Bamboo Curtain

Bamboo Curtain

The Bamboo Curtain was the east Asian version of the Iron Curtain. It marked the border around the communist states of East Asia, especially the People's Republic of China during the Cold War, but excluding the eastern Soviet Union. The term was less often applied to the border between North and South Korea or the flexible border between Communism and the west in Southeast Asia.

During the Communist Cultural Revolution in China, the Curtain served as a lock-down of sorts, forbidding entry into or passage out of the country without explicit permission. Many would be capitalist refugees were blocked from escape in this manner.

The term "Bamboo Curtain" was used less often than the term "Iron Curtain" in part because while the latter remained relatively static for over 40 years, the former shifted constantly. It was also a less accurate description of the political situation in Asia because of the lack of cohesion within the East Asian Communist Bloc which ultimately resulting in the Sino-Soviet split; The Communist governments of Mongolia, Vietnam and later Laos were allies of the Soviet Union, while Cambodia's regime of Pol Pot was loyal to China. Shortly after the Korean War, North Korea swore allegiance to neither the USSR or China.

Improved relations between China and the United States during the later years of the Cold War rendered the term more or less obsolete, except with reference to the Korean Peninsula and the divide between Allies of the US and the USSR in Southeast Asia.


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  • bamboo curtain — n. [often B C ] the barrier of political and ideological differences that separated China from the West, esp. between 1949 and 1972 …   English World dictionary

  • bamboo curtain —    the censorship and other restrictions in China to limit knowledge of and contacts with foreigners    The Russian Iron Curtain in eastern form:     I had always understood that Western films were kept well away from the People s Republic to… …   How not to say what you mean: A dictionary of euphemisms

  • bamboo curtain — Synonyms and related words: Berlin wall, Pillars of Hercules, arch dam, backstop, bank, bar, barrage, barrier, barrier of secrecy, bear trap dam, beaver dam, blackout, boom, border, border ground, borderland, breakwater, breastwork, brick wall,… …   Moby Thesaurus

  • bamboo curtain — a political and ideological barrier that impeded relations between Communist Asia, esp. China, and the West from 1949 to 1972. Cf. iron curtain. * * * …   Universalium

  • bamboo curtain — /ˌbæmbu ˈkɜtn/ (say .bambooh kertn) noun (also upper case) a military, political and ideological barrier seen as existing between territories under the control of Communist China and non communist countries. {by analogy with Iron Curtain} …  

  • bamboo curtain — noun Usage: often capitalized B&C Date: 1949 a political, military, and ideological barrier isolating an area of eastern Asia …   New Collegiate Dictionary

  • Bamboo Curtain — old name for the barrier between anti communist and communist countries of Southeast Asia …   Eponyms, nicknames, and geographical games

  • bamboo curtain — n. political border and ideological barrier that separated between the West and communist China after the Chinese Revolution …   English contemporary dictionary

  • bamboo curtain — bam′boo cur′tain n. gov a political and ideological barrier impeding relations between Communist China and the West • Etymology: 1945–50 …   From formal English to slang

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