Chinese Lady

In 1834, a young Chinese woman named Afong Moy arrived in America, her bound feet stepping ashore in New York City. She was both a prized guest and advertisement for a merchant firm—a promotional curiosity used to peddle exotic wares from the East. Over the next few years, she would shape Americans' impressions of China even as she assisted her merchant sponsors in selling the largest quantities of Chinese goods yet imported for the burgeoning American market. Americans views of the exotic Far East in this early period before Chinese immigration were less critical than they would later become. Afong Moy became a subject of poetry, a trendsetter for hair styles and new fashions, and a lucky name for winning racehorses. She met Americans face to face in cities and towns across the country, appearing on local stages to sell and to entertain. Yet she also moved in high society, and was the first Chinese guest to be welcomed to the White House. However, this success was not to last. As her novelty wore off, Afong Moy was cast aside by her managers. Though concerned public citizens rallied in support, her fame dwindled and she spent several years in a New Jersey almshouse. In the late 1840s, P.T. Barnum offered Afong Moy several years of promising renewal as the compatriot of Tom Thumb, yet this stint too was short-lived. In this first biography, Nancy E. Davis sheds light on the mystery of Afong Moy's life as a Chinese woman living ina foreign land.

Intriguing and authoritative, The Chinese Lady examines themes from the turbulent nineteenth century, including the rise of the middle class, the development of American nationalism and race theory, and the effects of unregulated banking and land speculation. These notions are masterfully reflected in the melancholy tale of an immigrant cast aside in the whirlwind."- Foreword Reviews, Richly textured with analysis of material, visual, and consumer culture, the story of Afong Moy in America demonstrates that the period known for Indian removal and chattel slavery was also a time when a Chinese woman could be accepted as a 'lady.'" -Pacific Historical Review, Davis's book is a form of redress for a familiar injustice: the lives of the exploited, no matter how remarkable, rarely get remembered, much less told. Davis expresses hope that others can find out more about Afong Moy, particularly from when history seemingly lost track of her, which would bring the "Chinese Lady" into greater relief. If this happens, it would cast open wider a window into the treatment of women and racial minorities at tumultuous times in American history" - Asian Review of Books, Ms. Davis strives mightily to tell Afong Moy's own story using the documents available, triangulating not only from what was said but also from the silences. That so much remains unknown in "The Chinese Lady" doesn't reflect poorly on Ms. Davis as a historian. Rather it confirms Ms. Davis's assertion that "in mid-nineteenth-century America, the life of an Asian, and of a woman even when that woman lived an extraordinary life was destined to obscurity." - The Wall Street Journal

Nancy E. Davis is curator emeritus of Home and Community Life at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. She has worked as a public historian in local, state, and national museums for more than forty years. Her research in museums and as a lecturer has frequently addressed aspects of Asian influence on American culture.