Daughter of the Dragon: Anna May Wong's Rendezvous with American History by Yunte Huang

Daughter of the Dragon: Anna May Wong's Rendezvous with American History Reviews

• 
  Kat Ninteau

  Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC.
  
  I’ve always been interested in old film and Anna May Wong is one of the most fascinating starlets of the pre-war era. This book does a really good job of painting g a picture of what the world looked like for a Chinese American during Wong’s lifetime as well as filling the reader in on history pertaining to WWII that isn’t taught in American history classes. It drags at times and in certain places makes assertions about things that were already mentioned as being impossible to prove. I understand including speculation as long as it’s not referred to as fact later.
  
  Overall this is a fair read. Not the best biography I’ve read but pretty well researched.
• 
  Pamela

  Thank you to W. W. Norton & Company and NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
  Yunte Huang provides an in-depth overview of Anna May Wong’s illustrious film career in Daughter of the Dragon. Born in 1905, Wong’s Chinese American heritage at first prevented her from reaching stardom in the U.S. but when she began acting in Europe and Australia, Wong experienced Hollywood icon status. She spent her early years with her family who owned a laundromat against the backdrop of heightened anti-Asian racism. When she began her career, Wong was featured in a few productions as an extra and in minor acting roles. It was Wong’s tragic main lead role as Lotus Flower in The Troll of the Sea that brought her critical acclaim. Huang stresses the importance of Wong’s place in the film because it was, notably, the first technicolour production. Other films such as The Thief of Baghdad, Daughter of the Dragon, and Shanghai Express enabled Wong to open new doors for herself such as acting on Broadway and studying Peking Opera in Beijing. As her high profile in Hollywood dwindled because of ageism, Wong found other avenues to occupy her time such as premiering a China documentary and taking walks through Chinatown to revisit her childhood.
  Huang’s work is well-researched and informative, featuring a collection of photographs from Wong’s career throughout the book. He also spends a considerable amount of time exploring other important events aside from Wong’s life story such as Hollywood’s 20th century beginnings, the 1927 grand opening of the Grauman Chinese Theatre, and Los Angeles’ history as a city. Huang explains how Chinatown signaled a huge demographic change for Los Angeles because the city provided Chinese immigrants a place to thrive as a community and endure decades of racism, discriminatory legislation, and violence. Overall, Daughter of the Dragon is a valuable contribution to film history and Anna May Wong, one of the U.S.’ most celebrated Asian American actors from Hollywood’s Golden Age.
• 
  Carmel

  Thank you to NetGalley and W. W. Norton & Company for the advanced reader copy!
  
  4.0
  
  A very interesting look into how Hollywood treated Asian-American actors during the rise of cinema in the early 20th Century and their racist past. I was not expecting this book to be a very educational read, and I was pleasantly surprised! I knew of Anna May Wong and how she helped to pioneer Asian American actors in Hollywood but I didn't know much of her struggle with being an actor. This was a well-written biography that delves into the racist past of Hollywood and the exploitation of Chinese people in America for films, and I was blown away by how much I learned. Good examples of terrible, terrible yellowface were given, and it really makes you think about how hard it must have been for someone like Anna May Wong to even get roles in the film industry.
  
  The narrative is a linear progression of Wong's life, from the beginning of Chinese migrants in America and their roots in laundromats to her childish interest in acting, to her lack of career as a main lead in movies about Asians, and to her struggling end. The book adds lots of information that is not relevant to Wong herself but gives a lot of context to the time she was living in. I can see how people would find this long and irrelevant, but I think it paints a picture of the rise of Hollywood and the racist rules of the time so that you can understand why Wong was not as much of a household name as other white actresses of her time.
  
  I felt deeply for Wong's struggle, she jumped from place to place in order to find somewhere that would accept her, because neither Hollywood nor Chinese theatre would, and that really resonated with me - she was so alien to both America and China that she was always finding somewhere to be. I also was very angry for her that characters that were written as Chinese were portrayed by yellowface actors and Wong would only get the secondary role as the best friend or maid or serving girl or something; that was very eye-opening and I think people should know that Asians have never had it easy.
  
  I liked the way that this was written - very academic, gave lots of past examples, used references, and tried to be as unbiased as possible towards Wong. I like the criticisms of actors in yellowface, the racism of Hollywood and the unjust treatment of POC in Hollywood. The only criticism I would have is that Yunte Huang tends to go on a tangent A LOT and I feel like he just needs to stick to a purpose with each chapter and run with it, there was a lot of running text that I felt could have been done away with.
• 
  JoAnn

  It’s only August, but I know Daughter of the Dragon is one of the best histories I have read this year. It ranks pretty near Number 1 right now. Huang delivers more than a life in this biography; Daughter of the Dragon is a portrait of Asian American history in all its glory and ugliness, it is a history of a community, an ethnic group, a skin color as it played out and was embodied by Anna May Wong.
  
  Anna May Wong’s life is a microcosm of Asian American history, of American history.
  
  Huang’s research is impeccable; each chapter is fully fleshed out with evidence from previous scholarship and archival sources. Letters to and from friends and family, press interviews, and a myriad of other Hollywood ephemera serve as Huang’s fodder. But Anna May’s own voice is rarely invoked; it would appear that few records in her own words exist, though Huang uses what artifacts she did leave behind. Putting the patchwork together as any good historian does, Huang captures and interprets her voice for us in his own; Anna May comes through the pages as if she were seated on the edge of desk, cigarette in hand.
  
  The book follows a typical biographical chronology, from birth to death and everything in-between; however, Huang leans heavily toward Wong’s filmography as the measurement of her state of mind as well as a platform for a deeper discussion of legislation against Asian American citizenship and social standing in the American popular imagination. This is more than a biography, and while Daughter of the Dragon reads like a filmography: it is a vivid cultural history of Asian American film and representation in Hollywood. Indeed, Anna May Wong was a by-word for Asian American film for much of the twentieth century and her career. There can be no discussion of Asian representation in the media without her.
  
  The result is a very satisfying history.
• 
  Lily

  Yunte Huang has created a fantastic perspective into Anna May Wong’s vibrant, fascinating life and career in Daughter of the Dragon. Bringing the acclaimed actress’s life into full focus, Huang explores every minute detail of Wong’s life before and after she discovered the silver screen. Huang’s attention to detail and inclusion of various images of Wong adds to the atmosphere and immersive nature of Daughter of the Dragon. Chronicling Anna May Wong’s career, Huang brings the early Hollywood years to life through his clear familiarity with the topic and with Wong’s illustrious career. Huang notably contextualizes Wong’s career by framing it within the timeline of World War II (through its guise as the Fifteen Years’ War between China and Japan) and through various anti-Asian pieces of legislation from the United States, a background which emphasizes the importance and strength of such events and Wong’s resilience in overcoming these social barriers and stigmas. Huang’s prose is incredibly clear and precise, and his ability to create a comprehensive yet digestible biography is prescient and not to be undervalued. His Daughter of the Dragon is an incredible gateway into early Hollywood, twentieth century America as experienced by Chinese Americans, and, most importantly, the life and triumphs of Anna May Wong.
• 
  Chris L.

  I was so thrilled to discover a biography of Anna May Wong. Yunte Huang gives Wong the respect and acclaim she deserves. He places her life and career in terms of the racism the Chinese experienced (the book starts with mention of the Chinese exclusion act in 1882) during her lifetime. I found this incredibly helpful because it shows what kind of world Wong lived in and had to battle just to be seen and heard in the entertainment industry.
  
  When Yunte talks about her career, he makes sure to also highlight the limited opportunities an Asian actress at the time (sadly, a lot of this exists today). He mentions that once Paul Muni was cast in The Good Earth, Wong would not have been considered because an Asian actress would not have been cast opposite a white man playing Asian (the practice of "yellowface"). She was also rejected for the role because China had not been fond of her Hollywood roles. As China was a major player in the film world, Wong would not have been cast so Luise Rainer was cast and won her second Oscar.
  
  Rainer's life is a tragic one (alcoholism, lost opportunities, oppressive "ethnic tropes," etc.) but this book deserves a read for the information it provides about Wong and the world she lived in.
• 
  AnnieM

  Finally a book that gives Anna May Wong her due! There have been recent fictionalized accounts of her life that I have read because of my interest in her so I am so thrilled I can finally read a wonderful biography of her life. Anna May Wong grew up in Los Angeles Chinatown and used to visit film sets as an extra. Eventually she does get cast in silent films but loses out on roles that went to white actors (due to miscegenation). She ends up traveling to Germany and the UK and makes many notable films. She also goes back to China to visit family and gets a mixed reception. I really felt like I got a sense of her, her career and her life. The author of this book has written books on Charlie Chan and the Siamese Twins who were used in "freak shows.' I also recommend both of these books too. What I also loved about this book is the detailed historical context as well as references to philosophers (such as Walter Benjamin) and film theorists (such as Rudolf Arnheim) I like it when books pique my curiosity to read other things and this book provides a lot of great references. I highly recommend this book.
  
  Thank you to Netgalley and W. W. Norton & Company, for an ARC and I left this review voluntarily.
• 
  Emi Yoshida

  I admit I wasn't familiar with Anna May Wong, or author Yunte Huang prior to reading Daughter of the Dragon, but I'm glad to be acquainted with both now. Huang does a great job chronicling Wong's life and travels, the Chinese experience in America and abroad, and Hollywood's rise and transformation. The photos and stories he selected to include here are illuminating, and his knack for name dropping is an absolute gift.
  
  Born in 1905 to a Chinese laundry family and named Wong Liu Tsong, she transformed into an international movie star, noted sewing circle member, and fashion icon. I didn't know the history of filmdom involved a Production Code of 1922, and found it fascinating the relevant way Huang incorporated Nuremberg Laws, true crime, and intrigue of every stripe into this tale.