A mahjong set. A black dress with a deep V paneled with lace. A makeup kit emblazoned with the Chinese name: Wong Liu Tsong.
Personal belongings of Anna May Wong are on display for the first time ever at the Chinese American Museum in Los Angeles an exhibition about a screen legend who holds as much a fascination for fans in death as she did in life. Unmasking Anna May Wong , which opens Thursday and runs until Jan. 26, 2025, seeks to show the inner life of Hollywood's first Chinese American film star whose stature has grown as Asian Americans demand more representation in the arts and media.
"I feel that people are starting to wonder, 'Well, who was the first Asian American to be in this business?" said Katie Gee Salisbury, author of the new biography about Wong. "When you go back far enough, it's Anna May Wong." Salisbury chronicled Wong's career-long battle against racist stereotyping and sexism in Not Your China Doll: The Wild and Shimmering Life of Anna May Wong.
Wong was fed up with playing dragon ladies and being treated as a second-class citizen even though she was a third-generation Chinese American. In 1931, she took a trip to China to learn the culture and language. Salisbury said she came back changed.
"She decided that she was no longer going to take on any unsympathetic roles," Salisbury said. "And she would only play roles that reflected well on her people." Michael Truong, the executive director of the museum, said Wong's efforts resonate with Asian Americans .