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The Start of American Accommodation of the Chinese: Afong Moy's Experience from 1834 to 1850
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 31 October 2014
Abstract
Afong Moy came to the United States in 1834 as a popular attraction, and remained in the public spotlight until 1850. Her very presence as the first recorded Chinese woman on American soil prompted a heated national discussion regarding how to accommodate the Chinese living among Americans. A two-tiered paradigm that emerged from this dialogue disparaged Chinese culture while extending paternalistic care to Moy, pushing her toward acculturation, which was to be realized in a symbolic way after her disappearance from the exhibition stage. The pattern was not exclusive to Moy; rather, it was a general strategy that Americans had adopted to deal with the small but growing number of Chinese present in the United States prior to the widespread and virulent anti-Chinese sentiment that later engulfed American society. This study therefore sheds light on the oft-neglected early stage of Sino-American relations occurring within American borders.
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Footnotes
The author would like to thank the anonymous reviewers for their inspiring comments. He is also grateful to Jessica Linker of the University of Connecticut and Roy Goodman of American Philosophical Society Library, USA, for their help, encouragement, and suggestions.
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