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DAUGHTER OF THE DRAGON

Yunte Huang

Anna May Wong's Rendezvous with American History

A trenchant reclamation of the Chinese American movie star, whose battles against cinematic exploitation and endemic racism are set against the currents of twentieth-century history.
Born into the steam and starch of a Chinese laundry, Anna May Wong (19051961) emerged from turn-of-the-century Los Angeles to become Old Hollywood's most famous Chinese American actress, a screen siren who captivated global audiences and signed her publicity photos - with a touch of defiance - "Orientally yours." Now, more than a century after her birth, Yunte Huang narrates Wong's tragic life story, retracing her journey from Chinatown to silent-era Hollywood, and from Weimar Berlin to decadent, prewar Shanghai, and capturing American television in its infancy. As Huang shows, Wong's rendezvous with history features a remarkable parade of characters, including a smitten Walter Benjamin and (an equally smitten) Marlene Dietrich. Challenging the parodically racist perceptions of Wong as a "Dragon Lady," "Madame Butterfly," or "China Doll," Huang's biography becomes a truly resonant work of history that reflects the raging anti-Chinese xenophobia, unabashed sexism, and ageism toward women that defined both Hollywood and America in Wong's all-too-brief fifty-six years on earth. Yunte Huang, a Guggenheim Fellow, has taught at Harvard and the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he is a professor of English. The author of Inseparable and the Edgar Awardwinning biography Charlie Chan, both National Book Critics Circle Award finalists, Huang speaks frequently about American popular culture. He lives in Santa Barbara.
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Published 2023-08-22 by Liveright

Comments

Wong was a Chinese American actress who pushed boundaries and entertained viewers. In this book, Huang details her life story, the historical figures and places she knew and visited, the racist perceptions of her as an Asian woman, and the misogyny and ageism that were present as well. The book looks at the boxes Hollywood placed her in, her struggles against that, and really places her story within the larger societal and political climates of her time. It's a nuanced, multi-faceted look at Wong's life and work. Read more...

Thoroughly researched and lively, it's fascinating portrait of a trailblazing artist who faced extreme prejudice with resilience and talent. Read more...

A vital account of the life of Anna May (née Liu Tsong) Wong (19051961), the first Chinese American movie star... Huang's sympathetic treatment brings out the nuances of Wong's story, highlighting how she by turns acceded to and bristled against the stereotypes Hollywood asked her to play... It's a fascinating - and long overdue - close-up of a Hollywood trailblazer. Read more...

[Daughter of the Dragon] capably tracks Wong's life and career, creating a tender, fair portrait of an important performer... he presents a concise yet rich history of Asian American culture and politics at the turn of the century... Huang illustrates details about Wong with passion and fervor, clearly delineating her struggles and achievements. When Wong succeeds, readers will rejoice, and when her circumstances limit her, readers will feel her sorrow... An intimate Hollywood profile perfect for students of film and pop culture. Read more...

In a deeply researched and far-reaching biography, professor and award-winning biographer Huang positions Wong's career achievements in America and abroad against the geopolitical challenges of the 1930s... The result is a thorough, multilayered history of the too brief yet impactful life of a pioneering Chinese American woman artist facing racism and sexism in tumultuous times.

While Wong's life has recently been explored in historical fiction... most readers will find her real story even more engaging. Huang has created a page-turner nonfiction book with this biography by fleshing out the world in which Wong lived. Huang's lively, surprising, and all-encompassing biography of Anna May Wong should be on everyone's summer reading list. Read more...

Huang uses popular, easily accessible prose, mixed with a professor's use of lengthy quotes from revealing sources and digressions into the influences of the day, to illuminate the main facts of the cinema idol's real-life exploits. Read more...

Huang dazzles with a modern reevaluation of the life and career of Hollywood's first Chinese-American film star, Anna May Wong, detailing the all too common racism, sexism, and ageism that ran rampant through Hollywood (and still does, for that matter). Unsurprisingly, that story is brimming with juicy tidbits, like the fact that both Walter Benjamin and Marlene Detrich harbored massive crushes on Wong. Read more...

Chinese (simpl.): Shanghai People's Publishing

This new biography explores Wong's long and complex career, and how she navigated the complexities of the first half of the 20th century. Read more...