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To: John Chen who wrote (101023)	1/20/2008 9:37:14 PM
From: bentway	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 306849

This was the first Chinese person I was ever aware of, and has colored my perceptions ever since. ================================================================================== Ming the Merciless is a fictional character appearing in the Flash Gordon comic strip. When the heroic Flash Gordon and his friends land on the planet Mongo, they find it ruled by the evil Emperor Ming, a despot who quickly becomes their enemy. The capital of his empire is named "Mingo City" in his honour. In addition to his army, Ming has access to a wide variety of science fiction gadgets, ranging from rocket ships to death rays to robots. Though evil, he has his weaknesses, which include a desire to marry Flash's beautiful companion, Dale Arden. Ming's daughter Princess Aura is as evil as he is when the series begins, but is eventually reformed by her love for Flash, and later for Prince Barin of Arboria. Though he is technically an extraterrestrial, Ming strongly resembles a stereotypical Asian supervillain, and his resemblance to Dr. Fu Manchu is especially strong. "Ming" (?) is a common personal name in China, and was the name of several historical Chinese emperors, and later of an entire dynasty. The name has clear Chinese associations even for people not versed in the details of Chinese history. In later adaptations of the story, his "Oriental nature" has been downplayed out of sensitivity to criticisms of racial stereotyping. (In fact, in DC Comics' nine-issue Flash Gordon mini-series, Ming and most of the human-like denizens of Mongo were given gray skin.)