Coolie was historically used to describe slaves or manual labourers of Asian descent during the 19th and early 20th centuries; particularly those from Southern China, India and the Philippines. It is also a modern racial insult to describe anyone of Asian origin. The word itself is thought to be derived from the Hindi word 'kuli'or the Urdu word 'quli'. There is also a Mandarin word 'kuli' which means 'bitter strength' and is used to refer to an Asian slave.