Asian American Popular 6 - Christine`s History Pages

Transcription

Asian American Popular 6 - Christine`s History Pages
CHAPTER
6
Orientalism and Popular
Culture, 1904-1930s
|t
The
nents to exclude Asian immigration and the colonization ofthe Philippines
coincide with the prominence of euilenics, d field of scientific racism ltredicated on
that anong humans there exists nn innate racial hierarchy in whiclr
whites,
ly " Angl0-Sax]t1s," are 0n top. The politkal signifkance of eugenics
tficati1n
as4J
for immigration exclusion and colotlial conquest, as well as for
white vking-class social mobilit-v, is well docuruented in Chdpter )-5. What remqtns t be considered, however, is how suclt rctcist theories about Asians to0k on
,al. It is too simplistic to assume thLlt all wltites were predisposed to see
mass
Asians
dangerously difJerent from themselves. A better altenlative is to ask llow
the
of Americans cqme to accept tltis perspective as a fact 0f nature. In
the
third oftlte twentieth century, institutiorts ofpopular culture did ntuch ofthe
work propagatinlT racial understandings of Asians t0 Americ.ul consutlters.
was no better extunple of tltk than the world's fair, which by the St. Louis
in 1904 dttracted ntillions ofvisitors to its massive.lnd ostensibly authenttc
displal of " backward" racittl groups. But it is imp1rtant to retnember that world's
made possible by tlle rapid rise in urbanization, wage labor, and its attenfairs w
time.In this context, even traditional cLthural tnediturts, such as newsdant le
p4pers
literary pttblicdrions. took on ntuch ntore sigtrificance and capital as they
tu the rapidly expanditt:l popLtl.ttiotts it A rcrican cities. Atld the editors of
such
lirctiotts realizcd tlurt. n, tlrc)'do rtow thnt nnttipuldting racinlfears can sell
's. Anorher dimensiou ofpoptrlar culture to cortsicler is tlrc dawn ofthe,notion
p
industry. The novies, of course, w,uld bec]nrc tlrc ultixate showcase of tfu consumer
ety, sellln:l everythinlt fron autornobiles to dishw.tshitlg detergent. Bttt Jilms
" less tangtble produtts like beauty, lifenyles. and racial sensibilities. In this
also ":
ollywood popularized American orientulinn from the early days ofsilent libn.
sense,
f
$
DO
UMENTS
in this chapter reveal how Asians were ponrayed in ways that were
with the domination ofAsian immigrants in the United States. Yet equally
here is the fact that Asian Americans too were culturc makers. whose writings
O": a
dli\n n'td
D
tLtd.
..ltu ( la04 la)
l8l
embodied the
and possibilities of their experiences. Document I reveals writer
Jack London' take on the "Yellow Peril" after serving as a war correspondent dudrrg
the Russo-J
War. The most dangerous outcome ofJapan's victory over Russia,
London
Sen Frcncisco Exturiirer readers. was that the JaDanese. whom he re" race. rvere now in a position to strenglhen their hand vis e vis the
lerred to as a
West by allyi
with the much more numerous and thus rrore feared "Yellow" Chinese.
Document 2 a photograph of the "living exhibition" of Filipinos at the St. Louis
World's Fair
l90zl. To many in attendance, the natives' scantily clad costutlles collfirmed their " .vagery." Document 3 is an excerpt frorr an oral history interview con
ducted in 192 with a Filipino immigrant who discusses the interconnection between
and his negative exDcricnces in thc United States. Document 4 is
anti Filipino i
an excerpl
Wallace Irwin's Seetl of the Sun, a novel secking to warn Americans
about the
of Japanese immigration.
The flnal our documents concentrate on various depjctions of the Chinese.
Document 5 i a portrayal of Chinese merchant wives by the first American novelist
of Chinese
the Eurasian Sui Sin Far. Document 6 is a Chinese American
student's list
American beliefs about the Chinese. Document 7 is a movie studio
proposal
I the promotion-what in Hollywood was known as exploitationof The Paint Veil, a 1931 film set in China. Finally, in Document 8, anthropologist
Harold R.
analyzes the influence of lamous author Pearl S. Buck in shaping
Chine\e in lhe American imaginalinn.
the image of
l.
Writer Jack London Decries
the New Yellow Peril, 1904
Here we
immense
resources
of
an
Under a
self
ment. This
down to
dent and
him. It would
Comes
of an; other
home
restlng on
other side
strange,
level with his
talking. They
From Jack
the Chinese. fbur hundred million of hiur. occuovins a vast Iand of
resources-resources of a twentieth century age, of a machine age;
and iron. which are the backbone of commercial civilization. He is
worker. He is not dead to new ideas. new methods. new systems.
management he can be made to do anything. Truly would he of himthe much heralded Yellow Peril were it not fbr his Dresent manase
his sovernment. is set. crvstallized. It is what binds him
as his fathers built. The governing class. entrenched by the prcceofcenturies and by the stamp it has put upon his mind, will neverfree
the suicide of the governing class, and the goveming class knows it.
the Japanese. On the streets of Antung, of Feng-Wang-Chang, or
city, the fbllowing is a familiar scene: One is hurrying
the dark of the unlighted streets when he comes upon a paper lantern
ground. On one side squats a Chinese civilian on his hands, on the
a Japanese soldier. One dips his fbrefinger in the dust and w tes
characters. The other nods understanding. sweeps the dust slate
and with his forefinger inscribes similar characters. They are
speak to each other, but thev can write. Long ago one borowed
"The Yellow
Peril
(190'1).
in l-ondon. Rclokrirr 1rrl O/rrr
trrdlr
(New york:
Macmillan, l9l
277 289: rcproduced in S. T. Joshi. ed.. Dotnnents of An(ri(.a prcjudik (Ne$
Yurk: Basic
r999).
439
4.1,t.
f82
Flai'l' Problu^
il Asiu
Attttril:.tn Hkta\,
the other'$ written language. and long befbre that. untold generations ago. they dilerged frdm a com[ron root. the ancient Mongol stock.
Ther( have been changes. ditferentiations brought about by diverse conditions
and infusions of other blood: but down at the bottom of their being, twisted into the
tibres of t'henr, is a heritage in cornmon-a sameness in kind which time has not
obliterateg. The infusion of other blood, Malay. perhaps. has made the Japanese a
race of mpstery and power. a fighting race through all its history, a race which has
always d(spised commerce and exalted fighting.
To-d{y. equipped with the tlnest machines and systems of destruction the Caucasian mipd has devised, handling nrachines and systems with remarkable and deadly
accuracy.ithis rejuvenescent Japancse race has embarked on a course of conquest.
the goal 4t tvhich no rnan knows. The head men ofJapan are dreaming ambitiously.
and the f,eople are dreaming blindly. a Napoleonic drearn. And to this dream the
Japanese clings and will cling with bull-dog tenacity. The soldier shouting "Nippon.
Banzai!" on the walls of Wiju. the widow at home in her paper house comtnirring
suicide s(r that her only son, her sole support. may go to the front, are both expressing
the unanimity of the dream.
The llate disturbance in the Far East marked the clashing of the dreams, tbr the
Slav. k)q. is dreaming greatly. Granting that the Japanese can hurl back the Slav
and that [he two great branches of the Anglo-Saxon race do not despoil him of his
spoils, tl;e Japanese drelm takes on substantiality. Japan s population is no larger
because ber people have continually plessed against the means of subsistence. But
pobr. empty Korea fbr a breedin-s colony and Manchuria fbr a granary. and at
-siven
once the Japanese begins to increase by leaps and bounds.
Eveh so, he would not of himself constitute a Brown Peril. He has not the time
in whictl to grow and rellize the dream. He is only tbrty-five millions, and so fast
does thejeconomic exploitation of the planet hurry on the planet's partition amongst
the Weslern peoples that. betbre he could attain the stature requisite to menace. he
would sdc the Western -eiants in possession of the very stutf of his dream.
Thil nenace to the Western world lies, not in the little brown man, but in the
fbur hu$dred millions of yellow nen should the little brown man undertake their
manageinent, The Chinese is not dead to new ideas; he is an efficient worker; makes
a good $oldier. and is wealthv in the essential materials of a machine age. Under a
capable lmanagenrent he will go far. The Japanese is prepared and fit to undertake this
managefnent. Not only has he proved himself an apt imitator of Westem material
progresb, a sturdy worker, and a capable organizeq but he is far more tlt to manage
the Chi+ese than are we. The baffling enigma ofthe Chinese character is no baffling
enigmaito him. He understands as rve could never school ourselves nor hope to
understhnd. Their mental processes ale largely the same. He thinks with the sarne
thoughd-symbols as does the Chinese. and he thinks in the same peculiar grooves.
He goef on wherc we are balked by the obstacles of incomprehension. He takes the
turning which we cannot perceive, twists around the obstacle. and, prestol is out of
sight i4 the ramitrcations of the Chinese mind $here we cannot follow.
The Chinese has been called tl're type of permanence. and well he has melited
it. dozilg as he has through the ages. And as truly was the Japanese the type of pernrarenfe up to a generation ago. when he suddenly awoke and startled the world
with a fejuvenescence the like of which the world had never seen before. The ideas
OtiuitLlli\ tntiLlPnluldt ()!Ltutt.
of the'West
transnlrtted
powerful
We hlve
fbr the Asiatic
unrfraicl to
lion additi
moclern.
the "Yellow
the nridst of
t,ellow and
. trik ing lv
l9ttl-19)0s
l8l
the leaven \1,hich ouickened the JaDanese: rnd the ideas oI the West.
lhc JJprnc.e mind into ideli Jrpunese. rnlrl uell rrulc the l(J\rn
to quicken the Chine\e.
Africa tirr the At'licander. and at no dist nt day we shall hear'Asia
Four hundred nrillion indel'atigable workers (defi. intelligent. and
.lrousecl and rejuvenescent. nranaged and guided by forty-live nilhuman bein-ss who are splendid fightin-s animals. scientitic and
tute that nrenace to the Western \a'orld which has been well named
il.'The possibiJity of race adventure has not passed away. We are in
r own. The Slav is just girding himself up to begin. Why mly not the
brou,n slart out
on
n adventurc as tremendous as our own and more
succcss of such an adventure the Western ntind refuscs to connatule of life to bclieve itsclf u,eak. Thcrc is such a thing as a race
we
e-g:orsm as
as creature egotisnr. and a very good thing it is. ln the fir'st place. the
will
not pernrit the rise ofthe ycllorv peril. lt is firnrly convjnced that
Westcfn
it will not
it the vellow and the brown to wax stronq and menace jts peace and
this idea \^,ith pe$istency. and delivers itselfof long argunents
conrti)rt. It
why this menacc will not be permitted to arise. Tcday. lhr more
showing how
votces are en
in denying the yellow peril than in plophesying it. The Western
worlcl is
if not armed. against the possibility ol it.
place. there is a ueakness inherent in the brown man which will
ln the
The ulti
sider It is not
bring
his
achievement
destruction he
nture
to naught. From the West he has bonowecl all our material
passed our ethical achievenrent by. Our engines of production and
made his. What u as once solely ouls he nou' duplicates. rivllling
oLlI r']rerchants n the conrmerce of the East. thrrshing the Russian on sea and Iand. A
nrarvellous i
or trul1. L'ut intitatin; us onll in thing' ntaterill. Things
cannol be ilni
and here the
It
field-gun or
achievement
conl. ts I
: rhe) Inusl be lclt and lired. woren int() the
'piliturl
\er) fabric,rf life.
lails.
no revollrtion of his nature to learn to calculate the range and fire a
mrrch the goose-step. It was a mere matter of training. Our material
the product of our intellect. It is knowledge. and knowledge. Iike
geable. [t is not wrapped up in the heredity of the new-born child.
s to be acquired afterward. Not so with our soul stufT. which is the
ution uhich goes back to the raw beginnin-qs ol the mce. Our soul
to be pocketed by the first chance comer The Japanese cannot
is sonreth
product of an
stutT is not a
pocKet lt any
thaD he can thrill to short Saxon words or we can thrill to Chinese
hiero-rlyphic The leopald cannot change its spots. nol can the Japanese. nor can
u e. We are
by the agcs into what u'e are. and by no conscious inrvard
eftblt can we n a day rethumb ourselves. Nol can the Japanese in a day. or a generatlon.
hirnself in our image.
Back ol
ou,n -qreat race Adventurc. back of our rcbbelies by sea ancl land.
our ILrsts and iolences and all ol the evil things we have done. there is a certain
of conscience. a melancholy responsibility of life. a sympathy
lrrteSnty. a
and
and warm human fccl. which is ouls. indubitablv ours. and which
we cannot
to the Oriental as we would teach logarithms or the trajectory ofprojcctiles. That
have gloped for the way of right conduct and lgonized over the
bu1
soul beto
n\ r)ur spirilu l endou menr. Though we have rtrryeLl trftcrr;rnd lhr lrom
ri
voices of the seels have llways been raised, and we have harked
bidding of conscience. The colossal fact of our histoly is that we have
igion ofJesus Christ our religion. No matter how dark in er(n and deed.
a history of spiritual struggle and endeavor. We are preeminently a
which is another way of saying that wc arc a right-seeking race.
do you think of the Japanese?" was asked an American won]iln at'ter she
, the
brck to
nracle the
ours has
r eligious
hadlivcdsornetimeinhpan.'Itseemstonlethattheyhavenosoul."washeranswel
Thislmust not be taken lo nlean that the Japanese is without soul. But it serves
to illustrhte the enormous ditference between their souls and this wonan's soul.
There u,{s no feel. no speech no recognition. This Western soul did not dream that
the Eastdrn soul existed. it was so difle|ent. so totally ditierent. . .
The ieligion ofJapan is practically a worship ofthe State itsell. Patriotism is the
expressi{n ol this worship. The Japanesc mind does not split hairs as to whether the
Emperor]is Heavcn incarnate or the State incarnate. So far as the Japanese ar(] concerned. tfe Eruperor lives. is himself deity. The Ernperor is the object to live fbr and
.
to die fb{. The Japanese is not an individualist. He has deveioped national consciousness ins&ad of noral consciousness. He is not interested in his own nroral welfare
except iri so f'ar as it is the wellare of the State. The honor of thc individual. per se,
docs no! exist. Only exists the honor of the State. which is his honor. He does not
look uptjn hinrself as a free agent. working out his own personal salvation. Spiritual
agonizirig is unknown to him. He has a "sense of calm trust in fate. a quiet submission to the inevitable. a stoic colnposure in sight of danger or calanrity. a disdain of
life and friendliness with death." He relates hinrselfto the State as. amongst bees. the
worker ls related to the hive: himself nothing. the State e\erything: his reasons lirr
the exaltation and sloritication of the State.
nrost admired quality to-day of the Japanese is his patriotism. The Westem
world i in r-hapsodies ovel it. unwittingly rneasuring the Japanese patriotism by
its owr'l
eptions of patriotism. "For God. my coul'rtly, and the Czarl" cries the
Russi
Datriot; but in the JaDanese mind there is no differentiation between the
three.
Enrperor is the Emperor. untl Grrrl rnd country as well. The prtliotism of
is blind and unswerving loyalty to what is practically an absolutisnr.
the J
The
can do no wrong. nor can the five ambitious gleat men who have his
I the destiny of Japan.
eat
greal race adventure can go lar nor endure long which has no deeper tbun-
nlJleriill :uccc\s. no higher prompting thiln ionque\t l'.)r (onquc\l's
sake arid nrere race glorification. To go thr and to endure. it must haYe behind it ar
ethical li mpu lse. a sincerely conceived righteousness. But it Inust be taken into considerat(on that the above postulute is itself a product of Western racc-egotism. urged
by our']belief in our owr righteousness and fbstered by a faith in ourselves which
ma1' bd as erroneous as are most fond race tancies. So be it. The world is whirling
faster'{o day than ever betbre. [t has gained impetus. Affai$ rush to conc]usion.
The Flr East is the point of contact of the adventuring Western people xs well as of
the Aslatic. We shall not have to wait lbr our children's time nor oLrr children s
childrdn. We shrll ourselves see and largely determine the advcnllrre of thc Yellow
and thd Brou n.
'''1'
1r'1,'t't
J '
D.'l
"
t
"t""
"t "'"'t
ls5
2. Dance of the Igorrotes, Louisiana
Purchase Exposition, St. Louis, I904
Igorrote village
cr,position r
thc LoLlisiirna Purchlse Exposition. lit. Loui\. lt)0-+. This was one ol the
populrr lir ing erhibition\ of rh!. racc\" ol nankind.
3. Filipino Immigrant Condemns
Representation of Group, circa 1924
I was born in a tuwn called Candul. jn the provincc ofllocos Sur. Philippine lslands.
the United States occupied the Philippines. the first thing she did
was to establi$h public English schools in all pans of the archipelago. So. when I
was at an ageSrf schooling I attencled thc public school. ln my high school years
high school. lociited at the capiial of ny province. In my
I attended the
year
gracluated in the Seminaly High School. a school of the
1
I
senior high
s at Manila. Then t linished rny nvo vears college ur[k in the
Evangelical
ol the sane Evangelical church.
Union
In all oi fiy schooling in the Philippines I attendcd different Ischools] and I
have rnin-sled with ditl'crent peoples. In my sophonorc and.junior years il high
school. I (x)k charge of a small congreg{tion. Th t wolk gl\.e nte il chance to leel
the joy of seri ice to my people: a$ akened me to the greatest needs of my peuple
f.()rr :.
p.
17ll
rll
Su.t.]",1..
t-
ouisiuna
ttnl
th
Fait:
\'ol
a
(\\ofld
Progre\s Publi\hrDg
Mis\ourl Histofie.rl Soeier!
F|o|1'|0'ie]lkIl\4j].l7h|'irC|lIu|1l'\lils1l}R']l1:Ill!(].1|\-li||'Hi\lI)|i|
riLnttto|{.hint\tul.|d|a^|d\1ll.\i\tJu.
(\r\h\illr:Socirl Sfiercc Instilutc. Fisk Llni\crsil\. 19.161. ll7 119. ll6-l:17.
(b.:
Sl-
Loui\-
190-+).
colne to
lfi
honre t
and the
life. The clesire fbr firrther training and more eclucatiorr ca[sed nte to
is great country. thc United States.
heard of Anerica irom the llrst American nrissionaries that cante to nlv
Then in my early school in the grammar grades I studied Geography
Ie of Amelica. In my high school coursc I studiccl the history,
-covernthe institutions of America. The nissionaries have been telling us of rhe
y, and grandeur of the country. Thcn in our text-books in schools we
nlenl, al
riches, b
saw prct
of the big buildings. beautiful strects and parks. big tactories. gfeat
nten. elc In short. we have knou,n thc best of America. We have heard much of
a land ofthe brave aDd the tiee. land ()fopportunity. and we pictured her
asa
of "Paradise." The results of the American adlninistration in the PhiliDplnes
us the grcatress ofAnrerica. and we typified all thc American people
in the U led States as like those ntissi(x]aries and teachcrs rvho are working with
of love amon-c my people.
the
anr in this country now. I am absorbing the best of the AmelicLur lift so
that
I will go back to ny people I will show and teach all of these goocl qrrirlities
in that way my people will always adore and respect the Anrerican people
of the living good example that they shou' lo the othcr peoples.
indecd a greal disappointment to me and it breaks nry heart to lhink that
nrJny
the good Americans who have been in my countr-y have n'risrepresentcd
nty
le to their ou n pcople. I have seen exhibitions in the nruseurns and in the
wir
of the banks and big stores of the prirnitive utensils. furniturc. implernents.
backward and ignorant Filipinos. Sorne books are full of pictures of the
etc.. ot
and their prinritive s'ays of Iiving-peoplc rvho only nunrber about
naked
one
of the q'hole poDulatiotr. Even the nrissionar ies thenrselves. in theil
and in their articles published in the papefs. talk of the dark side of the
Filioi lite. Thlough all of these. the American people in this country formed their'
that the FiliDino are nothins but backwald. uncivilized. u'ild and naked
opl
people Il so. the noble wofks of Spanish civilization thilt havc influenced my people
tor
and a hall centulies and the progress done by the Anrerican administrations
discredited. Have not these European and Western civi!izations done
have
g good to my people l May any foreigner who comes to mv country please
best of my people and thus tell so to anybody wherever they ma)' be. Thls rs
note
one
of race prejudice-ol m isu nderstanding of other people.
ica is beine looked uoon bv all thc countries of the world as their leader.
Ameri has a wicle dool of opporrunity for leadership training. not only among
people but to the othel peoples as uell. Hundreds and thousands of rny felhel
-men come to this country with nre and only onc purpose and that is to
low
tor leadership in her schools. coileges and universities. Only the young
be
women then come to this country. l. also. came lo Califotnia lbr the same
Hawaii. Australia. Mexico. ot otlrer countries could not give rne such opties as I am now enjoyin-e here. Calitbrnia is the lirst plilce thdl I stopped at
Ori. tdlisn
and Pop
lfiCubut". 1904-1931b I87
I climates, such that I don't feel so much different than
of the
of my
have their own ways of thinking and of doing things. Some one
an instinctive racial and national pride and each nationality conedor along certain lines. Too much self-esteem and national pride
with other peoples because there is then the sense of superiority
the good qualities in other races. Such prejudice spirit in a cerght cause it not to be able to know the psychology, philosophy of
nati()nality
l-e and the
of the ones considered inferior I find ot that misuvlercauses
. The average American reads the daily papers about the
side of an
individual. then he draws a conciusion that all of the Orientals
le. I met the other day an American woman whose uncle has
like that.
among the
rrihes in the Philippines. This uncle sent her pictures of the
asked me if the Filipinos are all headhunters. It is indeed dangerous
we all have
ooinions about a certain nation bv induction.
to go back to my country as soon as I will be prepared for a
the schools of America. I will send mv children to this countrv for
selvrce
. ue have allol the schooling we wanr in the Philippines. but
ls a gleat advantage of being in the schools of this great educational laod.
The
that there
herself
I am now
ing along
until I fin
y but surely realizing my ambition in this country. I am now
my university work and I hope I could be in the school year after
my course.
the high expectation of seeing the people and their conditions
before I came over. The cities, towns, people, and everything
pictules
us in the Philippines as the best place with all comforts and enjoyment of lit'e.
Iook upon America as a heaven on eaflh. Anyway, I am enjoying
gh I found it different from what I expected, because I am lookmy life here,
to associafe with.
ing for the best
I fail to
life as I ha
4, Anti-Japanese Monologue in
Wallace Irwin's Seed of the Sun, 1926
"Killed any J
who seated hi
"Don't
me?-throu
'Anie
as he fbund
thought he
this week, Artie?" he sang out, addressing a plump young man
beside Zudie with a second helping of everything on the bill.
on 'em!" he growled, reddening with rage. "I'm through-get
I'm playing Hindus now, and getting a day's work out of'em, too."
a gang of Japs walk out on him last week," explained Dunc as soon
to occupy the vacant chair at Anna's side. "He got so sore that I
going ro declare war right away."
"ls there
danger'1" asked Anna. scared at the thought.
Dunc and
belligerent friend Artie grinned at the thought.
''ot
Sce(i
r,/rr.'Sr,l (New York: Amo Press,
19713),
l4.f-1,15.
188
Prchletjls in A\i.1n
h)t,ti1ltt Hijtot\
"My
lady." said Artie. after a mouthtul of chile con carne. "thc war is on
right now I don't mean machine guns and battleships and iin Kelleys. The hardthinking,
old gentlemen running the Japanese Govcrnnent don't want
sort
rhat
any more
ol'rouph stufi. They'll never run:rnruck the $ir) rhe Kai.er Jid
bleed
and
to deat h u ith a fool militr4 prograrn. All t his ncu spaper talk is
mcrely a
barrage to keep our minds off *hat Japan is really putting over."
was an olhcer in our Siberian job," interjected Dunc.
. what are the)' putting over?" asked Anna, seeing here another aspect
ol
Crlilbrnir rrce prejudice.
the
war. The conquest of the world by agriculture. conmerce. immigratl()n.
treaties. coLrnterftit labels. soft words. hard balgains and the JaDanese
genius tbi teamwork. To accommodate their little expedition into Siberia I saw thenl
build
s that looked big enough to put up hall the irnpelial arrny. What fbr'l To
send in
hoeps and fight it out l Not on your liftl Pletty soon the Japanese troops
will fadelaway and those contbrtuble barracks will be full of farmers. tradesmen
and
Shan-tung ull orcl agrin. The)'re thc greatest reul.eslrle men in the
world.
took Shrn-rung thl the goud of hunranity. rnd thel re keeping it lbr the
good of
I don t hlarnc rhcrn. Tf I qere r Jrp I'd do the \anre. There'\ \lunding
room
in Japan. and the race is suffbcating."
5. Writer Sui Seen [Sin] Far Reveals Private
Lives of Chinese Merchant Wives, 1897
lntl old-fashioneJ node of life. she carries our minds
almost as ancient as the earth we live on. She is a bit of olden Oriental
alnidst our modern Western lights and shades: and though her years be t'ew.
she is
a relic of artiquity. Even the dress she wears is cut in a fashion designed
ce
ago, and is the same today as when the first nonfabulous Empress of
her lrusband to buy her r neu r.lres. -ofatunic.apairottr'ou\ersandu
China
divided irt. all of finest silk and embroidered in many colors. A Chinese woman
In a
e age invented the divided skirt. so it is not a "New Woman" invention.
Chinese woman in America differs from all others who come to live their
in that she seeks not oul companionship. makes no attempt to know us
lives
our ways and heeds not oul customs. She lives among uii. but is as iso
adopts
lated
if she and the few Chinese relations who may happen to Iive near were the
with
quaint nr:rnners
back to
beings in the world.
only
tng.
you wish to becone acquainted with her. if you wish to glean sonre
of a type of which very linle is known. you must seek her out. She will
with your advances and welcone you with demure politeness. but you
t lbr all eternity and she rvould not come to you.
s broken the ice. vou find that her lormer reserve was due to her trainthat she is not nearly so shy as report makes her. You also llnd. despite the
Fronr:
Seen
if
know
be
might
59
6-1:
Judl Y
Fr..
The Chinc\e \lbnrrr in Anrcrica. aar./ of Sunshine 6. no. I (Jan art lli97):
in Ltnbt,tokl \i,ic!s: . Dol:Ilnt' ktr\ Hiskr'\ ()l Clline\c Wo t(t1 i Sd,l Ft?,r( lr.r. ed.(Bcrkelet: Lrni\er\it\ of Calililrnir Pre\s. l99q). l5il-161.
Otkjjktli! t n|,1P,,t'rL tjtlrtR. lgtl4 l9Jt)r
popular idea
and i
narrowly.
not prove lack
She was
she played
playfellows,
nlother put
rnemories
of
were telught
she uscd to
Until
an Amef lcan
189
the Chinese are a phlegnatic people. that she is brimful of feelings
and has sensibilitics as acute as a child's. That she is content to livc
to the society of one nan and perhaps a couple of t'emales, does
t inrapin.rti n:hut nrclely thlt she is ign[n1n1 nj 1n1 other lite.
in Chinl. probably in ClnloD or ncar that city. When a Iittle gifl.
ecock. Guessing Pennies and Blind Man's Buff with childish
and girls: and grunclfather rnd uncles kept hel awake. when her
to bed. by tclling her stories of hobgoblirrs and ghosts. Antongst her
are little oacodas befbre $hich she and her brcthers and sister
burn incensc. and ln image of a coddess called "Mother." to whom
Itill her liltle knees ached.
twelve years old. she enjoyed almosl as nruch healthful liberty as
ild: but in China it is not deenred proper tirr girls beyond that age to
have boy pla
Then she
ballads. She
father and
a sweetheart.
and virtues of
lo seu and enrhroidcr. lrr dp I o[1 (ooling und rine simple
taught that whilst with thenr. her Ilrst duty uas obedience to her
: and after marriage. to her husband and his parents. She never hacl
u,ith girl tiiends would plss the hours in desclibing the beauties
husbands.
these restraints, her ycars slipped away happily until tin]e came li)r
lrer to
American bride-lirr the Chinese woman who comes to America
generally
as a bride. having been sent tbr bv some Chinamen who has been
some years ln
States or in Canada and has prospered in business.
Shc has
seen her future husband. she has never perhaps ventured
outside her
ive village: yet upon being apprised that for'good and valuablc
ln spite
considerati
or the expectant bridegroom. like Isaac ol old when courting
Rebecca.
of his
sets about
breast and
presents of silver and presents of gold to the prrents or guardians
must leave horne and fiiends ancl natire land. she cheerfullv
ng fbl hcl journey. She nray shed a lew tea|s upon her mother's
itiously hu-s her' little sisters: but on the \\,hole. she is pleased.
and fiiends usually regard her with enr'1'. None but a well-to-do
ld afford to send fbr a bride itcr'oss the sea. The chief reason. howgirl who goes to A|rerica docs not become subject to hef husband's
a gill marries in China. In that stlan-se land shc is obligcd to live
's parents and obey them as a daughter: and unless she is ofyielding
Her
Chinarnun
ever. ls that
mother. as
with her
disposition.
unhapplness.
his mother's
Chinese wo
richer
nation of silk
Chinese
uonr onll by
The
wealthy peop
being a big
irl fronr the
g
tire mother-in-la$, of extraordinary good nature. the result is otien
there is a disagreement. it is the duty of the husband and son to take
and the wit'e is nracle to acknowledgc herself in the wrong. The
who conres to An)erica is tirvored also in that she can dress in
ln China her oldinary attire u'ould consist of cotton. or a combicotton. plainly nrade. The richly etnbroiderctl dresses which the
who come to An]erica ale allowed to blinc with them iue in China
of rank and position.
comes from a respectlble middle class Chinese tanrily. Aristocratic or
would nol give a drrughter k) a man living in exile; and Wah Ling,
man to keep a wife in Anrerica. teels hinrsclf too big to takc a
ng classes. He wishes his tl iends to think th l he marries well: il'
I90
P^.1)ltrts itt
he $ere t
knows
I
\\,aDts a
Ch
cases ale
Thc
her'
|Tltnd can
bamboo
pnv
te
clothing.
tavolite
kind.
She
at least
After
mean condition hc nright be ridiculed. The Chinrman
ol'natural selection; though in lris youlh he has a srveetheart. when he
he sends
acquai
causlug
a
proper
chat wi
N
A nlinltl Hin,jr|
choose llirl of
na
ln
AsL1tl
til
a stranger.
it is deerled altogether wlong for girls 'in society' lo havc nren
I but verv pulr-gi s cho()se their associates as they please u/itltolrt
l. Now irnd then a povefly stt icken or outcitsl ntaid \a. ins the hea ef it
brave enou-eh to rnln'ry her in spitc of what his u'orid rnay say: but such
Verl' feu'Chinamen arc intredlrced to thejr wives until atier ntafiage.
ine\e \r'omiln irr Arncrir.r lnc: -lenerrrlll in the ufr'tirrrs ap tr)cnl\ (,f
's dwellin-c. He looks well alter hcr comfbrt and provides all her little
ish. Her apr ments rre tlrnished in Anrerican style: but many Chinese
decolate the tablcs irDd !\'alls. and on the sides ol the roonr are hung long
ls coreled u ith papcr ol silk on u,hich are painted Chinese good luck
In ir cur'laincd alcove of an inncr roonr can be discerned ln incensc vaselablel. a kncclirrg stool. rl pair of candlesticks-my Iady- from-Ch ina's
. She rvill sho\\'\,ou all her prctt,v olramentr. hel jcrvelry and fine
nevel invile;'ou near her plivatc chapel. There she burns incense to her
and prays thiit o son mry be born to her. that her husbancl may be
that she rnav lile to tlie in China-the countrv which heaven krves.
ldom goes oul. and does not receive r isikr|s until she has been a rvife lirr
yeitrs. Even then. il she has no child. she is supposed to hide herself.
ild has been born to her. her wall of rescrve is lowered a little. and it is
cousins and friencls of her husband to drop in occlsionallv and have '-the t'rmily. '
visit one nnother: tnd rvhen thev arc met together.
a clatteling ol-tongues one would almost think thcy were Anrerican
wonten Thev laugh at the rnost commonDlace fcmark and scleam at the smallest
exanrine one anothe['s dresses and hair. talk about theil husbands. their
tlille:
brbies.
ir fbod: squabble ovef little nlatters and make up again; they dine on
bo\! ls
rice. nrinced chicken. bamboo shoots and a dessert of candiecl truits.
merrymaking over. thel' bid good-b1 by clasping their own hands. shakin,r
thern
and dorvn and in(erlacing their fingels-instead of shaking hands with
ancl then the wonren
there is
oDe an
tf
holdi
ctuse
does
thorl
is necessar'1'to prss a room occupied by n1en. lhey do so very dernurely.
open fans beti)re that sicle of the face-not becluse they are so shy. but beis the cusk)m ol their country.
ough she does not read nor go out to see the sights. the Chinese wonlan
allow time to hang heu'1,on her hrnds in America. There are nany little
in her nrind. and she gives exprcssion to them in beautiful thncy-work.
todi
tltions of insccts. flowers and birds ost clextelouslv wrought flonr siik
This is not useless. llonr her poi|rt 01 \'iew. fbr it crn be used as presents
relations. 1-or the ornln'rentation of caps firr her husband and littlc sul.
auo al
on hel own applrcl.
and
nrak
Ioves f'lou,ers. natLrrll or artificial: and if not supplied with the firrner.
herself !:reat quantities of lhe Illtter and weius them on huil lnd breast.
bcstows considerilble pains on thc plaiting ol her hair; and alier it is donc
at the back ol her held. she aclorns it with flowers and larse fantastic Dins.
OtitDLLtli\n dttd l\1.)tlnt Cttliut:.
lt)tU lt))t)\
l9l
er tresses are sfrining. black lmd abLrrLlanl. and if dressed lrecorlin-lly woLrld he
tractive: bul th{ nranner in u'hich she plaster\ them back tllnr hel tb|eherd would
oil thc prettiesf face.
While thcre]are some trlrll- pleasant to behold. with their little soli laces. oval
es. small rouid rnouths alld raven haif. the ordin!lr), C'hinesc woman does not
'ike ln observ{r as krvclv. Shc is. howcver. alwlys oclcl nd interestinc.
Necdless to
shc is vain- Vanit) is al|tost ils much paft ol'it womlln s natufe ils
f'ay
a mln s: but tfie Chinese wonran's vlr]it)/ is not thlt ol-tn Ameficarr wonran.'fhe
dinary Amcririan dresses tor the cye\ ol lrel iiends and cnerries-purticularly
e latter-and ldeliYe s srnrll plcasure tlont her pfeltiest thints unlcss they are
en by others. lA Chinese wonran puints ilnd powders. dresses and bcjcwels her-
lf tbl hel own]pleasurc: puts rings on her tln-cels and bracelcts on her arms-ancl
relllly hidcs herself fiom the gaze ol strrngels. Il'she has Golclen Lily Ieet
Chinese srnall lftet) she is proudly conscious ol it: but should shc bccorne a$afc
hat a slran-cef ili tryi|g to obtain a glimpse ol then]. they quickly clisappea| under
Fer
skirt.
]
She is dee$ly interestcd in all rratte|s ol dress: and. il an Antericitn *orrritrr
.t, ..
crLlls on her'. uill pr'lirely erulrinc the visitor's clothing. with nrany an cxpression
ol-adnriration. She will even acknowlcdgc the Arrelican dfess prettier than hcl
owr. but you cdLlld not pclsuacle her lo adopt il. SIrc is iDterested in aJl you nray tell
hcr about Amcr]ica iu]d Arnelicln\: she has a certain adnrilation tbl the wlys ol the
filleigler: birt {tothing citn chunge her revcrence ior the rnanncrr and custon)s of
ner own counlf!.
''Why do I'Jou do that in such a $ ay l ' she is askcd. lnd her answer is. "Oh. bccuuse that is C+inese way.'
''Do it like this." she is tolcl. She shakes her head srnilingly: "No. thrt not Chi-
I
Dese
wav."
]
As a motller. she resenrbles any orher young nother-.1 trifle nrorc chilclish.
perhaps. than {oung American matt.t)ns. but.iust as devoted. When thc baby seerns
well. she is all sniles and Chinese baby-tulk: when he is ill. ol she lancies so. she
rveeps copioufly and cannot be cornfi)rtcd. She dressctl hinr in Chincse dress.
shaves his heail and strings amulets on his neck. wrists and tnkles.
She is vell slrpcrstitious with lcgard to her chilcl. ancl should yor.r happen to
know the date and hour of his birth. she begs with tears thirt you will not tell. tilr
sl'rould some
knorv. he or shc rnay cast r horoscope rvhich u oulcl makc the
lnemy
child s lite un{brtunate.
Do not inlagine for an instant thrt she is dLrll ol- conrprehension ancl unable to
distinguish liipndly visitors trrrm those who nterely call to amuse themselve\ al her
expense. I harie seen a little Chinese wonran delibcrately turn her back on persons
so i-tnorant il! to whispe[ rbout her ancl exchrnge knowing snriles in her presence.
lojul. however. to tlrose she believes to he her rerl friends. and is al*'ays
seeking to pldase them bv some little k)ken ol-allection.
More codstant than sentinrental is the Chinese uoman. She hrs a trLre affection
tbr hel hr.rsbirirdl no othcr nlln shafes rny ol'her personirl thoughts. She kNes him
becluse she {as bcen given to hinr to bc his u,ifc. No cluestion of"uonran s ights"
perplexes he|. She takes no responsibility upon herself and uishcs none. She has
oeltect conflience in her nran.
She is very
192
Prol)1.n6 it1Asian
Aneti
fi History
in the hope of returning some day to China. She feels none of the bitshe would not be a
to
die
among
strangers.
daughter
the Flowery Land were she content
the Chinese women in America are brides. Some were born here: others
Not
secondary wives, the first consorts of their husbands being left in China,
ate
and there are a few elderly women who were married long before leaving home.
The
. however. are bridesl or as the Chinese call young manied females,
"New W
She
terness
exile-she was glad to come to this country-but
Sociology Graduate Student Rose Hum Lee Lists
American Beliefs About the Chinese, 1927
The
delicacies of the Chinese are rats and snakes.
The
say yes fbr no and vice vetsa. . .
They
Chop
they
,
soup with chopsticks.
and chow mein are their national dishes and that besides these dishes
nothing but rica.
men wear skirts and women pants.
never gets drunk.
is properly a Chinaman and that the word "Chinee" is singular for
The
are a nation of laundrymen yet have a highly developed civiliza-
tion.
All
are cunning and crafty-
All
are honest and absolutely trustwo(hy.
The
The
AII
The
never lose their tempers.
nited States is the friend and protector of China.
nese look alike.
have no nerves and can sleep anywhere. . .
.
have no souls because they are not Christians.
never say what they mean and abhor straight lines.
The
The
inese invented pretty nearly everything that was ever invented.
all hate water and never bathe.
are a mysterious and inscrutable race and that they do everything backwards.
_Social
Attiludes Toward Chinese in the Uniled States. Expressed in Periodical
Hum Lee.
from 1919 to 1941:' in Suardle.\ o Orr MinJ\: Ant.ticdn 1 "18.: of ChiM and lndiI by
pp. I l7 I 18. Copyright O 1958. 1980 by Harold Isaacs Reprinted by permission.
Orienlalism an.1 Papular Culture, 19a1-1930s
7.
t9)
GM Studios Strategizes Advertisement
fot The Painted Veil, 1934
(Advertising and Displays)
background of "The Painted Veil," there is an excellent oppor-
to the
ity to tie
with stores featuring Chinese merchandise. And there is a preof
influence merchandise on the market. A cooperative page
to the f
items should be discussed with the advertisine manaser of
We are not unmindful of the difficulties encountered in "putting
cooperative page but we sincerely believe that a "Chinese Page"
oarticularlv so should vou find it convenient to exhibit the Chisomewhere in your theatre . . . perhaps a Chinese Bazaar display
be used as an advance plug for "The Painted Veil." Consider
me
possl
Chinese
Chinese
Chinese
Chinese
Jewelry
S
Chinese
Chinese
Chinese
and Laces
Tables
and Lanterns
and incense novelties
Chinese
Chinese
collar" tashions (as worn by GARBO)
China-ware
Chinese
Proposal Contest
Chin€se
The flowery
was perhaps
manner
novelties
of
"Marriage
English.''
that
''Thc Painred
rn, pp.2l
?.1.
and the customary parable parlance of the educated Chinese
exemplified in "The Son Daughter." In "The Painted Veil" this
is employed intermittently. This might be the basis for a Chinese
" contest, whereby the "proposals" are presented in "Chinesesame to 25 words. A sample "proposal" could be submitted so
might better understand the requirements,
tiom Howurd Dietz, A.lr,enirinB Appnach, Ba\ Ofrte Anal\'tis: Etploitatiut, S\nop28. Copyrighr O Warner Bros. Used $,ith permrssron.
194
Problctns
in Asian Auletinn History
Tieup
Tea and
may be made with a tea merchant fbr a theatre display of attractive
casks with the original Orient shipping stamps, this, in conjunction with
of tea and tea wafers on your mezzanine floor For such a display and
to exhibit their wares, the tea and wafer dealers should take a cooDera-
matted
the
tive
ad announcing this feature.
Tea Cup
also suggests a Chinese-costumed tea cup reader . . . one who tbreby "reading" the tea leaves. This may be used as a mezzanine or
in advance of your opening.
The tea
tells the
foyer
Ballyhoo
Where street ballyhoo is desired we would suggest the characteristic jinrikisha.
Where
available one may be built . . . a wicker chair, mounted on light weight
wheels, th a bamboo shaft for the coolie-costumed attendant. In the 'riksha may
"Chinese" girl in costume, carrying a Chinese parasol, the top of
be an
which
read. "GARBO in 'The Painted Veil' . . . Loew's State."
Fireworks Demonstration
opening night, a Chinese fireworks demonstration would make an excellent
attraction, granting you have the permission of local authorities. Do not use
explosive . . . anything that will create a loud report. Your demonstration
by Chinese-costumed gids. . . using sparklers, red fire, etc.
Paper Novelty
There
white
ln
red
peculiar type of red paper used by the Chinese. It is colored on one side and
*G
the other As a novelty feature have a Chinaman write the name
A R B O"
characters. This may be made into a cut and imprinted in black on the
as per:
a
Ot;e nltsm and Pcpula' Ctrlture. 1904-193A5
loerc
I95
rs
Stste
'tAs k a
Chi n aman
"
Steamship
leaturing sailings to the Orient should be contacted for co-
operanon,
"shots" which were actually made in China appear in "The
Painted Veil."
agencies, affiliated with Oriental steamship lines, may also
DC
Keye Luke
Keye Luke, a
Veil," is an
Los Angeles
corded a
high-class art
A photo of
The GARBO
Loew's State
art which
Chinese who oonravs the role of a ohvsician in "The Painted
of note. His pen rnd ink sketches have appeared repeatedly in the
. He has drawn a beautiful "head" of GARBO. which was aclayout in the L.A. Times. In metropolitan cities where unusual
used, your dramatic aditor will welcome the Keye Luke sketches.
at his easel, together with the GARBO sketch, are both available.
may also be used for "Coloring Contest" pulposes. Incidentally,
Los Angeles, recently featured a mezzanine exhibit of Luke
unusual attention.
Chinese
Due to the
government
Courtesy Wafner
that "The Painted Veil" was made with the cooperation ofthe Chinese
because of the presence in its cast of the artist Keye Luke, and the
Reprinted with permi\sion.
196
Chinese Cfrbo. Soo Yong, be sure to contact your Chinese newspapers, should you
be locatedlin a metropolitan city.
1
Buddhas
i
As an adr,lance theatre display. feature incense-burning Buddhas rhroughout your
house, wi{h a "head" of GARBO and poster copy. reading, "An Event . . . GARBO
in Thc P;linted Verl'start,. Suntla).''
Chinese
Display
l,obby
"The Pairitetl Veil" and its Chinese angles plesent possibilities for a colorful lobby
display.
Jou may give thought to Chinese lantcrns. pagoda-topped box ofhces,
bamboo,
idols. dragon characters and coolie hat designs. Also, a Chinese
Fhinese
gong ma| be sounded at intervals.
8. Harold
R. Isaacs Addresses the
Historical Significance of Pearl Buck's
Portrayal of the Chinese, 1958
Of all
Sinophiles who have tried to depict and interpret the Chinese fbr Amenhas done so with more effect than Pearl Buck. No single book about
had a greater imDact than her famous novel. Tlte Gootl Eert h. lt can almost
China
for a whole genelation of Anericans she "crealed" the Chinese, in the
be said
same
that Dickens "created" tbr so many of us the people who lived in the
Victorian England. The extent of her influence is illustrated in our own
s lums
panel
the fact that 69 individuals spontaneously mentioned Pearl Buck as a maior
source
their own impressions of the Chinese and these were almost uniformly
of a wonderfully attractive people.
Buck happened "quite accidentally" to be born in the United States while
mother was homc recuDeratins tiom an illness. She was caried back
to
when she was three months old and lived there most of her next fortv vears.
in a missionary conrpound she has written these illuminating lines:
Of her
cans.
m), children" rvere the small lblk of the servants quarters and the
bors and we had *onderful hours of play. . . . I remenber going to bed at night
with satisfaction because the da)'had been so packed \rith pleasurable play. . . .
a few dolls. but
nel
She
both
abandoned the missionary claims and creed. seeking her satisfaction in
and public life in a more encompassing emotional attachment. ln her
uirh Chinere. in prnicularand in general, and indeed, with the whole
world
for the
ull the pe,rple in it. Peurl Buck has tried to bc warmly. competently. and
pu undemundingl). mrternal. There is more thrn this. to be \ure. in the
From
R. l.aJ...S,/i/r(r,.,aruut.Unt,!
righr O 958. lo\(l hr HrrulJ hll.,. Repr;nrcJ
:.1,,,rtt, l'lntn\L',4Chnnri,l It in.I55-158.Cop)h\ I)e||llrsr,'n.
Ori
w
tdli\m atld Papultlt
0. ttot. 1904 lgjAs
197
it is the thread that links her to the whole pattern of
relationships.
Her si
most successful book, I/re Good Eorth, a novel about a Chinese
peasant and
wife and their struggle against adversity, against the cr.ueltics of
men and the
of nature. rpperred in lgJL lt had rn inslunr and immenre
popular
According to its publishers, the John Day Company, its many editions and
tings ran up to an eventual total of more than 2,000.000 copies. In
1937, ir
as a remarkably powertil and successful film that was seen over
the ensuing
according to its makers, by sone 23.000,000 Americans and by
an estimated
000.000 other people Jll over the $ orld.
Book and film together, The Good Earth almost singlehandedly replaced the
fantasy i
of China and the Chinese held by most Americans with a somewhat
more realistic cture of what China was like and a new, more intimate, and more
appealing
of the Chinese themselves. Indeed, Tlrc Cood Earth acconrplished
providing faces for the faceless mass.
the great feat
panslists-a journalist who later in his lift spent several years in
Onc of
the Buck influence this way:
books she
tten, but
American-Ch
My f-lrsl
with 400
with
mede peop
This seemed
read or to
ings for w
in the uni
asplratlon.
to Asia came through Pearl Buck. China was a place on thc map to me.
people who wore inverted dishpans lor hats. rode rickshas and ate dce
This much I got in high school. Then I read llte Gt>od Earth. Peatl Buck
ont ofthe Chinese for me. . . .
have been an experience shared by nany. In the hours that it took to
it transformed the blurred subhurnans into particular human be
a great and moving sympathy was evoked by a momentary shaling
experiences of mating. parenthood. suffering, devotion, weakness,
Chinese girl in the story. O-lan, bride, mother. and grandmother,
g. dogged. \lrong. ueak. rnd \omelimes .innine. are certainly the
and the mrn,
first such indi iduals in all literature about China u'ith whom literallv millions of
Amencans
This achi
Buck did not,
Chinese in
People, which
goncentrate on
wnte about
of his struggle
envy and
lif-e because
Buck was
universally
doing for most
the book was a
The times
cidentally
complished by
principal victi
iible to identily warmly.
was something new in American writing about China. Pearl
one thing, write about Chinese jn reliition to foreigners, but about
on to one another. Nor. like Lin Yutans in My County and Mt
joyed its own much smaller vogue in this same period, did she
charn of Chinese ways and wisdom. Pearl Buck chose instead to
iowliest of all Chinese, the peasant, and to deal with the harshness
or existence. Some Chinese critics comolained ol this. ofien out of
suggesting that the book was no adequate picture of Chinese
they nor their prototypes appeared in its pages. But what Pearl
after was to humanize the Chinese peasant and to cast him in the
role ol the man rooted in the soil. and this she succeeded in
of her large audience. For some of her missionary readers, indeed,
t too earthy, but this had no adverse effect on its popularity.
ready with a welcome for The Good Eqrtlt. It appeared coinJaDan's attacks on China. ln a wav that never could have been acor propaganda, it humanized the peopie who became Japan's
. The film based on the book appeared when Japan s piecemeal
198
Pnbl0,6 in A\tun
At110- aD
Hktor|
broadened into a tull-scale war and American sympathy for the Chia poverlul national emotion. Allhough it did not deal with the
il Sa\e the qurlitl ol indirrduul recognition tu the liFure of the heroic
t or peasant-soldier who ot'fered battle to the Japanese against such
in the years just before Pearl Harbor. This film, indeed. set the molds tbr
of imitative sequels that fbllowed during the war years. dramatizing
lf and China's stand. One of tlrese was a tilminc of one of Miss Buck's
books. Drz.gon JeerL In all of then. however. Dorothy Jones observes.
of the Chinese Deasant in general follows that dramatized in Lhe
ii hardworkins. \trong. prrre\efine. lnd able io uith\trnd lhe
adversities. kind toward children. resDectful toward elders. nll in all an
Iand] warmly lovable character."
impressions left on the minds of our panelists. re-evoked after the pasly twenty years. suggest that they retained liom Pearl Buck not the
of any individual Chinese. but a broad notion ol what Chinese in general
. By creating the filst Chinese individuals capable of irnplessing themAmerican minds. Pearl Buck in etTect created a new stereotype- Nobody
the evil and wickedness and cruelty also portrlyed in her book; what
letained was an ina-ee of the Noble Chinese Peasant, solid. wonderful.
admirable.
no accident that the reader of Pearl Buck's novels about China acquifes an
of the Chinese in general which is sharper and more memorable than an,
charactel she has creitted. For Pearl Buck herself. when asked directly,
generalizes. and it is interesting to note that. so often charged herself with
ity. the Chinese vinue she values above all else is unsentimentality:
attacks
nese nao
war ltse
Chinese
great
a long
the war
own
I
''the
Gootl
mosl
adm
The
sage ol
were
selves
remem
they
indiv
a
The
ot
the
I think of thc Chinese. I fhink of a kind ol Derson I likc. He is not Doetic. but el,
rerlistic. prlclical rather rhan artistic. Thc Chinese artist is ne!er an artisl tbr
sake.
Art is always u nleans or a philosophy \\ ith the Chinese. Chin{ could not prols
a Matisse or a Gaugin. certainly not il Picasso. Thcre are no Chinese cubists. The
is a loyal Iather and friend. BLrt this has its IiInits. He is not funtastically byal.
loyalty $ill come to an cnd if occasion denlands it. He is conmon-sensible about
rything. .. . The Chinese cirn be terribly cruel. He never loves an animal. He will
'er die of lorc. He is not egocentric. He is renrote irom the maudlin in everything. He
mrn of priDciple. but not to the point of t-olll. lbr his goal is larger than llny oDe
nciDle or nnv one situation. I see lhese as t_ealures ol the basic chrracter of the Chi
the basis of irll the chlracters I have created. the varietv occurins as I discover
ons and combinations of so m:rny dift'erent kinds. There is some mixture of some
all of these qualities in every Chinese I have ever kno$n. Arnericans seem to lne to
rnorc in indivjdual personaliiies than Chinese do. I fcel 0 greater unifbrmity
them. Their corners are nruch nore smoothed off than ours have been. I don t
' if uncler a Co munist-controlled societ)' the Chinesc is beconling a diff'erent
of man. I find it difficult 10 think so. I continue to think of the Chinese $ho sees
g rscin\r the hcckground of elernit). . .
are that even now. for those who read and are influenced by the books
Buck. it is the image of the Chinese peasant that she created that rises to
of their nrinds whenever thev fiink of the Chinese people marshaled
the demanding leadershiD of the Communist zealots.
ari,:ntdlisnt ttnd PtpLtldr
t{ ESSA
atlt k, t9aq t9l0!
199
Y
IJl the firs t
. historian Robcrt R)i dell. professor at Monrana State University.
ipino exhibit al the St. Louis World's Fair. at€uin-s that its b.cakdown
into differenl
ogical "types.' including Visayans. Mor.os, Negritos. and Igorots,
eftbodied thc
ican colonial policy of giving privileges ro rhose Filipino groups
wnom tney
to be the most civilized and civilizable. The second essay moves
the analvsis of
ientalism fiom World's Fairs to the Hollywood screen. Hcre historian
Karcn Janis
g. Assistant Profcssor tt Arizona State Universitv. cxanlines the complex racial i
of silent film star Anna May Wong. The argument rcveals Orientalisrl
describes the
to be
l
u
seful
that can both benefit and iimir Asian Americans.
Filipino Village at the 1904 World's Fair
ROBERT RYDELL
The Louisi
Deparhnent
(ompfehe n\i
exhibiting
nearly as poss
enthusiastic
ing Frederic
World's Colu
tbr their plans
had becone
Bureau of
resign. His
exposition
as
profession. but
Purchase Exposition featured the most extensive Anthropology
any world's fair The directors expressed their intent to establish "a
anthropological exhibition, constituting a Congress of Races, and
y the barbarous and semi-barbarous peoples of the world. as
in their ordinary and native environments_" These plans received
from leading anthropologists around the courtfy, includPutnam. former head of the Department ofAnthropology at the
bian Exposition, who tendered the directors his "hear.ty approval"
To head the department. the directors turned to W J McGee, who
of the nation's preeminent anthropologists during his tenure at the
Ethnology betbre charges of financial inegulariry tbrced him to
was blemished. but by no means denrolished. He regarded the
opportunity not only to maintain his stature in the anthropology
fashion the national identity out of his own well-developed theory
of racial
organized the substance of his theory about progress into two
Progress," delivered at the Washingtol
Academy of
and "National Glowth and National Character," one in a series
of lectures on
onarl expansion sponsored by the National Geographic Society.
In "The Trend f Hulan Progress," McGee developed a broad oyerview ofhuman
hrstory.
the existence of a "trend of vital development fuonl low toward
the high, from
toward brightness. from idleness gloveling toward intellectual
" The driving fbrces behind this upwad movement, he explained,
"-the gradual increase in the cranial capacity of different
were '
"
Iaces-ancl
on" the regular increase of manual dexterity along racial
Iines. The
, he believed. was self-evident: "It is a matter of common observation that the
man can a/o more and belter than the vellow. the vellow man
McGee
: "The Trend of Human
1899
From Rubcrt
R
t876 19t6.C
All the Wo d s a Fait: Visians of Enpire dt Atn?ie,t Intenatnnut E.\posititrl/s,
O l9li.l Univer,,ity ofChicrgo Press. Used \rirh pefnission.
200
morc nd b+tter than
the red or black." As a consequence of cheirizrtion and cephalization. lhe "advance of culture" proceeded along lines of racial achielentent:
Classedf in terms of blood. thc peoplcs ol the world nuy be groupecl in several nces:
classed]in ternrs o1 \'hat the) do rather thrn whul lhe] nrerely urc. ihcy lre convenien(ly
groupe4i in (he tbur cultlrrc gfadcs of saragerl,. bitrbiLrisnr. civilizalion- rnd cnlichlenment-
This cilivision of humanity into racially based cultural gradcs did not signif,v a
static uniltrse firr McGee. Far t'ronr it. He saw the turn ol'lhe century s il time
when 'perfected mln is olel-spreoding thc world." By "perltcted man" he simply
nleant "thd two higher culture-grades-especially the Caucasian race. and (during
recent declrdes) the budded enlightennrent of Britain and lull-blown enlighlenment
o1-Amelicir." Caucasians. he argued. $erc usherin-r in a new era in world history
when "huJnan culture is becoming unitred. not only through dillirsion but through
the extinction 01'the lo\\"er grades as their representatives rise into higher grades."
The net etlect of this process $as 'that the races ol'thc continents ale gladually
uniting in]lightel blend. and the burden of hunranity is already in large measure the
White M{n's burden-for. r'ierving the human world as it is. white and strong are
synonym0usterms....
Whef McGee arrived in Srint Louis in August 1901. he made it clerr that he
would fa$hion the exhibits in his charge into an exemplur]] of his theory of racial
plogrcss. ]"The ain of the Department of Anthropology at the World's Fair." McGee
stated. '{ill be to represcnt hurran ptogress from the clalk prime to the highcst en.''The
lightenmfnt. lion savagery to cir,ic organization, ti-om cgoism to altluism.
rlethod."]he added. "will be to usc living peoples in their accustonred rvocations as
our greatlobject lesson." u,ith prrticular emphasis on "lndian school work. Americit's
beit cflblt luele\rle Ihc lo\\er rircc\. ...
By $penin-u day. . . . McGee had converted the western portion of the exposition -gro$nds into a field research stltion lbl the study ol nonwhite "typcs.'Groups
of pygrr.lies lrom Africa. "Patagonian giants" trlm Argentina. Ainu aboti,gines
liorn Jafan. and Kwakiutl Inclians from Vrncouvet Island. as well as groups ol'
Native dmcricans gathered around proninent lndian chiefs inclucling Geronimo.
Chiel'J$seph. and Quanah Parker. q,ere formecl into living ethnological exhibits.
They rple suppiemented by an adjoining United States governmcnl exhibit of
nearly rfne thousancl Filipinos and by separate ethnological concessions along the
Pike. McGce assembled the nonwbites directly under his charge in&) a ''logical
anangelnrena of living "types'' stretched out bet$'een tlle Indian School Building
tnd thelPhilippines display.
..
.
Thb Philippine Reservation. according to Willianr P Wilson, chairm;rn of the
'an ('xprrsition
United jstates governnlent s Philippine Exposition Boiud. constituted
within ]an exposition: the -gre{test exhibiti(}n of the most marlelous Exptrsition in
the hisiory of rhe world.'With nearly twelve hundred Filipinos living in villa-tes on
the tbrly-seven-acre site set aside tirr the dispiay. the exhibit clirnaxed the efforts
of earlfer expositiorl promoters to establish. under [ederal government auspices, a
)arge-:]cale exhibit of the peoplc and resources of the Philippine Islands. But the
size of the exhibit at Saint Louis ti!'exceeded the wildest dreanls of the dircctors
of pre{ious fairs. lt rvas also unique in havin-s the lull support of the lecleral governmeht at the outset.
Ari.,lnli\jn ,utJ Ptl)ltlnr (ltlutrt.
t901-19J]s
20l
The director]s hopes fbr government participation in the planned Philippine
of the i$lands. According to the World's Fair Bulletirr, Tuli believed that the
itjwould havc a 'nroral etlect" on the peoplc of the isitnds and rhar
ipino partici$ation would be a very great influence in completing pacification
in bringing filipinos to inprove their cordition." Presidcnt Thcodore Roosevelt
Secretary of fVar Eliiru Root suppoflcd Taii's positioD and encouragcd his et'lorts
ve an exhibit as possible of the products arrd resources.
organrze "as
actures, art. ethnology. educlrtion. government of the Philippines Islands. and
habits and
of the Filipino people."
Responsibility fol the success of the undeltaking centcred on William Powell
Taft's
ee to direct the Philippine Exposition Board. At the time of
had a national and intemational reputrtion as the ibuncler and
selection,
of the
lnhia Commercial Museum-an institution that wedded science
the interests ot'American business expansion overseas. . . .
One of Wilslon's f)rst steps as head of the Philippine Exposition Board was to
nme nd that his associate at the Commerci{l MuseLrm, Gust.ryo Niederlein. be
inted directdr of exhibits for the board. Likc Wilson. Niederlein was a naturalist
scientist deloted to the advance of Westem ilrperialisnr. . . .
In late 190? Niederlein and Wilson put their scientilic and business talents to
in the Phifippines. With the cooperation of several prominent Filipinos and
'ous Unitep States colonial oflicials-including Clarence R. Edwa|ds. chief
f the Bureau o{ Insular At'tairs, Albert E. Jenks. tbrmer ethnologist at the Bureau
f American Etljnology and head of the War Departn'renr's Ethnological Survey of
Philippine I$lands, Daniel Folkrnar. anthropologist and lieutenant-governor rn
'ge of the Philippine civil service, and Pedro A. Paterno. president ol the Philiporoceeded to arranse material fbr the colonial exhibit at the
tslana
ase Expo.ilion. Simulllne.,u.l5. in ucc.,r'Jrrn,c $ith lhc congre.act
cstablishment of the Exoosition Boaril. Wilson and Niederlein
s tbr a pelmanent conrmercill museum in Manila ancl fol a preexpos
that would show Filipinos the exhibits that $ould be sent to
Lou is.
museum, intended primarily to provicle Anrerican business interests
d ta about the econorric possibilities of the islands. opened in
closed in Mav when it became aDDarent that the exhibits wonld
bruary 1903
needed to
the display tbr Saint Louis. The preliminary exposition never
the same reason. Yet the motives behind the Manila exposition and
seum I
the Dlans tbr the exhibit at Saint Louis and revealed the ove.all
to institutionalize American colonial rule. to brinc to the
of the g
impelling pouel ol nrodern cirilizutiorr. rs Niederlein termed il.
to show thd Filipinos how America would aid the devclopment of the islands
I der elopecl
fnd
increr'ing industries."
To emphasize to Filipinos the lon-c road they would have to travel befbre
hieving the c{pacity for self-rule. the shorFlived museun included a division of
rnology illust|ating "tdbal and racial exhibits in every detail" and "showin-g the
: of culture fnd growth of civilization" on the islands. This ethnological f'eature
only reapp{ared in the exhibit at Saint Louis. but dominated the Philippine
202
/../ l),1lt, r/\
Reservati
the Ncrr'
pur-lloscs
Edmund
cilDle cl
ir
..1sr,r,r
.lrrl.rinr,, Hlt,j,l
to such an cxtenl that McCee. lLs eIIlv as November 1903. intbrmed
r/i /irlc\ th;rt thc disphl, fion the isllncls would be 'to all intcnts and
lo-uicrl in character." When the experiencecl midrvay olganizer
Felder. ioinecl the board irs an cxcculire ofllcer in March 190.1. it bethat the Exposition Boartl would drlu. upon the decade-iong tradition
as well as upon lcceived scientific wisclonr sn
shing whal anlounted to a l'ederally sanctioncd ethnologictl villase
of the reservation.
the prinrary direction ol gorernmcnt appointed scientists. the reservathe r alue ol' the islancls to Amelica s comrnercial growth and created
ly r,aliclirted inrpression ol Filipinos as lacially inteliol and incapable
selt-detcrrn ination in the r'rcaf lirtufe. No exhibit at anv exoclsition better
: impcrill asnirations ot jts sponsols. As David R. Francis observed at
dedication of the nrillion-dollar exhibil in mid-June. the displav fi'orr
incs alone justified lhe r'xpense and Iabor that wenl i|to tlte enti[e flir.
to finish he believecl it wrs the 'orcrshitdonins tcatufe" of the exoosii\ nr)t(jd. nr(rrco\cr. lhrl Iircl)-riDc rrut ol u hun(lfed lrirsoerr \i\rlcd
ol mid$a clhnological concessions
rQute to
on the si
U
tion irlli
a scl
of nati
fulfllled
the
ot'1i
the'Phili
Fron
r
tion. F
the
The
ading imperial rnessage ol thc rcscrvation rvas inescapable and apparcnl Tro[1
l1ronrent visilors set lbot on the forestcd acreage set side ti)f the disDlay.
-covcrcd Bridge oi Spain. the ntain entlance to thc reseryittion. conveycd
Thc
vlsll0rs
o irn imrncnse \\hr Departurent exhibit in the W lled City-a leplicu of
on uoLrnd MLlnilll-where lairgoers could relive the recent nilitary
the I
bv the Unired States.
lrl
the Wrlled City. the Philippine Exposition Board engineefed the circuplan of the leserlati()n into a serics of three cultural spheres depicting the
lar
cir ilizirj,r inllucnce Lrl'thc Spunish pasi. the current ethnological state ol the islands,
and thclbeneficent rcsuits that Filipinos and Arnericans llike could expect fiom dre
United
lakeovef. At thc center of the reservrtion the board establishcd a "tvoical" Mrinila plrza. sunounded b], ti)ur large Spanish-st),le buildin-gs. These strucsting of an upper-class resiclence. a govcroment building. an eclucatit>nrl
ancl a reproduction o1'the comncrcial museum in Manila. renrindcd visitors
of the panish legacy on thc isl nds rnd at lhe srnre time laid out the attributes of
ion-social and political order. cducation. and colnmerce-that the tederal
c ivil
consideled cssen(ial to thc iirtufe rvcll-being of the islands.
ti(!rn lllc (cr)lrll pllz:r uclc l.eries ol clhnrllogicill rillrrgcs. olien
adjacent to exhibit buiJdings depicting the weallh ol natural tesources on the
The villa-ees porhayecl a vtriety of Filipino "types. including Visayrns, "the
high
B
nroreintelligcntclassofnati\es."i\4oros.'flelce fbllowers of Mohammed."
'nronke_v- -like' Negritos. and 'picturesclnc" Igorols. In the thid
''savages."
sphele. at the tirrthcst outreach ol the reservation and concentrated behind
and Negrito villages. thc boirrd located encarnpnents of Philippire Scouts
- -collaborationist police fbrces enlisted by the Americnn military
and
in supplessing the ongoing insunection in the islands a-qrinst the United
. The tlnction of thesc units at the lair exteDded bevond oolicine the reseruatioD.
one oficial -suide k) the reservalion expllined. the Constabulary and Scouts
.'extremes
xtaposed to the lgolots ancl Negritos b bring out the
of the social
in the ishnds." NLrnrbering nearly ser en huntln-'d. or or er hlll the total number
cu
the
t)ri dli t n
of Filipinos
the "result
ol
reservauon.
cor'ttilined
pine tdbes."
declared that
only about
is alnost enti
The
ir
not\!l
Moros-the
reselVation.
the f()Inrer.
by any
Prt:lltu ()!huri. 1t)t)1
l93t)s
20j
the rcservation. these paranilitary lbrces were intcnded to illustrate
ican rule" and to suggest lhe possibility for cultural advrnce un-
der America' cL'loniul
This
Ll
udntini.tlltion ,rf thc i.lirnds.
ily \\:rs ll:o the srthject ('l ilrl clhnol,)gi.rl muieurn \iltllte(l on the
rected by AIbert Jenks. this institution. "rvith cloisters like a convent."
bits devorcd to "rn interpretation of the habits and life of the Philipks concentrated en the lgorots. Moros. Bagobos. and Negritos and
were "true salagcs. Jenks. horvever. stressed thilt they lepresent
-seventh of the entirc population of the Ar.-hipelago. and their cultule
ly of their own development."
ive nunrerical insignificance in the islnnds and at the fair
were 38 Bagobos. -ll Negritos. ll{ Igorots. and 100
-there
hibits of the "wild tribes" became the nrost popular displays on the
In rhe .tlr't of thc firir. the Igorol rnJ Ncgrito rilluger. c.peciall5
ght the fancy of fairgoers ancl ol the nation to a de-urce unsurpassed
at anv fair since the summcr of 1893 when Fatina had danced
chy on the Midway at the World s Columbian Exposition. The
the hootchy
perceived
icity of Igorot lit'e doubtless accounted tbr part ol their appeal and
madc some
rgoers long fbr a less conrplicatcd way of living than that repreuments to industrialization contained in the White Citv nalaces.
sented by the
e impctus to see the Igorot exhibit stelllmed less from preindusBut the i
trirl lungings
lrorn u po\\erlirl nrirture ot rr hite .uplcr[rci\l se\ui]l slcrcol\'pes
and voyeuri
thc lgorots nd Negritos into pr'onlinence more rapiclly than
Nothing
the
that eruptcd in June. shonly atier the opening oi the exhibit. o\'er
whal one
termed "their dusky birthday robes.' With a presidential carnpaign
under way ancl with anti-inrperialists irr the Derrocr-ntic piuty oD the verge ol includ
ing a plank in lhe party's plattbrm stating that the Filipinos rvcre "inherently unf'tt to
be mcnbers of the Anrerican body politic." thc Roose\clt rdnrinistration bccame
concelned that local press reports emphasizing the abscnce ol clothing on these Filne tlre governnrent's eflinls rt the lirir to show the possibilities
ipinos would
lbl prrgress ori the islands. On f3 June Tafi *ircd Edwulds to ar,oid "anv possible
impression tha(the Philippine Corernmcnt is seeking kr nrake pronrinent thc savageness and
of the wild tfibes either lirr show pulposes or to deprcciate the
popular
of the general cililization of the islands." ln a fi)llow-up tclegram.
Tafi suggested 'that short tlunks rvould bc enough lirr the mcn. but thut lbr the
there ought to be shins or cherrises of son]e sort." Tiift also oldered:
Negrito
'Answer what you have done immediately. The President u ished to know." Edwards
lost no tine in Nabling his lesponse. telling Taft that the Negritos 'wee until fecently
dressed up like plantation niggerlsl. whom they diminutively represcDt. recenlly. . .
discardcd these clothes and put on their nrtive loin cloth." Further[the] men
the secrelilr)' of \\,ar. signs had been put up showing the lo$,
mofc.
number of ''wi cl tribes" relative 1() the overall population of the Philippines. The
adnlinistration however. remained unsatisfied. The tbllowing day Tati's private
secrelary
Edrvards: "President still think\ that u here thc Isorot has a mere G
string that it
be well to add a short trunk to cor,er the butbcks and fi'onl." Tati.
moleovef. I
Eclwiucls 10 obtain a written stltement lron the Board of
Lady
an adjunct to the -general dilectorship of the exposition. assuring
204
l.ri'f I',irltdrr{ ir ,4ll.i,, ,4rr!f[,],r
Hirr,,,1'
the xdmi istlirtion th t the lppeilrancr. ol'the l-eorots nnd Negritos was unobjecthc meantt nte Edu'lrcls ordeled Niederlein to have Tfuman K. Hunt.
tionable.
lirrmel li tenant-go\emor of thc Lapanto-Bontoc pro\iiice and tnanaser of the
Igorot vi age. put brcechclouts on tlre lgorots und "allou no child to go nlked."
's cfli)ns at overnight civili/ation ptovoked l)1uch nliflh. brought
Thc
an ou
llom anthropolog ists. and generated a grcat deal of publicity tbr the exSairrt LoLris Po.rt D i'pat(l1 carried a ca(oon showing Tati crrrying a
POSIt|On.
parr ot
ts. in hot pursujt of an I-solot clad onlv in a G-strin-s. The editol of the
sanle
dispatched a lettcr lo the "Deplftment of Exp)oit tion" at the
decllring: "Tu put pants on Ithe lsorots and Negritos] woulcl change a
very int
ng ethnok)gical exhibit which shocks no one inlo a sugscstive sideshorv."
irate Frederick Starr secondcd thcse thoughts in a nrenro toWilson:
''The
ntilic valuc of the display is unquestionably grert. Such value woLrld bc
cornpl
v lost bv dressing these people in a wa), unlike that to which they are ac'' Starr also added thtt clothing nright rctually kill the Igorot and Negrito
given the heal of the Saint Louis sunrmcr. By rlid-July the Boald of Lldy
villag
concunecl in the necd fbr maintuirring the apparent genuineness of the
M
exhibi and the Rooscvelt adnrinistration abandrrner.J itr pllnr to cornpel the [gorots
itos to wear bright-colorcd silk trouscrs.
and N
ticatin-s lhesc villagers as "silliiges." however. lefi the administration
oliginul pr',rblenr. Il tirirgtrers percejved the villagers rs Lrtterly backwarcl
with
of progress. tlle displil)'s would rctually bLrttress the racist argunrents
and
used
rnti-inrperiuli\ts to oppose annexatiol'r of thc islands. But the Philipprnc
Board had alreacly circunrvcnted this dilemma bl driving an ethnological
Exposi
wedge
the lgorots and Negritos. The Negritos. according to various officilll
descri ions ol their village. wele 'extretnely lo$ in intellect." and "it is believed
will cventualll- beconre extinct. ' Trr rcintbrce this idea. one of the Negritos
that
:d Missing Link. The lgorots. on the other hand. wcre judged capable of
ing. Sci!'rti\t\. lrceolding to ln ,rtticial souvenir guicle. 'have declared that
proper training the) are susceptible of a high stage of developmelt. and. unwith
American Inclian. w ill ilccept rather than dety the atlvance of American civilike
." Igorot wonlen. one Amelican olticial hastcncd to point out. "are the most
-sorters" in the world. The possibilit) tor uplifi was highlighted when
experr
t visited the reservation and a nrissionan schoolteacher led her class of
Roose
lcorot in a chorus ol "Ml Counny Tis olThe e." The Glolte-Detnoorrt recorded the
's satistaction. "lt is $onderlul. Rooselelt declalecl. "Such advitncentent
and rn
short a limel ' ln concccling that the Igorots nright be capable ofcultural adv{nce however. the go\ernment did not suggest that thev uele capable of achier inr
with Cauclsians. Rather. lhe schools in operation on the reselvation sugthat the Dlrce oi the l!:or'ots and other nrembers of the 'wild tribes" in the
ernpile would closelv resemble the place mapped out fi)r Native Amencns
bllcLs in fie Llnitcd Strte\.
the exception ofthe Ne-uritos. $'ho $'e|e placed on the road to extiDction by
nt ethnologists. the Philippine Exposition Board crouded other "grades'
pinos into the wiLgon ol progress-to borrow McGee's mctaphor-without
tins them to ride horseback. As several nrentbers ol the Scouls and Constabany attempt to cross the tirrward limits of the racial hierarchy
Ori.ntdlistn nnd l'ott!l,1t Cul!1 e. 1901
l93r)s
205
in contirming
riders down the road to utopia $ould neet with serious conse
of the Scouts and Constabulary who ilccepted the invitation of
schoolteachers from Saint I-ouis to accornDanv them on tours
and of the city were taunted as "niggers." When taunts lailed to
several United States Marines, with the tctive cooperation of
s police force, known as the Jef'ferson Guards ancl cortposed
whites. took matters into their own hands. As couples walked
a contingent of Marines and guafds-the latter had been
"heavily loaded with lead" in lieu of revolvcrs threatened to
worrren and kicked their Filipino escorts to the ground. When the
to their camp, an even larger group of Marines arrived on the
ed to show the Filipinos that the lynch law was not limited to
They charged the Filipinos, shooting revolvers into the air and
on boys! Let's clean the Gu-Gus offthe earth!" Edwards deplored
"in view of the fact that there are none of the negro blood in the
lary." But the outburst of violence against the "highest grade"
on the reseryation underscored the success of the exhibit
the impression that Filipinos were savages at worst and "little
bLown men"
best.
lmposed on
quences.
young white
of the fairgrou
halt the pro
the expositio
largely of
around the
issued sli
arrest the whi
Sr
u
uts
sc9ne
southern b
shoutlng,
the racial cl
Scouts or
of Filipinos
On the
ion of PhJlippine Day at the fair. held to commemorate the sunender of Manila. a great step in the difftLsion of freedom over the globe," a local paper
summaflzed
overall meaning of the reseryation; "For the sake of the Filipinos and
for the credit o our own country we retained control of the Philippines, with the dctheir people into the nearest approach to actual independence
termlna on Io
which they
have with salety to themselves.'As the reservation made clear, that
"nearest
h to actual independence" enttriled instructing Filipinos in the
ethnological
tations operating to hamper their progress-limitations that in turn
mandated that
ipinos be willing workers and consuners in the burgeoning overseas market
established by American commercial interests. "The Filipinos
themselves
from their St. Louis experience that they werc not rcady fbr seJfgovernment,"
Portlartd Oreeonian reported on the eve of the l-ewis and Clark
n. which also would include an e.rhibit ol Filipinos. Americans.
Ccntcnnial
the
added, "who talked with lthe Filipinosl and studied the t besmen
vcs of anv inoression that the natives could take care of them
disabused
selves" The
conceded that "[t]here are intelligent Filipinos. But fhe
majonty are
vely helpless. They are children. . . . Burdened with a problem
would be hooelesslv Iost." Two homes missionaries who visited
of govemment,
the exhibit si larly commended the government ofllcials in charge for "a grand
aflair-wisely anned, well adjusted to enable Americans to see the several tribes
in their various stages of development and to note tl're crpabilities and possibilities
of the race."
re{er\ttion. the} conlinued. hJ\ \trenplhened our conlidence in
government's general policj, respecting the Philippines and their
the wisdom of
hopeful outlook fbr the Filipinos under American jurisdiction."
moreover, promised to do everything in their power to advertise
exhibit as
traveled around the countrv on the National Hone Mission lecture
It
fbr the ,{ell, lor* Rrsl to sum up: "There plobably was never such
colonial
gathered in the worid."
l\'oh]Jlils iti A\ittn
A rtinut lliltrtr
The Racialized Image of Anna May Wong
KARFN JANIS LEUNC
into the mirror. then looks intently at the nragazine on he| dressing room
thoroughbred American GIRL-a skin as white rs nlilk! You can have
pronrises. t'eaturing a f'ull-length tigule of the "Typical"
g woman on the rnargin. Her gaze drawn back to her own rcflection.
Anna
at her "brown" arnl and. directing hcf attention a-sain to the mirror. attenlpts lo
out her Oriental lines." Finallv shc relches lbr a bottle ol lotion.
's Miik-White Magic." She again gazes in the mirror. imitating the
"Mal
"Typicol
erican girl" pictures on the lotion's label.
An ni.r is not destined to transtbrn hersell. In this screenplay scena o of
Paramou 's Rr|tI Mrrfrs ( 1925). Annabelle WLr-refelred to ir't the scenario as
'Anna"
hemes to aid the cad she !oves in his olot to blacknrailthc heroine into
does this out of her desire to be white. She hopes that the trcacherous
narnage.
Le Sagc turn will desire her because of her "u hileness." But this is not b be. Alier
she has iailed hinr. hc is furiuus. "You yellow fool! Do you know
Le Sage
to me? [t means prison-tbr iitel" Anna hysterically indicates that
what this
flee together. His response. as written in the scenario. is to litcraliy
thcy
himself and out of the pictue. "Youl I hope I rnay never sce your
l1ing her
stupid.
-eyed lace again-you damned Chink l ' Thus Anna May Wong exited
earlier fl lms.
one of
The Ie of Annabe lle Wu appears to have been written with Anna May Wong in
of a handtul of Asian actresses in Hollywood. the sinriiarity of Wong's
mind.
Wu s was more than coincidental. [Journalist] Zelda Crosby's l9l9 syn
name
opsis ol Lord Chumlel'.' the initial title of the Paramount f-eature, mertioned no
'acter. no Annabelle Wu. By the time 'Lord Chunrley" was filrred as Forn'
Astan
Wirls si years Iater. however. Annabelle Wu had beconre the pivotal character. her
white as central a tension in the story as the romancc between the heroine
desire t
The scenario of Bennrn Millhauser's screenplay mrkes stunningly clear
and
'\ pelcepri()n ol a "typicrl" A.irn woman. In lhe scene uhere Annrbelle
the
ir note explains her characler:
Anna
table. "For
it !" the
Amer'lcan
To
in
end to characlerize Anna as il girl \Nho \\'ould gi\'c her last drop of blood to be
a"rvhitc gir'1. She loves lo think ol hersellas looking thoroughly Anlericnn.
lh is. \ c n)u.l ntale iefluttt tlt.rt lll her dre.- r rrc.'lirt'e.. clc.I rnLl hcr lreiLl-drc\\.
everythjng intimate and personrl about her be done jn Anlericon frshion. Her inve rcactions are {7^rllr'.r Oriental.
oriental" reactions. according to the screenplay. included wanting to be
"white and acting in a conniving and duplicitous nlatter. No lnatter how nruch she
Anna will always remain innately "oriental.'
effects ofracial prejudice were painiully obvious in the tilm roles ofAnna
and are likewise evident in a survey of her career. In her "private" life
May
These
ized lnagc ofAnnr Nl.r) \\'ong h] K.rren Jiris Leong frorrt Zr( Cli,r(/ Mr \liqtt!: t'ltt\li r
r. I'eu S. B & ntl A|"tu l a\' ll'org in th( Alnt t it'o,t ln :<inltiatt. Copyisht O 2001
Rcprinrcd br_ pcrnrissiorr of th!' nu(h('r itnd Uni\er\il] of C.tlilixnia Press.
0ti.ntiti\,lt1
,l
Prtrlnt Qthurt. IejJ-1gJt)\
2O7
Wong would publicly ancl persistently be cast as a wonlan
as her lllm
tu,o cultures. between traditi0n and nrodernitv. Wong s crreet
rng bet\\
by her racial hcrittge and oppetrance. and her celebrity
bte.lly was
on ner te vely unique status ils ao irctress of Chincse descent. Magazine
g fbcuscd on her culturuLI conflicts. which she lieely discussed.
u'ith
clpitalizecl on what set Wong visibly apaft f'rom other Hollyrepresenlau
profited in some q'lvs frorTr this stmte-sy: she clearly suflered
hoptlirls
w11ys.
in aspects ol'he| story resonate with the stories of numefous
except that hcrs was uniquely much nrore public. In order
Chinese
recolrnized i Anerican socicty. Wong had to perpetuate or at least participate
of the Chinese. For herself and the Chinese Americans
rnobility a|ld public visibility powerfully Iimited the
ity. socl
ll
ilities
()1'
of her cilreer. Wong's roles would undergo slight but signilicant
Over the
Americl
that
s. and Wong's own. changing
relationship with China.
Lrnd Chinese Atneticans in United Stales scriety
roles.
Although Won-e's carly roles tlom l9 | 9 as an exties and
were relatively ninot. her presencc onscreen
uctoI
as a character
of Chincse
lar
her
to the late
I
the audience in accepting the tjctive 'authenticity' of the imaglocale. Yet Wong herself was rtot firreign. but Anlerican.
often tbrei
Sam Sing Wong rnd his wile Lee Gon Toy Wong, both
Anna May's
'e-born
Calitbrnians ofChinese descent. They owned and operated
med 1o be
Street in Los Angeles. in which they also resided with their
lu. Anna May. James. Mary, Frank. Roger. and another daughter.
chl
ilt a yourg age. Anna May. the second eldest. was born in
presumably
. Be-cinning n l9l9. while still a high schu)ler. she began working lIS an extra
several silent lms. She was a t'eatured player ir the Technicolor-produced 7iri1
the Seu tn I
. but there fler continued to plal, minot or supporting roles in a
fi lrn s.
ol'
contract in Hollywood. Worlg set sail fbr Europe in 1927 after
Unable to
ion companv chose her to star in two films. Atler these films.
German
roles in three British productittns. Wong enjoyed great popong received
duling this tinre. and also sta[ed in a Viennese operetta and a
tn
. ln 1930. Wong retLtrned to the United States and signed a threestage p
conlracl with Paramount Studios. Betbre beginning any filnl projects.
London role in the Broadway version of the same play. A Ci'lle
g repnsed
cut short with news that hel mother had been killed in an auto
Chatk, This
returned immediately to Los Angeles to be with her tamily
arrd
in two nrediocre thrilleI pictures: these did little to enhance her
nl casl
tack ol opportunities. W0ng again set off li)r Europe where she
. Due t<r
theatre circuit. Abro{d. Wong starred in Iiglr'841, C/rlr
on the
JLrr,r He*l. Altcr lho\e filmr Prntmount .igned her to appelr in
in Chovv,
flcantly
ln
1934.
return to
ai
ag in Ieturned to America. That same year her tather decided
in China. taking the four youngest children with hinr. Soon after
y auditioned in 1935 fbr a lole in MGM's The Gootl Ettrth. she
"to return to China' to visit her family. At the end of 1936, ten
An1trfut
I
208
i\tniot l't oltILtlt5
months
slgned
er. Wong returned once morc to the United Statcs. where she agair was
a multi-picture contract with ParirmoLrnt PictLrres.
the late l9-lOs Wong's changing roles bcgan to retlect Americans' chang-
ing
dent.
career
it
t /1skltl
Ll istot
of China. Paramount Studios now cooperated rvith the Chinese consul in
tilms set in China. A series of three films ttaturing Wong as an indepenChinese Anrerican woman rcsulted, Bv 1939. however. wons's film
declined. Simultaneously. her activisrn on behalf of China increased.
1938, and continuing through the end of thlr war she devotcd her effots
ng and fundraising tbr China's war of resistance.
l94l to the end of the war. Anna May Wong stdmed in two films about
ed some stage plays. and made several United Service Organization
China,
(uso)
to retire remi-olficially from filml by 1943. In the
She
'eemed
Wong
appeared in a ftw films and hosted a short-lived
and early 1950s.
later I
mystery theater series on television. She wrs on the r,erge of yet snother career
when she was signed to a role in Rodger's and Hammerstein s musictl
transtll
Sorrc in l96l . Before the production about Chinese American assimgenerational
conflict in San Francisco commenced. however. Won-q at
ilation
in
her sleep at the home of her youngest brother.
the age f fifty-six died
yct not a part. . . ": Anna May Wong's
Cultural Conflict
ay Wong was tnore successful in crossing national bqders than she was in
through those ba|Tiers to her career posed by race and gender. Her publibreaki
'' litc, so necessary to Inaintaining a star personality. only contirmed
cized
expectations on the part ol producers (and possibly even audiences)
and
ers
Wong could convincingly portray. A selective personal history comof the
ol Anna May Wong as an actress occupying a unique niche.
marketing
ed the
Wong
s
romantic lite extended her "existence alrcady lajd out ln
focus on
g's l93l staffing tehicle. Duughrer oJ the Drugon. lbcused on the
tiLns."
Anna
romancc. The daughter of the evil Fu Manchu (portrayed by
s
actor Warner Oland). Wong's character firlls in love with a young Englishl'eelings are rcciprocated. and he professes his love tbr her in the 111m. The
man.
her charrcter's response in the film. 'But does that change the colol of
artlcle
my5
? . . . Does that make nry straight black hair turn to yellow curls and my black
blue?" The interviewer. Audrey Rivers. added. "lwong] might have been
eyes
talki of her own tragedy." Rivers noted the irony of Wong's "inabilily" to be kissed
on fl
because of her race. "even though she has become so Westernized that she is
a stranger to her own race. She thinks in terms of penthouses and speednow
not in tenrs of bamboo huts and ox-carts. She reveals in the tieedom of the
ing r
woman-in clothes. in habits. in speech." ln another interview that same
yeiu. ong recalled visiting with "some Chinese tiiends . . and their wives did
"Nothing
but gossip about their babies, their neighbors and their housework.
"l
like
tbr me.." declared Anna Mly. could not live such narrow lit'e." Wong's
reflection of maried honte life was cast as reiection of Chinese culture.
magazines rellected the nature of Hollywood's fascination with Anna Mily
By the 1920s. magazines marketed at movie fans constituted a particularly
of illicit
Oticntdlist)tnndPrfukr(:ult ra.
11t)t)-lt))0\
2O9
tbr peryetuating personalities. Interviews rnd aflicles "reed" pcrsonal
of the star's ostensibly "private" life. indivitlualizin-q his
identity. P(blicists provided stories intended to fulfill the audience mems perceiled
to focus on and identify with thc "star-." focusirg on u,hat
the individupl uniquc and what kepr her ordinary, The actor's "individual"
ghts rnd leelings only entered thc public sphere as they were channeled
glt the strl sl|,rcm rnd rubjecred to irs requircrnentr. So while these rnrguzines
cles conslitute]the majority of what is known about Wong. their contcnt also
rhitperl hr the necds (,l the intlusrry rrsell.
Asr
successful movie actress and the only Chinese American woman
thus. Wong'ii hybrid identity lbfnred the basis of her unique star personaliry.
May Wons
affirmed and challenged preconceived notions of Asian dil-
in her pu|lic stagings. Si-qnitlcantly. the few feature articles about Won-q
these
narratives. Wong s conflict of cultures and her attempt
reconcile her
and Chinese backgrounds were central to her picture
oped in movie n'ragazines. This polarization manitested itself
in discussions [ofl Wong-s romantic life. Although numerous
ervlewers
appeared
that Wong maintained an aura of mysrery and distance,
speak fieely about marriage. dating. and the conUicr she
ttlr
cultures
Wong suppolted uhire pririlege -non-uhirenes. fcsulreJ in
stories
ering-and rlinfbrced racial separation. The conspicuous absence of publicized
. a topiclthrt inmediately connoted a private life. con\titLtted the core of
s puhlic
Melodramatic articles portrayed her as continually divided
terribly loncfy. According to IFan magazine writer Audreyl Rivers. Wong exto her lh4t '.no American man will marry me. . . . I have becon'te too Atnerito InarTy one
milarly rep0t
privilegecl
fidence. exc
I'11
losc
my own race. What is there for me?" [Journalist Helen] Carlisle
Wong's conjectures about her marital stiltus. heiehtening her
as confidante and Wong's "oriental ' status. '[n a burst of
ngly rare among her people, she said to me one day: 'l don't
rnarry. Whom could I marry i Not a man of your race. for he
:lrnung hi\ people rnd
I
rnon;t mine. '
The public
scourse of Anna May Won-s's private life thus was constructed
dillerences between the cultures of the West and the opposing.
"enancipated" status as an Americanized rvonran prevented
g's
Elst.
with a Chinese man. Hcr nrlrginali,/ed stitus il\ a Chinese
from l re
. Iegally prevented her from marrying a European American. This
'' which "seemingly has no solution," fastened itself to Wong's
e. ' Yct.
wonders, what true romance-and romance should go hand
n hancl with
come to this girl who is a part, yet not a part l . . . She was
a iittle Orien
enclosed
by the Occident, a society in which she longed to
-sirl"
y panrclpar but could not.
tne
of Wong's cultural conflict set up a divergence of identity for Wong
ine reader On the one hand. the reader might partly identify with
g s story to
to fit in. be popular. and to Iive her own independent lit'e. On
(,ther hrtld.
y few readers could identify with rhe objcct of Wong's
the generic
2\)
conflict+er
Chinese aDcestfy. Movie rnagazines consciouslv appealed to nridrlle
class and fvhite adolescent wonren. irtternpting to irf'luence opinions and attitudes.
and to ln4rfket advertisers' beauty ploducts. Ronrance aDd marriage pcrsistently
presenled thenrselves in most movie mrgt/ine leiltmes. Anna May Wbng s publicized prilate Iife reflected some Anelicans' tirscination rvith oriental cxoticism.
and the stfreotypical "all Antericrn '_eirl's desires of (hetcroscxual) love. ronrancc.
and maffrllge.
ln
Benuty
an Amen
nationali
Tragic Real Love Story of Anna May Wong." subtitled "Orient l
llecl to Choosc Bct*ccn Heritage of R ce and Her Perfbrmance tbr
Hurhlnrl.'tlre qtrc:tion ol \\h)Wongl,irlt,'clroo'eheltrecutlt,.e:rtt'.j
ncver prcsenled itself. Conllict betwecn Asian ancl Amcrican cultules
to be inevitrble. Race was perceivcd to be the cssential and cletining
's identity. As one caption read. "Anna May Wong finds it diflicult to
keep /rcr
ul Chinesc .sell scp:trate frorn her ncsternizcd personllity.'
At
le in this narrative is the possibilitl' of cultural inleraction beyoncl lacial
and cultural diflerences. Accordins to thei'e irte[\,iews. assirnilation is
nol
lc. . . . Wong represerted r test cirse in which the person who enters iDto
rnolhel
. cultural. and lacial nrilieu is subsequently rejected by both cultures.
resultlllg in Datholoeical internal conflict and alienation. One article escalated fionr
a specifi+ stofy of why Wong does not marry to r general discussion ol uhf indifactor of
yicluals
nol attenpt lo n)ix uith dillerent -rroups. r cautionaf) tale -gainst
s to transcend onc's own "tr ibal" atiiliation. The dlamatization of ditlcr
leled the narratives ilgainst rnodemity ilnd urban ltnctions magnilierl
exaggerated cliflelences of race thilt Wong errcted onscreen.
Yet
little Wong revealed regarding her o\r n thoughts on mardage suggests
perspective. Anna May Wone enjoyed the nrobility that her career irnd
wealth supportcd. Althou_{h unmarried. Won-l: did not lack fi)r corr
p ot social activities. ruoving lcross the intellectuals and sophisticltes ()1'
panl
Eu fopc
cosnropolitan New York with grace and apparent ease. Her Iower-cirse
eltce
thfough
and racial hcritage not$ ithstanding. Wong gained access to thesc social
ol-hel appearance and hel status.
nray h 'e chosen to play up to her racial tliflerence 1() quiet specLrlatior
on rvhy
did not appear interested in nrarria-ee. At one point. she and her good
fiiend.
or Philip Ahn. were rumored to be engagecl. Rcpresenting these tw,
Aslan
actors as romantically attached reflected an inrportant aspect of
Dublicitv. Heterosexual romance served as a fnnctional and fictional
to meet the expectations and needs of a segment of the moviegoing
public.
star's romancc in private lite therefore was a necessiu'y aspect of his or
her pu ic pcrsonalit),. Attributing her never having been photogrlphed on a date
to lrnti-n'riscegenation larv enhanced her heteroscxual identity whether
with ir
ctrlrl prxctice or rlot.
based i
ically. Wong cotltl openly reltr ltl racial barricrs t{) explain her l ck oi ii
publi
ed) lon)anlic life. The narrative of "Success." of "Celebrity. thus was
circles
I
raciai
with
a
conspicuously by intrtlsion of social realitl'-r{cial division Wong's
discussions of race sLlggest that the existence of tacial ban iers to {n inter in fact nray havc been more publicly ilccepted than a public ronrance
-Asian nan. Conrad Doerr. who rented an apartnlent ffom Wong in the
Oricnttiistn dnd Pol
lnr(.uh re. 191)1-tg30s
2ll
1940s, recalled "Her one big love was a Caucasian . . . it wns imperative that
lomance remaln clandestine. He was naried."
Working withi!r the parameters ol public expectations. Wong could explain hcr
sln
status along tacial or gender lines and disclose nothing more. Statin-e her reI
to discuss lher own views cin marriage. Won,r] admitted that shc wasn't sure
lhe
"rt
work witfr her, fbr she wants. above all things, to travel widely. . . . As a
:lor girl she hiis one consolation. 'l do so enjoy my independence !"' Te lli ngly,
thc article wrifer could not lully believe she enjoyed her independence, calling
"one consolalion."
are many
events that
a new
in the publicized life of Anna May Wong. Examining two spe
not enter into the discourse of her public image is instructive as
a public personality and what remains private. Wong's attempts
in
1946 were documented by a tele,sram addressed to gossip
actor Hedda Hopper. Desiring to relocate. Wong had sold
ist and
Hopper. Upon looking at homes fbr sale. Wong soon fbund that
home to
other homes because racial restrictions had becn wrinen
could not
in the housing contracts. In desperation, she tried to contact Hopper by telere. Failing to feach Hopper at home or the otfice, Wong resorted to a telegrarn.
Sorry coLrld no[ re{ch you by phone at oftice or home yesterday. Wanted to see you and
beg ol you to rplinquish my property. Pcthaps u hen I cxPlain situation you $ ill undcrsrand it is not for any gain or profit but aftcr covering the real estale tleld thoroughly I
discovercd the{e are rucialrestrictions on everything rve looked at. This cin be \erified bl'
the real esiate bffices. Therefbre please see my unusual silualion aDd makc the Senerous
gesture due to seriousness of my position. . .
.
per apparentfly was sympathetic. One week later. Hoppcr conceded Wong's
e by not cloting escrow. and wong was able to regain the deed to het house.
) though rcla{ively aft'luent and well known. Anna May Wong's movements were
rcumscribed bj prejudice.
Wong neverlpublicly discussed hcr personal losses. When Wong's mother was
lled by a driv$r in front of tlre house or when Wong's sister Mary commilted
neithel became part of her public image fbr understandable
ln tne
But she Uid not discuss her mother's death with any interviewer. Clearly. the
would not add luster to Wong's star persona. and might even
of these
"Reality" in star discourse as [film scholar Richard] de Cordova
her
in concert with the fabricated image of the star hel self.
shown, is a
s Chinese heritage was romanticized, any potentially "negative"
that did hot enhance her image as a tragic yet romantic figure were omitted.
s. while Wofrg might mention travelling abroad to China to visit her tamily or
anti-miscegbnation laws that prevented her tiom ever marrying a man of an:r race. Iittlt else of her experiences as a Chinese American person was subject
discussion.
Early in her carper. Wong attracted media attention because she looked "alien." yet
fully participatpd in the conspicuous consumption of American popular culture.
Wong presentep herself as more American than Chinese in her dress. siang and
212
i ltdi.r
Pxi,ll!'tn\ i|i A\idn
A h,ridn His?tI
attitude$. [Film journalist] Margery Collier commented on this in l9-j0, concluding that]Wong featured "the face and figure of a Chinese girl and the nind of an
AnrericFn flapper." Wong was a combination of stereolypes of both Chinese and
Americ{rn women. Although Collier asserted that "Hybridism is inherent" in Wong's
"screen interpretation." Wong realized greater marketability in emphasizing her
"Chine$e" identity. Wong'stage foutine in Europe turther exploited her perceived
hybridify and exotic Orientalism. as well as her marginai status in Hollywood. The
novelty of "appearing tirreign yet sounding "continental." alongside hcr'Amcrican
flapperl' image. contributed to Europeans'fascination u,ith Wong. An article announci{g her l93l return to Hollywood descibed how 'Wong was the toast of the
contineht. according to stories brought back by fillll player who visited Europe.
She mlde appearances in England. Gerntany. and I'-rance and speaks tluently the
langua$es of these nations."
By the early I 930s. Wong tired of being typecast. She herself des ired better roles.
She hail only made two pictures. Dcag,/rtcrs ot thc Dft1!]ot1 ( 1932) and Shonghui
(1932) since her return to the United States in 1932. Before departing fbr
yet again. in | 933. Wong agrced to be irter\ iewe cl by the N etr kn' k H e ra I d
's Marguerite Tazelaar. She explained that "afier going through so many
of roles that don t appeal to me. I have cone to the point of finding it
futile to repert pu)r things. t feel that by now I have earned the ri-sht to
have a finle choice in the parts I play." Wong would not be considered fbr non-Asian
rofes, jet afso could lose Chinese roles to non-Chinese actresses. The Los Arrgeles
in Septembcr iL)l: lhrl W\n.s ur: thc leuding cur)\iLlerillion lo sllrr
Tiue.s
in The SotrDaughtel adapted fiom r stage play. However, Helen Hayes was cast
fbr that rde.
also contributed to a lack of suitable roles that Wons could olav as
American. Although 1932 seemed to promisc more Chinese roles, the
government's threat b ban Paramount and other studios from exhibiting
filns i China further dampened Wong's prospects fbr roles. IAs wong stated:]
Chinese government has {ppointed a Chinese Consul in Hollywood rc censo. the
objectionoble scenes in allChincse piclures. This puts somc limitationr upon stories
Chinese pliiyers. I suggesled to the consul thrt I make iI picture f'or China. but thut is
lpending.
Wong
of Ch
nese
in l9 I
t
dl
and
go to
ned that the Chinese government s prolests over Hollywood depictions
hrd re'ulted in'.ome limitutions upon .torie' for Chinese pluyers." Chiism surged in the 1930s in response to Jrpan s occupation of Manchuria
and the League of Nation's refusal to respond with sanctions. One maniof this was a sharpened governmental critique of Hollywood's negatlve
s of Chinese. In addition. the tendency of films tcaturing Asian characters
to relv on sordid or violent plots also cont buted to a decline in role'.
groups. such as the Catholic Legion. began to boycott Hollywood films
of the perceived immoral intent.
hersell hoped that chan-sing depictions of Asians might result from thc
pressures converging on Hollywood. "Il ]n between the tilms they object to
wishy-washy tilms they will certainly get. if thc producers get panicky and
of innocent entertainment, is the kind of pictule ['ve been wanting to
Oricntalisn
d d Ptl, Llt Cultutr.
1901-19J0s 2l)
or y9ars."
rnterest rn
currentiy reading Durin Byrne's Mc.rJsr Marco Polo. expressed
a fllm based on Marco Polo's exneriences in Asia.
It would help
figure-why.
corect lhe impression mo!iegoers have of mc as sinister Oriental
children were afraid to come near me iI Lolrdonl
would present a
-itfbr greatcr under,
and fldvcnturous picture. and it $ould nrake
Anrcrica and China.
beaulilul.
standing
also
ie Chan
ly until three
Wong clearl
reflected
Wong's
that her
to the medi
which is a
ility to project
those r(tes
celebrity
to acc
Within the li
in her own
uas tn
in
1934,
career. Bef,
Rob
g could
ollywood fi
el room. to
Wong
success ln
Picturegocr
some stLrdios with a proposed film series inspired by the
ferrruring her\eif r\ il deleclive. Studio\ did nr't rcsp('nd posilater. with the success of the Charlie Chan series.
understood that the cultural uniqueness that she represented on
very uniqueness that inspired prejudice and discrimination.
with the stereotypical roles she portrayed, she also recwere
greatly limited. In 1937. she explained to an admirer.
ions
plaving
I am
in. I have no choice in the matter. One has to take
lable." As one whose economic livelihood corlelated with her'
commodifiable. easily identified image Wong often was Iimited
were available to her as { non-wbite actress. The need to maintain
in order to enhance her ability to be cast ir filnt roles, rcquirecl
the expectations of audiences lnd studio executives.
range oIpo:.iblc role: rvrilablc to her. wong cho\e l() particicization a. an Oricntll perlormer. After completing Liirrelir,rrr,
no llrther roles materialized tbr Wonc. She deoarted acain fbr
she already established her reputation, in an attempt to revive
she left. Wong apparently sought the advice of her Hollywood
on how to cultivate her celebrity abroad. Wagner su,ggested that
y increase her value in the culture of fllm and celebrity by being
ing to Wagner. Among other things. I urged her to 'can' her
and be Chinese. I suqsested that she even burn incense in her
to her exotic char-m."
to have iollowed Wagner's advice and, by all accounts. enjoyed
lJournalistl Vivien North described for the British readers
I the mysterious quality surrounding the actress:
ItS m I ITOrS
nst the Orientlrl buclground olhcr room. with its bowls ofbig llowers.
soft lighting. her hands-with their Iacquered finger nails malching the
Chinese red
almost
her .jumpel-firlded. her ankles crossed and every feature
y feeling her complete stillncss.
sitting therc
Fan magazine
930 Filnr
that
"
This
ywood
s
composed-
j John K. Newnham made similar observations of Wong in ,
feature. comparing Wong to a "Chinese Puzzle." Newnham ass'American mentality" worked in concert to promote her "Chinese
nique combination of American initiative enabled her to "play
u'ell."
2r4
Major Problems in Asien American Hittory
and why she can always step back to staring roles. She has a comer which is
her own.
I\T
's analysis suggests that Wong succeeded because she could use her mulcarions Io her advantage. Presenting herselI in more ovenly orientalist
Wong's primary selling point continued to be her racialized identity.
tiple
GFUR THER
READING
'Amazing, Astounding, Wonder: Popular Science, Culture, and the Emergence
Fiction in the United Srates, 1926 1939, Ph.D. disserration. U.C. Berkeley
Cheng, J
of
(r
W. War Wthout Mercl: Race and Power in the Pacific War (1986).
R. Scratches on Our Minds: American Images of China and India (1958).
B. The Portrayal of China antl lrulia on the American Sc reen, 1896 1955
Dower,
Isaacs,
Jones,
C. Orien@ls: Arian Anlpncnns in Populor Culturc tlgqot.
Janis. "The China Mystique: Mayling Soong Chiang, Pearl S. Buck and
May Wong in the American Imagination," Ph.D. dissertation, U.C. Berkeley,
Lee, Ri
Leong,
(l
LinE,
/
. Bebt een Worlds: Women Writers of Chinese Ancestry (1990).
, Grna. Romance and the 'Yellow Peril': Race, Sex, and Discursive Strutegies in
Fiction (1993).
Moy, J
S.
Marginal Sights: Staging the Chinese in Anerica (1993),
Liu. David. 4sian/Amprir,m: Historical Crossingsofa Rarial lronrier ( la99\.
All the World's a Fair: Visions ol EmDire at American Intenational
Rydell,
1876 t9t6 (t984).
W. Orientalism (1978).
T. Iron Cages: Race and Culture in l9th-Century America (1979\.
KnoWei. NeN York Before Chinatotn: Orientalism and the Shaping ofAmerican
t776-1882 \1999).
Annette. Sui Sin Far/Edith Maude Eaton: A Literary Biography (1995).
Franklm. Or liwal 14edio Rot itm: 4sians in rhe 4meriran Motion Pirrure.r
Said,
Takaki,
Tchen,
lt
Scott. "Liang Qichao and the Chinese ofAmerica: A Re-evaluation ofHis
Memoirof Trarel* in the \ewWorld. -/ournal ol American Ethnic Hirtory
(
992):3-24.
ofCulture: Three Chinese Views ofAmerica:' American Ouarterl|
48( 996): 2Ol 232.
,.
Thinking Orientals: Migration, Contact, and E oticism in Modern Ameica