China News Agency, Beijing, December 3rd, title: Huang Liushuang, the face of Chinese Americans engraved on American coins
"China News Weekly" reporter Ni Wei
On February 3, 1961, a sudden heart attack stopped the life of Hollywood actor Anna May Wong at the age of 56.
This Chinese-American female pioneer was recalled more than half a century later.
In 2022, the 25 cents printed with Anna May Wong's head will be issued. On the relief of the coin, Anna May with big eyes and willow eyebrows is combing her iconic bangs, and her slender hands are stretched out to line her jaw.
This set of coins belongs to the "American Women's Mint Project", which selected 20 women who have made great contributions to the development of the United States.
This is the first time an Asian face appears on a U.S. coin.
A U.S. coin featuring Anna May Wong's face.
Most Important Chinese American Actress
In 2020, the TV series "Hollywood" on the streaming media platform Netflix portrayed Hollywood filmmakers who suffered early racial and gender discrimination in a fictionalized past.
One of the episodes featured Anna May Wong as the main character.
Anna May Wong is the most successful Chinese-American actress in Hollywood and even in the world. She often starred in the best-selling movies of the year and won Oscar awards.
"Anna May Wong has been the most important actress of Chinese descent for decades," said Hoggis, author of "Anna May Wong: From Laundryman's Daughter to Hollywood Legend" and a professor of history at Colgate University in the United States. "Her strong fashion sense still has an impact. Her cosmopolitan outlook remains unparalleled. Whether in the US, Europe or China, she is at ease."
Only Yang Xiu before the 1960s and Guan Nanshi from the 1960s to the 1990s are almost the same as her in terms of prestige and fame.
Among Chinese-American actors today, Lucy Liu, Michelle Yeoh, Awkwafina (The Farewell) and Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians) are the most famous.
“The professionalism they inherited from her helped them deal with issues they encountered, including stereotyped roles, limited talent, racism, and unfairly low pay,” Hodges said.
In 1934, Anna May Wong took a promotional photo for the movie "Limehouse Blues".
Photo courtesy of IC
hollywood stars in the shadows
Anna May Wong is a third-generation Chinese immigrant. Her grandparents went to California to pan for gold in the 1850s, and her father opened a laundry in Los Angeles.
At the age of 9, Huang Liushuang went to the cinema for the first time and has been obsessed with movies ever since.
At this time, the center of the American film industry shifted from New York to Los Angeles, and film shooting scenes can often be seen in Chinatown.
In the early 20th century, films with Chinese themes were popular.
The "Chinese Exclusion Act" promulgated in 1882 and the anti-Chinese trend that lasted for decades aroused Americans' curiosity about the Chinese community.
In 1919, 14-year-old Huang Liushuang got her first role in the movie "Red Lantern": a flashy extra.
In 1920, she played the newspaper boy with more roles in "Little Ding".
In 1921, she played the leading role for the first time in the movie "Life", playing the wife of a Chinese opium den owner.
"The Passing of the Sea" in 1922 is her most important early work.
The story tells the story of the American Carver who fell into the sea near Hong Kong and was rescued by Lianhua played by Anna May Wong, and the two fell in love.
Carver returned to the United States, Lianhua gave birth to a son alone.
A few years later, Carver returned with his American wife. After learning the truth, Lianhua handed her son to Carver and jumped into the sea to die.
At that time, American law prohibited interracial marriage of white people, and the film censorship law "Hays Code" also required that interracial marriages in films were not allowed, and white actors could not kiss actors of other races.
Emotional scenes between Chinese actors and white actors will end in death.
Huang Liushuang's superb acting skills, especially the sincere crying scenes moved the audience.
This also ignited the engine of her career. The "New York Times" called for more performance opportunities for her. British film critics said that she "reached the level of a master". As long as she is given the opportunity, the 17-year-old Chinese girl will bring more surprises.
Huang Liushuang's performance attracted the attention of Hollywood superstar Douglas Fairbanks Sr., whose prestige at that time was no different from that of Brad Pitt and Robert Downey Jr. at their peak.
In 1923, Fairbanks invited her to participate in the annual masterpiece "The Thief of Baghdad", which became the box office champion in the United States that year and became popular all over the world.
In 1924, Anna May Wong starred in the stills of the film "The Thief of Baghdad".
Although Huang Liushuang played a small role, the audience was deeply impressed.
The European media took her as the biggest news point and printed it on the cover of movie magazines.
Some people feel that Huang Liushuang's few appearances have already stolen the limelight from Fairbanks.
However, these are not the whole story.
Dissatisfied with the implication of racial conquest behind the film, the role of Lotus made her criticized by the Chinese.
In "The Thief of Baghdad", she played the role of a Mongolian slave girl and a traitor.
In "Shanghai Express", the pinnacle of her career, she still plays a prostitute.
The West's malice towards her has never stopped.
The film media used the title "Yellow Peril - Chinese Enter the Showbiz" to provoke the audience's emotions. No matter how much the acting skills and oriental charm are appreciated, they cannot break through the iron wall of racial discrimination.
She complained to the media: "Why are the Chinese on the screen almost always villains-killing innocents, treachery, insidious and cunning, we are not like that." This made her unbearable. In 1928, at the age of 23, she went to the Chinese A more tolerant Europe, looking for new opportunities.
in the gap between east and west
The leap to Europe is an adventure for Anna May Wong.
Hoggis believes this choice made her a worldwide star.
Between 1928 and 1937, she traveled to Europe several times to make films, speaking in English, French and German.
Huang Liushuang, who is in her early twenties, is already a cultural celebrity who is generous and elegant in conversation.
In Berlin, she accepted an interview with the philosopher Walter Benjamin. Benjamin was almost overwhelmed by Huang Liushuang's beauty and conversation, and he did not hesitate to praise her, calling her "open-minded and elegant demeanor without pretentiousness..." The French are even more Fascinated by it, Anna May Wong improved the image of the Chinese with her beauty, wisdom, and elegance.
Stills of the movie "Dragon Girl" starring Huang Liushuang in 1931.
Huang Liushuang's success in the world has made the Chinese people proud, and magazines such as "Good Friends" and "Life" have drawn closer to each other with the tone of "Chinese star Huang Liushuang in the United States".
But many people feel that her works have shamed China. Even though her acting career is booming, her family's opposition has never stopped.
But she always has a sense of belonging to China.
Since the 1920s, she has had the idea of going to China, and finally made the trip in 1936.
During her nine-month trip to China, she met many Chinese celebrities, including Gu Weijun, Mei Lanfang, Lin Yutang, etc., and took a famous group photo with Hu Die in Shanghai.
The trip to find her roots in 1936 deepened Huang Liushuang's feelings for China.
The Anti-Japanese War broke out in the next year, and American society became more friendly to China. Huang Liushuang was able to choose a positive role to present a true Chinese image. In 1937, "Shanghai Daughter" played a Chinese woman who bravely exposed illegal smuggling. The "Lady from Chongqing" starred in a female soldier commanding guerrilla warfare. When she visited Australia, she specially used a stage performance to accuse the Japanese of persecuting the expatriates in the Tianjin Concession and the Chinese.
She also actively participates in activities such as the American Federation for China Aid and the Red Cross, auctions off collected cheongsams to donate to China, and raises funds to donate medicines that are in short supply in China.
Break through the shackles of the times with creativity
The fate of Huang Liushuang is a reflection of the collective fate of Hollywood Chinese actors.
Another Chinese actor, Yang Xiu, was also defeated when competing for the leading role in "The Great Earth".
Slightly different, Yang Xiu strives to portray educated, aristocratic Chinese women on screen.
Yang Xiu has a Ph.D. and was a student of the famous educator John Dewey, which allowed the public to distinguish her from other Chinese-American actors, but still could not break through the shackles of racism.
Gao Yunxiang, a professor of history at Toronto Metropolitan University in Canada, is writing a biography of Yang Xiu. He believes that Yang Xiu rejects Western racism's position that associates Chinese people with ignorance and slavery, showing an international "Chinese woman at her best." ", but still can only play supporting roles in Hollywood.
In conservative Hollywood, Anna May Wong offers an inspiration to other actors of Chinese descent about what one can achieve with professionalism and dedication in a racist environment.
In recent decades, Anna May Wong's image has undergone great changes.
"Chinese Americans of all classes are proud of her being the first Asian face on silver dollars. Since my biography, there have been other biographies, children's books, documentaries, and a biopic about her. In production." Hoggis said, "Anna May Wong's reputation has been fully restored, and she is now an important figure in American history."
In November last year, the Oscar Museum in Los Angeles held a film festival called "Beyond Idol: Anna May Wong", which screened five of Anna May Wong's works, covering her masterpieces from her first singing voice to her popularity in the United States and Europe.
Today, on China's video sites, netizens spontaneously upload videos commemorating Anna May Wong, and people also take this opportunity to catch a glimpse of Anna May Wong's screen demeanor.
Anna May Wong is a symbol through which people see the past and present of discrimination against Asian women in Hollywood, the United States, and the entire Western capitalist world.
At the same time, with her own creativity, she broke through the shackles of the times and left her unique personal charm in history.
The poignant story of her life has opened up countless thought-provoking topics, which are far from being exhausted even after a hundred years.
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