Anna May Wong
黄柳霜

13 May 2019
Anna May Wong on Sunday News Cover & Anan May Wong Autograph, Courtesy of Alex Jay, Museum of
Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection
黄柳霜在《星期日新闻》杂志封面暨黄柳霜亲笔签名,Alex Jay捐赠,美国华人博物馆(MOCA)馆藏

Anna May Wong (born Wong Liu Tsong) was the first Chinese American Hollywood movie star and the first Chinese American actress to gain international stardom. Born in Los Angeles in 1905, she became infatuated with film at a young age and single-mindedly pursued acting, landing her first major role at seventeen. While critics took great note of her talent and star power, Hollywood deemed her race as unfitting for a leading lady. The studio system consistently capitalized off her fame while only casting her in racist supporting roles of the demure “Butterfly” or the calculating “Dragon Lady.” Even as the most famous Chinese American actress of her time, Wong was passed over again and again for leading Asian roles eventually played by white actresses in yellow face.

Anti-miscegenation laws forbade her from even sharing an on-screen kiss with a white leading man. Tired of her career being stymied by racial discrimination, Wong moved to Europe in 1928 where her talent and beauty turned her into an overnight sensation. Ironically, Hollywood became attracted to Wong’s European stardom in the 1930s, but the leading roles it finally offered her remained stereotypically racist. Ever proud of her heritage and insistent of her worth, Wong used her celebrity to speak out on political issues, including the mistreatment of Chinese in America. While tragically too bright a star for her time, her legacy outshines the obstacles Hollywood forced upon her: Wong’s career, iconic image, and outspoken values served to humanize Chinese Americans to white audiences during Chinese Exclusion and beyond.


Anna May Wong(原名黄柳霜)是美国好莱坞第一位华裔电影明星,也是第一位获得国际巨星地位的华裔美国女演员。黄柳霜1905年出生于洛杉矶,她在很小的时候就迷上了电影,然后就一心一意地追求表演,17岁时获得了她的第一个主要角色。尽管影评人对她的才华和明星魅力大加赞赏,但好莱坞却认为她的种族不适合出演女主角。电影公司一直利用她的名气,却只让她出演端庄的“蝴蝶”或精于算计的“龙女”等种族主义配角。即使是当时最著名的华裔美国女演员,黄柳霜却一再被忽略而失去了出演那些亚洲女主角的机会,那些角色最终由戴上黄脸面具的白人女演员扮演。

反通婚法甚至禁止她与白人男主角在屏幕上接吻。1928年,黄柳霜厌倦了自己的职业生涯因种族歧视所受到的阻碍,她去了欧洲。在那里,她的才华和美貌使她一夜成名。讽刺的是,好莱坞在20世纪30年代被黄柳霜在欧洲的明星地位所吸引,但最终给她的主要角色却仍然是老套的种族主义角色。黄柳霜一直为自己的传统和坚持自己的价值而感到骄傲,她利用自己的名人身份在政治问题上发表言论,包括中国人在美国所受到的虐待等。不幸的是,对于她所处的时代来说,她本该是一位非常耀眼的明星,但她留下的遗产却超越了好莱坞强加给她的阻碍而依然绽放光芒:黄柳霜的职业生涯、标志性的形象和直言不讳的价值观,使得白人观众在排华法案期间及之后的日子里更加人性化地对待华裔美国人。

Countdown to the TCS NYC Marathon on November 3, 2019: 216 Days.

2019年是美国第一条横贯大陆铁路建成150周年,为了纪念第一批华人来美建设这条铁路所做出的巨大贡献, MOCA将其2019 TCS NYC Marathon的活动命名为 MOCA Spike 150 – Running Forward With Our Stories! 鼓励大家通过马拉松公益跑,全国线上接力,以及一天一个故事的方式讲述150个华人的历史故事,敬请大家持续关注, 讲出华人自己的故事,回顾过去,立足现在,展望未来,共同书写美国历史,使之更加充实完整。

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