But is it really necessary, in 1947, to teach children to use expressions like "native" and "Chinaman"? The last-named word has been regarded as offensive by the Chinese for at least a dozen years. As for “native,” it was being officially discountenanced even in India as long as twenty years ago. It is no use answering that it is childish for an Indian or an African to feel insulted when he is called a “native.” We all have these feelings in one form or another. If a Chinese wants to be called a Chinese and not a Chinaman, if a Scotsman objects to be called a Scotchman, or if a Negro demands his capital N, it is only the most ordinary politeness to do what is asked of one.

What It Means

This is a placeholder explanation generated by the low-overhead model. It interprets "But is it really necessary, in 1947, to teach children to use expressions like "native" and "Chinaman"? The last-named word has been regarded as offensive by the Chinese for at least a dozen years. As for “native,” it was being officially discountenanced even in India as long as twenty years ago. It is no use answering that it is childish for an Indian or an African to feel insulted when he is called a “native.” We all have these feelings in one form or another. If a Chinese wants to be called a Chinese and not a Chinaman, if a Scotsman objects to be called a Scotchman, or if a Negro demands his capital N, it is only the most ordinary politeness to do what is asked of one." in the context of "George Orwell, in "As I Please," Daily Herald/Tribune (27 February 1947)" to mean that wisdom is timeless.