| Nations / Sovereign states |
Appearance |
Reasons and source of the appearance
|
People's Republic of China
(or Chinese Communist Party) |
Hare |
Hares are herbivorous animals that are usually considered cute, docile and populous, as well as being "harmless to humans and animals alike" (Chinese: 人畜无害), but can still inflict nasty bites and kicks when irritated, representing the People's Republic of China's traditionally not so aggressive foreign policies, but can still pack a heavy punch when required. Another explanation for it is that the Chinese words for "comrade" and "rabbit/hare" sound very similar when pronounced with a Shanghainese accent, as famously coined by crosstalk comedian Jiang Kun during the 1980s.
The Hare normally prefers to act friendly and moe in front of others and is obsessed with working the fields harvesting carrots and earning "small money", but when provoked into fighting often wields a cleaver and a brick in each hand while emitting a hellish black aura, and later learns to "plant mushrooms" and build "water cabinets". When extremely enraged, the Hare dons a green dinosaur suit and becomes a Godzilla-like monster that breathes fire.
|
| Republic of China in all its forms (minus Communist) |
Baldhead |
Based on the (absence of) hair of Chiang Kai-shek. In Standard Chinese the words "baldhead" (秃子 tūzi) and "Hare" (兔子 tùzi) are near-homophones, which also represent the complexity of Cross-Strait relations.
|
| Hong Kong Democrats |
Cockroach |
Based on the slur used by Hong Kong police against Anti-ELAB Protestors. Some big wig cockroaches such as HSBC executives have a yellow sticker on a front leg.
|
| Qing dynasty and Manchukuo |
Dragon |
Based on the queues which is the Manchu hairstyle of the Qing dynasty. (辫子 biànzi).
|
| United States |
Bald eagle |
Bald eagle is the national bird of the United States of America.[1]
|
| Soviet Union |
Brown bear |
Bear is a common national personification for Russia and the USSR starting from the Russian Empire. The Soviet bear has a symbol — the hammer and sickle of Communism — on his stomach, which later becomes more like a character, "父", meaning "father" in Chinese.
|
| Russia |
Brown bear |
To differentiate from Soviet Union, this bear has a character "大" ("big" in Chinese, or "eldest" when describing age order of siblings) on his stomach, meaning that he is the "eldest son" of the USSR. The hair refers to "毛子" ("hairy ones", referring to the comparatively higher body hair count in Caucasians), a common northern Chinese nickname for Russians (and all East Slavs by extension).
|
| Ukraine |
Brown bear |
To differentiate from Russia, this bear has a number "2" on his stomach, meaning that he is the "second son" of the USSR.
|
| Belarus |
Brown bear |
To differentiate from Russia, this bear has a number "3" on his stomach, meaning that he is the "third son" of the USSR.
|
| Japan |
Crane |
The crane is an important part of the Japanese culture, and the fact that the green pheasant is Japan's official national bird.
|
| South Korea |
stick with a helmet |
Bangzi is an ethnic slur by Chinese people towards Korean. To differentiate with North Korea, a US-style combat helmet is added to the appearance of South Korea.
|
| North Korea |
horse |
To differentiate with South Korea, a Communist-style red star cap is added to the appearance of North Korea.
|
Various Southeast Asian countries:
Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines |
Snub-nosed monkey |
In Chinese, monkey is a racist term used to describe Southeast Asians.[2][better source needed]
|
| Pakistan |
Markhor |
Markhor is commonly seen in Pakistan and the national animal. In the animation the Markhor is called Ba Ba Yang ("Pak Goat") and sometimes nicknamed "Little Ba" by the Hare.[3]
|
| India |
White elephant |
White elephant is commonly seen in India as an important part of Hindu mythology. In the animation the author chooses it rather than the bull which is sacred in Hindu to represent India because bull has already been used to represent the UK.[citation needed]
|
| United Kingdom |
Bull |
"John Bull" is a national personification of England and the United Kingdom in general.
|
| France |
Gallic rooster |
Gallic rooster is an unofficial national symbol of France.
|
| Cuba |
Crocodile |
Based on the shape of the country
|
| Germany |
Tiger |
The Tiger I/II heavy tanks and the Jagdtiger series tank destroyers are the most famous German armoured fighting vehicles from the Second World War,[4] so in the comic Germany was at first a tiger called "Hans". But since both East and West Germany had been restricted in military strength after World War II, the "big cat" have been "tamed" and "downsized" to "small cats".
|
Various African countries in:
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya,
Tanzania,
Sudan,
South Sudan,
Eritrea |
Hippopotamus |
Hippopotamus is a large, mostly herbivorous mammal in Sub-Saharan Africa generally stereotyped as being simple-witted and clumsy.[5] Both in the comic and the animation, nearly all African countries mentioned are represented by hippopotamus, except for the Ugandan junta regime under Idi Amin. Also, "Colonel Ka the Hippo" sometimes symbolizes Muammar Gaddafi himself other than the country. Sudan and South Sudan only appear in the end of Episode 3, Season 2 of the animation.
|
| Uganda |
Duck |
"Uncle Crazy Duck" is, in fact, the nickname of Idi Amin Dada among Chinese netizens. He wears a hippopotamus fursuit with loose screws on the head, meaning that his brain is "different" from other Africans. In the animation, Uncle Crazy Duck shouts "Banana!" during speeches like the Minions.
|
Various Arab world countries:
Afghanistan,
Saudi Arabia,
Iraq,
Pahlavi Iran |
Camel |
Camel is commonly seen and used as transportation in the arid, desert Middle East and Central Asia. Both in the comic and the animation, nearly all mentioned Arabic countries are represented by camels, but they have different appearance — Afghan camel wears a scarf and is bearded; Saudi (and other Gulf nations by extension) camel wears a scarf and many diamonds; Iraqi camel under the Saddam Hussein regime wears a military beret; and Iranian camel during the Pahlavi dynasty has a crown on his head.
|
| Post-revolution Iran |
Lion |
Lion is the symbol of ancient Iran and the Persian Empire. The religious reform of Ruhollah Khomeini made the shia-majority Iran quite different from its sunni Arabic neighbours, and so the author chooses the symbol of ancient Persia to represent it.
|
