Cho Chang
| Character | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Cho Chang |
| Occupation: | witch, student |
| Relationships: | dated Cedric Diggory, Harry Potter, and Michael Corner; married an unnamed Muggle |
| Fandom: | Harry Potter |
| Other: | |
| Click here for related articles on Fanlore. | |
Cho Chang is a character in the Harry Potter series best know for her brief relationship with Harry.
Canon Background
Cho was first introduced as a member of the Ravenclaw Quidditch team and Harry's first crush. In Goblet of Fire, she began a relationship with Cedric Diggory, who was murdered at the end of the year. In the subsequent book, she was clearly grieving for Cedric, but began to date Harry Potter. This drew criticism from many fans, as did the fact that Cho defended her friend Marietta after Marietta betrayed the D.A.
Cho was redeemed to many fans in the seventh book, when she returned to fight against Lord Voldemort in the Battle of Hogwarts.
J. K. Rowling stated in a post-Deathly Hallow interview that Cho went on to marry a Muggle. (Some femslash fans note that Rowling never specified whether that Muggle is a man.)[1]
Fan Response
Cho receives a surprising amount of hate from fandom as a whole. One Cho hatelisting had over 700 members.[2]
Other examples
- Fuck Yeah, Controversial Characters!, Archived version
- harry potter confessions., Archived version
- Response to "Have I ever mentioned that I fucking hate Cho Chang?". (sydneyalfredo & miakosamuio on Tumblr, June 2012.)](offline, no archive link)
Ethnicity
Cho is notable for being one of the only Asian characters in the Harry Potter series, and many fans identified with or idolized her, though some were disappointed with her characterization in the fifth book:
- So I'm Asian, and I read a lot of books as a kid--a lot of fantasy books, in particular. None of them ever had any Asians in the story... unless you count the evil guys of strangely narrow-eyed-ethnicity. But then came Cho Chang. She was pretty and smart and athletic and HOLY CRAP HARRY POTTER EVEN HAD A CRUSH ON HER OMGOMG!!!!!!! Cho had all the potential to be every Asian girl's hero...
- ...but then she was lame. So thanks Rowling. Thanks for making the only Asian girl in books a weak crybaby and giving Harry to Ginny instead.[3]
Some also felt that Cho's name (which many fans have pointed out is made up of two surnames) and the fact that she is in Ravenclaw (the "clever person" House) was propagating Asian stereotypes.[4]
"To JK Rowling, from Cho Chang"
Discussions about Cho's ethnicity and role in the books were revived in April 2013 in response to a spoken-word poem called To JK Rowling, from Cho Chang, recorded at the finals of the CUPSI poetry competition.
Response to the poem: In Which I Talk About Why The Cho Chang Video Is Wrong / My two cents / My opinion[dead link] / I’m really uncomfortable with the discussion going on / ...
The author of the poem responded to critiques in a YouTube video, and hosted a discussion of the poem on her Tumblr.
Additional reading:
- "To JK Rowling, From Cho Chang": Responding to Asian Stereotyping in Popular Culture by Diana Lee, published to Confessions of an Aca-Fan (October 9, 2013).
Shipping
In fanworks, Cho is most often shipped with characters who she dated canonically, especially Harry and Cedric. She is also a fairly popular femslash character and is commonly paired with variety of female character. Popular pairings include:
Fanworks
Fanfiction
- Where My Thought's Escaping by snorkfics. Summary: Cho had enjoyed her visits to Guangzhou. She wasn't at all sure she wanted to live there. But when her parents moved their family away because of the war, she found herself trying to build a new life in China -- and struggling to reconcile it with her unfinished business in Britain. Some Cho Chang/Michael Corner
- The Stag and the Swan by White Squirrel. Summary: One shot. Harry's Valentine's Day date with Cho goes a little better. Cho/Harry
- Eyes of the Phoenix by LogicalRaven. Summary: The myth of the Phoenix. This is a romance based on a theory I once read. A story on the great bird and his guardian.
- Blood Orange by midnightweeds. Summary: "Welcome home," he'd said, all warm and soothing, and she was sure she never wanted to live with anyone else. Ever. For the rest of her natural life. // "You smell sweet," he told her as she passed. "Like an orange." // If she'd known that that mattered, she probably wouldn't have laughed. One-shot darkfic series
- All roads Lead to by pauraque. Summary: After leaving Hogwarts, Cho isn't sure if there's a place for her anymore in the fight against Voldemort. Luna comes to convince her that there is. Cho/Luna
- overemotional: in defense of cho chang by dirgewithoutmusic. Summary (excerpt): Integrity. Truth. Honor. Dedication. These were the tenets of her House, of the blue and the bronze, the eagle called raven (called nerd, called stuck-up, called so many things that were not their names). Bravery was only one way to be a hero.
Fanart
- Cho Yule Ball by relashio
- I'm Cho chang y'all by Prydester
- Cho Chang by ereya
- Cho Chang by RaRo81
Essays & Meta
- FF: Evil!Cho: Cho Chang and Reader Response - Overanalyzing the Text, Archived version by Elkins (2003)
- Harry and Cho in OotP - Harry Potter Essays, Archived version by eilanhp (2003)
- Anti-Harry/Cho: I blame Cho, Archived version by nesshelper (2003)
- The Problem with Cho Chang, and Why I Love Her], Archived version by bantha_fodder (2005)
- Character analysis: Cho Chang, in Harry Potter], Archived version by Gail Kavanagh (2010)[5]
- 1001 Reasons Why You Shouldn't Hate Cho Chang (and a few reasons why you should love her) (2011)[6]
- hapakitsune did a fanworks series, notably meta, on Cho for womenlovefest in 2011 (image links are largely defunct, but text is still there)
- It’s White Woman Bullshit: A conversation about Asian representation in Harry Potter with Eugenia Hu and kiran nigam on the Gayly Prophet Podcast (2021)
Resources
- works tagged Cho Chang on AO3
- Special Edition: Cho Chang at the Daily Snitch
- _x_cho_chang_x_, a Cho Chang fan community
- Cho Chang Fic Listing, a Cho FanFiction.net community
Fansites
Shipping Resources
- charry_haven, a Harry/Cho LiveJournal community
- quiet_charm, a Cedric/Cho LiveJournal community
- Heart Seekers, a Harry/Cho FF.net community
- Reason Lost: DMCC, a Draco/Cho FF.net community
References
- ^ Harry Potter Wiki at Wikia. Cho Chang's partner. (Accessed 07 December 2011.)
- ^ So Vain - - - Cho Chang Hatelisting. (Archived 01 November 2007 by the Wayback Machine.)
- ^ ereya on deviantArt. Cho Chang (description). 27 May 2011. (Accessed 07 December 2011.)
- ^ The Leaky Cauldron's LeakyLounge. Cho Chang's ethnicity. 15 September 2006. (Accessed 08 December 2011.)
- ^ "Character analysis: Cho Chang, in Harry Potter - by Gail Kavanagh - H…". 2013-05-06. Archived from the original on 2013-05-06.
- ^ ref.