ANNA MAY WONG: THE FIRST ASIAN AMERICAN ON US CURRENCY

It was a Friday date night traveling in Boston, and my partner and I decided to spontaneously go to a local cinema to see a new movie. “What is a movie playing in the next 20 minutes near here?” I asked. “Decision to Leave,” he said as he googled the next showtimes, “a Korean movie starring a Chinese actress!”  

The excitement of the new discovery was extremely warming for me, especially in an unfamiliar city. A Korean movie with one of my favorite Chinese actresses, on a Friday night at the local theater—what else could I ask for?

As I sat down at the historical theater, I couldn’t help but feel mesmerized in my wonderment—what was it like to see a Chinese movie in the US a hundred years ago? How much work, as Asian American actors and advocates, had undergone so that I could sit at this historical theater now? Today, we will introduce one of the most impactful Asian American actresses during WWII.

Anna May Wong, being the first Chinese-American actress in Hollywood, had made a significant impact on increasing diversity in the Hollywood acting circle. Born in Los Angeles’ Chinatown on January 3,1905 as Wong Liu Tsong 黄柳霜, she later changed her stage name to Anna May Wong. She is the second child of the soon-to-be large Wong family. Her grandfather emigrated from Taishan, China to LA in the 1850s. Her father was born a few years afterwards in 1858. He married Anna May’s mother, Gon Toy Lee, and settled the family in a diverse neighborhood. However, the neighborhood did not always treat the family kindly. Anna May and her seven siblings faced constant bullying at their local public school due to their race. In the end, their parents had to transfer them to a Chinese Mission School to avoid the bullying.

The family made a living by running a laundromat where Anna May also worked with pride. Her first interaction with movies started in the 1910s when New York film production moved to California. She often witnessed and was fascinated by shooting scenes that happened in Chinatown. Her interest was insatiable and would save money from working at the laundromat skip school to use her lunch money to visit the movies. Her dream grew and her first role came not long after. When a casting call for the film The Red Lantern opened up in 1919, Anna May immediately took up the opportunity. She asked a family friend, who had some connection to the assistant director of the film, for help in achieving a role. She was casted as an extra. This marked the small start in her eventual acting career.

Challenges Early Asian American Actors Faced

Anna May faced many major struggles throughout her acting career. Most of them had to do with her skin color. In olden days Hollywood, Asian actors could only compete for Asian parts, which were stereotypically written as villains. In addition to that, they would most likely have to compete against caucasian actors for Asian parts. She was also restricted by miscegenation laws that prohibited interracial couples from appearing in the media. Aside from these restrictions, the roles that are available and could be offered were usually extreme stereotypes. Having limited options, Anna May tried to make the best out of the opportunities she was given. Through her persevered efforts, she was rewarded with a following from very diverse backgrounds. Her work and success reminded other Asian Americans that women of color from minority groups could also own a successful career and have their own voice even under unfair racist regulations.

Be that as it may, the fight was hard. Anna May was oppressed by limited options, prejudice, and had to constantly prove her citizenship under the Chinese Exclusion Act. She immediately accepted a chance to go to Berlin and London, seeking a way out of the pressure. She didn’t know whether or not she would face the same struggles in Europe but she was willing to take the risk. Shortly afterwards, her courage was rewarded with emboldened opportunities The roles that she was offered were more varied, although most were still a combination of Asian stereotypes. She also learned to sing and dance, something she had never done before back in Hollywood.

Her most devastating setback came in 1935 when she auditioned for O-Lan in the film adaptation of Pearl Buck’s Pulitzer Prize-winning book about Chinese farmers, “The Good Earth.” Regardless of how talented Anna May Wong was at acting, she was replaced by a Caucasian actress in yellowface (a practice of using makeup to imitate eastern asian facial features). Devastated, Anna May decided to take a break and head to China. It was her first time visiting China and the language barrier proved to be a huge challenge because she did not expect the Taishanese dialect she grew up with, was not the language spoken in all parts of China. (Especially in an era where google translate did not exist.) In comparison to her fluency in English, German, and French, Anna May’s Cantonese was not flattering.

Her reputation in China was also not the best. Most people were offended by the racist roles she played in films. Their criticism transformed into a type of inspiration for Anna May to reconnect with her roots. Anna May spent a good amount of time traveling in China, expanding her acting career, visiting family, and also discovering her heritage roots. She also started to wear more Chinese-inspired clothes. She described her first and only trip to China as the most meaningful of all trips. When World War II started, she went on hiatus to help fundraise for Chinese war relief. She auctioned her costumes and donated her salary from two films to help Chinese refugees. She also fundraised to buy medical supplies to send to China.

In “Daughter of Shanghai” from 1937, Anna May Wong spoke Taishanese numerous times during the film. When Philip Ahn’s role confessed his love for Anna May Wong, Anna May proudly answered in Taishanese, “我好歡喜你愛我 (ngoi1 hao2 fon1-hei2 nei1 oi1 ngoi1),” I am very happy that you love me. 

Anna May’s courage and efforts deserve great praise and admiration. She used action to demonstrate that although fighting for equal treatment was a long haul, each seed sowed would eventually grow into fruition. She might not have lived long enough to witness the diverse movie prospects we see at cinemas today, but her effort to advocate for racial diversity, along with many other precedents, is evident in today’s movie scenes. 

Although Mandarin is the official language of China today, the large country has a collection of over 300 dialects/languages. Understanding Mandarin does not guarantee smooth communication all over China, especially when encountering elders or more rural folks. Strolling down street alleys of major Chinatowns in North America, you might often hear the two popular dialects—Cantonese and Taishanese. They are the main language in several large areas in China. If you are thinking of traveling to China and want to learn a Chinese dialect in advance, then you now have an extra decision to make. Which language or dialect should you learn? It really depends on where you want to go. If you are not sure or just merely curious about which language is more suitable for you, check out our videos to see their differences. You can also check out our resources including books, podcasts, and blogs to take your understanding a step further.

Table comparison of Taishanese and Mandarin

Learn Taishanese Podcast: 

Learn Mandarin Podcast: https://inspirlang.onlinecoursehost.com/pages/mandarin

Sources

https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/10/24/who-is-anna-may-wong-first-asian-american-on-us-currency

https://wams.nyhistory.org/confidence-and-crises/jazz-age/anna-may-wong/

https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/anna-may-wong

https://johnhutchingsmuseum.org/anna-may-wong/

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