Hello Meltingpot Readers,
Does the name Afong Moy mean anything to you? Ring any bells? I won’t blame you if you’re scratching your head. Until yesterday, when I heard about Afong Moy on NPR, I’d never heard of her either. But Afong Moy is believed to be the first Chinese woman to ever set foot on American soil. And her story is so remarkable it has been turned into a play called The Chinese Lady, now showing in Pittsfield, MA.
Moy’s story is remarkable and as soon as I heard it, I immediately thought of Sarah Baartman, the South African woman derisively known as The Hottentot Venus who was displayed as an exotic oddity in Europe in the early 1800s. Afong Moy was brought to New York City in 1834 by two white men who had gone to China for trading purposes. The truth behind the transaction is murky, but supposedly the men convinced Moy’s father that she would be an “ambassador” for the Chinese people even though the girl was still only in her teens (Some sources say she was 14, others say 19). In reality, she became something of a living museum object where people could pay money just to look at her.
From Headstuff.org.
“Like Chang and Eng Bunker, the legendary Siamese twins, Moy gained a reputation as a figure of wonder, at whom the public paid money to marvel. Hardly any Asians were present in America at the time, and Moy astounded audiences by performing the most quotidian mundane tasks during her act. Visitors paid 50 cents to observe Moy, who sat in a room adorned with Chinese furniture and art. Moy debuted to crowds on November 6, 1834, and presented herself as living normally in a room while people watched her. She would eat rice with chopsticks, walk around on her bound feet, speak Chinese, and answer questions from the crowd through an interpreter.”
Sadly, there are very few details about Moy’s life, she left no written documents and nobody knows what happened to her after her time in the United States. That’s why playwright Lloyd Suh decided to fill in the blanks of her life story in The Chinese Lady.
Afong Moy should be a name we’re all familiar with as the first Chinese woman to arrive in the United States, particularly because of how she was brought here and the “celebrity” status she experienced during her time in this country. She even met with president Andrew Jackson while “on display.” To some extent, she really was an ambassador, in that most Americans had never seen a Chinese person before, but it seemed most people treated her as an exotic animal. It’s not even clear to me if she was allowed out of her display case or if she had any semblance of a normal life when she wasn’t performing her identity. So, no points for diversity and inclusion for the 19th century American public. I just hope with the debut of the play about her life and the renewed interest in her time in the United States, Afong Moy gets the recognition she deserves.
As I promised, every First Friday of the month I’ll be bringing you examples of America’s Meltingpot History. Afong Moy’s story is one that I hope you share with others because the more we recognize our colorful past, the better prepared we are to paint the future.
Did any of you, dear readers, know Afong Moy’s story? If so, what part do you find most fascinating? I’m listening and taking notes.
Peace!
