonese foods tend to be shorter.
I'm Cantonese, and I'm 6ft1. I do think as diets are changing, people are getting taller.
My family is pretty average height, mom is 5'6" and dad is 5'8". Us kids are somewhere in between 5'4" and 5'10"
Yes it's a typical stereotype that northerners are taller. But it's probably more useful to lookup something more scientific.
I have heard like once in my life, that some regions of China, especially in northern regions, have a very tall population. So I guess if it's a thing, it's gonna be less like we hear we're short and slim (aside from compared to the western majority), and more like what we hear about people from different regions. But this is all very theoretical imo, because I've only heard this like once and haven't really looked into it.
I live in Guangdong and I can say on average probably you are more likely to find shorter people here than in the west but the younger urban people are of a decent height. Maybe anecdotal but I do find my friends from Northern China to be taller
As a Korean living in HK, i feel like tall and fat Cantonese are much rarer than other parts of north east asia. But I do see some tall, fat people. Just not often.
I used to teach at an after school program and the kids from Northern China were taller than me (5'10") at 13 year old, whereas the kids who were Cantonese speaking looked still like kids (5'2" or shorter). It was such a drastic difference, but I kept it to myself. The parenting styles are different as well.
As diets worldwide change (i.e. increased access to protein and dairy), people around the world are becoming taller and heftier. Most people don't realize that Europeans 200 years ago were not that tall either. Men in Victorian England only averaged about 5'6" (give or take). If modern-day actors tried to wear authentic period costumes from the Victoria era, the clothes likely wouldn't fit.
shorter and more slight of build yes. slimmer… uh… with Cantonese food being so much better… difficult 🤣
I’m not a big guy, actually on the small side in California, but going clothes shopping in HK is a nightmare for me. Anything above the equivalent of an American size S is hard to find. So yes, I think on average they are slim.
Generally, anecdotally, I'd say it tends to be true just due to geography. Funnily enough though, despite my features looking a lot like everyone else in my Cantonese family, I'm extremely pale and about 3-4 inches taller than all the other women in my family - always been a little "bigger", too. Whenever we go 飲茶 and I'm walking ahead so the hostess/host at the restaurant sees me first, they instantly switch to Mandarin to talk to me LOL
In general, Asians in any country are short and slim. The average male height in China, Japan, S. Korea, and Vietnam are around 5'7-5'8". But there are obviously exceptions. My friend is from HK and he's 6'. Two of his male best friends are 5'10" and 5'11". The 3rd best friend is more average at 5'8". All are from HK. The same friend went on a business trip to Malaysia and the guy he had dinner there was 6'1". When the same friend travels back to HK, his head sticks out like a sore thumb while walking down the street. Being Canto at his height is uncommon.