After my last entry about the Chinese Firewalls I started to get curious about the origins of the phrase “Chinese Fire Drill”. The Phrase Finder has an odd story that someone posted:

It is my understanding that this phrase originated in the early 1900s. It came from an naval incident where a ship officered by the British and crewed by the Chinese set up a fire drill for fire in the engine room. In the event of a fire the crew was to draw water from the starboard side, take to the engine room and throw it on the fire. Another crew in the engine room was to take the thrown water and throw it over the port side.

When the drill was called the first moments went according to plan then it got confused. The crew began drawing the water from the staroard side and runing over to the port side and throwing the water over, by-passing the the engine room completely.

Thus the expression “Chinese Fire Drill” entered our lexicon as meaning a large confused action by individuals accomplishing nothing.

Perhaps “British Navy Fire Drill” did not have the same ring to it, but it seems to be a more accurate description of the event. After all, wasn’t the reason for the Chinese being employed on the ships their experience and talent for seafaring that Europeans had always envied and emulated, combined with their willingness to work in high-risk endeavors? In other words would you blame the workers or management for a failed disaster plan? And would you really come up with a phrase for a single event like this, or were there other more likely reasons (prejudice against the Chinese)?

I guess the phrase is an unfortunate or even unfair turnabout. Reminds me of the “Chinaman’s minute” or “Chinaman’s chance” which were apparently coined by those who employed the Chinese for building railroads but did not mind leaving them exposed to high risk and physical harm from dynamite. Workers were lowered by rope and boatswain chair down steep inclines in order to set dynamite. When they weren’t pulled back up in time…I remember reading once that the delay could even have been intentional, due to rivalries and ethnic strife among the workers and managers.