Miss Chinatown Pageant
华埠小姐选美

13 August 2019
The Miss Chinatown 1955 Pageant program pamphlet, Courtesy of Douglas J. Chu, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection
1955年华埠小姐竞选节目单,Douglas J. Chu捐赠,美国华人博物馆(MOCA)馆藏

Local pageants have long offered a way for ethnic groups marginalized by the American white majority to celebrate their beauty and culture. At a Fourth of July picnic in 1948, a San Francisco Chinese organization held what was possibly the first Miss Chinatown “bathing beauty” pageant. By 1953, the San Francisco Chinese Chamber of Commerce combined the popular event with the annual Lunar New Year festival, expanding the event nationally in 1953.

Miss Chinatown USA continues to be the longest running Chinese-American pageant, and every year cities across the country send candidates to compete in qipaos in place of evening gowns and display a range of talents including traditional Chinese musical art forms. The above program for New York’s unaffiliated 1955 Miss Chinatown pageant demonstrates the practice of local businesses sponsoring candidates, such as Miss Wing Furniture Co. and Miss Chinese Hand Laundry Association.


长期以来,少数族裔被美国白人边缘化,地方选美便成为他们庆祝属于他们自己的美丽与文化的一种方式。在1948年7月4日的一次野餐会上,一个旧金山的华人组织举办了可能是第一届的华埠小姐“泳装选美”大赛。到了1953年,旧金山中国商会将这项受欢迎的活动与一年一度的农历新年庆祝活动结合起来,并把这项活动扩展到了全国。

美国华埠小姐是持续时间最长的美国华人选美大赛,每年全国各地的城市都会派出选手穿着旗袍参赛,代替晚礼服,展示包括传统中国音乐艺术形式在内的一系列才艺。上图为纽约1955年华埠小姐选美活动节目单,这次活动是没有合作伙伴的独立活动,展示了当地企业赞助获选人的做法,比如Wing家具公司小姐和华侨衣馆联合会小姐。

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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