Hong Chaohui Dong Cunfa
From February 21 to 28, 1972, US President Richard Nixon was invited to visit China, breaking the ice in Sino-US relations. On the occasion of commemorating the 50th anniversary of President Nixon's visit to China, combing through mei lanfang's diplomatic and cultural dissemination efforts of Peking Opera will help to think about the true meaning of "the East Sea and the West Sea, the same heart and the same heart", promote the positive interaction between "learning from the West to the East" and "passing from the west to the west in middle schools", and find ways to ease the tension between China and the United States today.
Dressing up as Mei Lanfang and young Mei Lanfang (respectively, from "Mei Bone Fanghua- Mei Lanfang Extreme Film Collection", edited by Grain Grain, Zhejiang People's Fine Arts Publishing House, 2016; "Mei Lanfang Treasured Old Portrait Album", Mei Lanfang Memorial Hall, 2003)
Mei Lanfang, a famous Chinese Peking Opera performance artist, visited the United States in 1930 with unprecedented success and contributed to Sino-US cultural diplomacy. Cultural diplomacy is a kind of diplomatic activity and cultural exchange with the concept, consciousness, values and forms symbolized by the state, and belongs to a large part of public diplomacy. It takes specific cultural forms as the conceptual carrier, and through the multiple efforts of the state and the people, actively or consciously participates in the exchange of cultural concepts, and promotes the reshaping of the international cultural system, cultural structure, national image and individual reputation. [1] Mei Lanfang's "Peking Opera diplomacy" discussed in this article belongs to cultural diplomacy.
From this definition, it can reveal the four major elements of "Peking Opera diplomacy": the first is the national nature of symbols. This symbol refers to the national (such as China) imprint of Peking Opera culture, Peking Opera cultural activities and Peking Opera culture people, but it is not necessarily dominated by the state, government and officials. The second is the folk nature of exchanges. Peking Opera diplomacy not only has the government practice of government-led and diplomatic interest-driven, but also advocates individual and folk behaviors that are mainly based on the people, supplemented by the government, and driven by ideals and Peking Opera art, and are not necessarily and completely related to political and commercial interests. The third is international interactivity. The interaction between cultural people in the native cultural country and the existence concepts and personnel of the people of other countries includes the exchange of attitudes, discourses, behaviors and strategies between the people, as well as the one-way, two-way, multi-directional Peking Opera performance and viewing interaction. The fourth is the diversity of performance. The forms of Peking Opera diplomacy include storytelling, stage performances, social contacts, but also value promotion and media packaging. [2]
Mei Lanfang's visit to the United States in 1930 became a successful case of Sino-US Peking Opera diplomacy. At that time, the mainstream and theme of world cultural exchanges was "Learning from the West and gradually moving east", and Mei Lanfang's visit to the United States became a major attempt of "middle school westward transmission", witnessing "the same heart and empathy in the East China Sea", through the important medium of Peking Opera, promoting spiritual communication beyond politics, economy and system, and constructing an important meridian of Sino-US cultural exchanges.
Mei Lanfang's Souvenir of Your Visit to the United States: Souvenirs obtained by Mei Lanfang in the past ten years, Beijing Pictorial, 1930, Vol. 2, No. 67
(a) Not ideal timing
It must be pointed out that mei Lanfang's "heavenly time" and "geographical advantages" during her visit to the United States in 1930 were very unsatisfactory.
As far as China was concerned, chiang kai-shek established a national government in Nanjing on April 18, 1927, the Northern Expeditionary Army occupied Beijing in June 1928, and the northeast Yizhi obeyed the Nanjing government on December 9. Moreover, after the New Culture Movement, many Chinese scholars' attitudes toward Peking Opera became increasingly negative, including Hu Shi's famous article published in New Youth in 1918, which violently attacked traditional Peking Opera,[3] and scholars of the New Culture Movement regarded Confucius, traditional society, and classical culture as the reason for China's backwardness, failure of modernization, and inability to resist Western powers, which led to the general rejection of traditional culture and Peking Opera by China's intellectual and educational elites. Coupled with the death of Mei Lanfang's original wife, Wang Minghua, Mei Lanfang only buried her wife in Xiangshan, Beijing on December 22, 1929, all of which seriously affected Mei Lanfang's trip to the United States. [4]
American political, business, theater circles and other circles warmly hosted Mei Lanfang's team to visit the United States ("Mei Lanfang's Visit to the United States Peking Opera Atlas")
In the United States, economically, in the two days from October 24 to November 3, 1929, the New York stock index fell from 452 points to 224 points, as high as 50%, the unemployment rate exceeded 25%, resulting in a surge in performance costs and a shrinking audience's willingness to watch the play; politically, the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 continued to be effective until it was repealed in 1943, and it was difficult for Chinese to enter and leave the United States; culturally, Most Americans' impression of Chinese culture and the Chinese people is still stuck in the Qing Dynasty imperial system that was overthrown 18 years ago: shaving hair and braids, ignorance and backwardness, and authoritarian closure, which seriously affects American public opinion and audiences' perception of Peking Opera. According to Meng Zhi, president of the China Institute of America who lived in New York at the time, Americans in the 1920s were "more good will than respect for Chinese" for Chinese, but knew little about Chinese theater and music, and appreciated the "dissonant" of the unfathomable Chinese The noisy performances of percussions) and "screechy falsetto" are really inexplicable. [5] In particular, Western audiences who have seen Peking Opera have developed a facial prejudice that the words of Peking Opera actors are monosyllabic, "reminiscent of the sound of a cat with a broken throat", and in 1929, the American dramatist Sheldon Cheney, in "Oriental Drama" in The Theatre Three Thousand Years, determined that Chinese drama content "although it has the freshness of a child-like fairy tale." But it is also a theater of poetry that is different from the four. Chinese drama is too simple and lacks depth, showing the naïveté of Chinese ignorance, which can only make Westerners see it as ridiculous humor." [6]
Such an unfavorable objective situation challenges Mei Lanfang's "middle school transmission to the west" and "Peking Opera diplomacy", and also highlights the importance of Mei Lanfang's artificial efforts. According to the revisionist theory of historiography, the emergence of many historical events is not necessarily related to objective political, economic, social and international factors, but is closely related to subjective, artificial and accidental factors. [7]
CHINA'S STAGE IDOL COMES TO BROADWAY，New York Times，1930-2-16
(2) The three major positions of the performances in the United States
Any type of successful cultural diplomacy must be well-defined, justified, and well-known. Mei Lanfang's moderate and reasonable positioning of her visit to the United States has clearly declared to the outside world the purpose of her visit to the United States, the nature of her performances, and the basic characteristics of government-people cooperation.
Mei Lanfang's English introduction book printed for her visit to the United States
First of all, Mei Lanfang clearly defined and limited the three major nature and purpose of the performance in the United States. The first is to introduce Chinese Peking Opera to the American people and learn American drama. On January 14, 1930, when a farewell party was held at the Majestic Hotel in Shanghai, Mei Lanfang stressed that the trip to the United States was to introduce and exchange Chinese Peking Opera to the American people through text descriptions, books and pictures, clothing equipment, musical instruments and faces. [8] At the New York Welcome Conference on February 8, Mei Lanfang also told the American people that Chinese art has been circulating in the West for a long time, but Chinese drama rarely comes to Europe and the United States to perform, and it is necessary to study and speculate on Chinese drama for more than ten years, so it is necessary to introduce and disseminate it. [9] At the same time, according to the New York Times, Mei lanfang publicly stated that "one of the purposes of his visit was to conduct an in-depth study of american theater art". [10] Mei Lanfang, in an honorary doctorate from Pomona College in California, on May 28, 1930, also stated that he had come to the United States "to absorb new cultures" and to listen to "criticism from scholars in your country",[11] promoting the improvement of ancient Chinese Peking opera.
The second is to enhance the feelings of the two peoples and promote peace for mankind. Mei Lanfang mentioned at the farewell party in Shanghai that he went to the United States to promote the national feelings between China and the United States. [12] In view of the fact that the First World War had only ended about 10 years ago and China was in the midst of warlord chaos, Mei Lanfang wisely emphasized at the farewell dinner in New York on March 23 that world peace needed to contact the feelings of the people of all countries, and that the harmony of the feelings of the people of all countries should start with art and art, "because art and art are the most emotional, the common interest of everyone's thought, and the knowledge of no borders", in particular, the purpose of Chinese music unchanged for four thousand years is to "promote peace". [13] In accepting the honorary doctorate, Mei Lanfang also clearly pointed out that visiting the United States will help "promote the peace that civilized mankind most earnestly hopes for", because "to maintain true peace in the world, human beings must understand each other, forgive and sympathize with each other, and they must help each other, not fight each other", so "the peace that we, the two major peoples of China and the United States, hope for human peace according to international credit and goodwill."
Honorary Doctorate awarded by the University of Southern California in Pomona, USA (selected from "Mei Lanfang's Treasured Old Photos", edited by Mei Lanfang Memorial Hall)
The third is the non-profit nature of the performance. Mei Lanfang clearly stated that this visit to the United States performance is not for profit and money, and asked the owner of the American theater to "not hold the nature of a complete business", but not making money does not mean no dignity, he asked the owner of the American theater to hire courtesy, preferential treatment, and grant Mei Lanfang the right to perform freely, and the identity and specifications of the theater need to be noble enough. [14]
(3) Official assistance for performances in the United States
In addition to clarifying the purpose and purpose of the above-mentioned Peking Opera diplomacy, Mei Lanfang actively cooperated with The Chinese and American officials to minimize obstacles and enhance the effectiveness of cultural diplomacy. However, compared with Mei Lanfang's three visits to Japan (1919, 1924 and 1956) and two visits to the Soviet Union (1935 and 1952), the official involvement in the performances in the United States was much smaller, and Mei Lanfang's visit to the United States should be a moderate cooperation in official diplomacy and people-to-people exchanges.
The origin of Mei Lanfang's visit to the United States is related to official diplomacy. In 1915, President Xu Shichang (1855-1939) of the Beiyang government bid farewell to Paul Reinsch (1869-1923), the U.S. Minister to China, and invited Mei Lanfang to perform. After watching the play, Reinsch proposed: "If you want the Feelings of the Chinese and American people to be friendly, it is best to ask Mei Lanfang to go to the United States once and perform his art", he said, "I deeply believe that art without international ideas is the easiest way to communicate the friendship between the two countries", "Art to integrate feelings with art is the best way." Since then, the Crown Prince of Sweden, the Viceroys of France and the United States, the British Ministers, the Governors of Hong Kong, and the Ministers of Various Countries in China have all visited Mei Lanfang, often eating and watching dramas, thus forming a radiation effect, because later foreign guests from all walks of life who traveled in Beijing often visited Mei Lanfang, and they regarded the visits to "the Forbidden City, the Temple of Heaven, the Great Wall, the Visit to Meijun, and the Watching of Mei opera as equally necessary travels", and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs must send officials to guide and help such visits.
In addition, the ministers and counsellors of the US Embassy have given convenience in handling passports and health examinations for visiting the United States, and the British, French, German, Belgian, Italian, and Japanese envoys in Beijing have also written letters of introduction to their ambassadors and consuls in the United States, asking them to help take care of the Mei Opera Troupe. At the time, local chinese officials were also optimistic. For example, at the farewell banquets when Mei Lanfang and her party left Hebei, Tianjin and Shanghai, some local officials also attended the farewell party, including Tianjin Mayor Cui Tingxian, Hebei Provincial Government Chairman Xu Cichen (speech), Shanghai Mayor Zhang Qun, and Songhu Garrison Commander Xiong Shihui. [15] Moreover, on January 6, 1930, Mei Lanfang met with Foreign Minister Wang Rutang in Shanghai, who said: "Your visit to the United States this time has nothing to do with the dignity of the country. After I returned to Beijing, I sent a telegram to the officials stationed in the United States to take proper care of them. Rest assured.". [16]
After arriving in the United States, the official reception of the United States was also over-standard, almost the same as the treatment of diplomatic missions, because the Mei Lanfang Theater Company personally approached the ship when it entered Seattle on the night of January 31. Due to flaws in the immigration procedures and the fact that each Chinese must complete a permit to travel to the United States on board before landing, in order to save time, immigration officials allowed the members of the troupe to board first, and then sent the permit to the hotel. Especially in Honolulu, the tax inspector generally asked and signed. [17] This contrasted with the arrival of 25 Cantonese opera actors from Hong Kong in Seattle on July 4, 1925, when they were detained by the IMMIGRATION Board on suspicion of illegal immigrants doing hard labor and the theaters that hosted them. [18]
The Mayor of Honolulu Entertains Mei Lanfang, Qi Rushan, and Zhang Pengchun (Selected from Mei Lanfang's Rare Historical Materials, Edited by Gu Shuguang, Xueyuan Publishing House)
At the same time, local officials in the United States also warmly welcomed. Arriving in San Francisco on May 24, the mayor personally greeted him at the train station and planted the flags of China and the United States on the dozen or so cars in which the troupe members were riding, as well as six police cars that opened the road and sounded sirens. The president of the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce mentioned in his speech: "San Francisco is the hub of China and the United States, so the feelings for China have always been very good; since Mei Jun's performance, the whole United States has a much clearer understanding of oriental culture, and the feelings of the people of the two countries will be more friendly in the future." [19] In Los Angeles and Hawaii, key officials such as the mayor and governor also received them in person.
The Chinese Embassy and Consulates in the United States have also assisted in many ways. On February 14, 1930, Wu Chao-chu (1887-1934), the Chinese minister to the United States, held a welcome party in Washington and invited Mei Lanfang to give his first performance, which was attended by about 700 officials from the U.S. Department of State and foreign envoys, including Vice President Charles Curtis (1860-1936), Secretary of the Interior Ray Lyman Wilbur, and Secretary of Commerce Robert Patterson Lamont etc. [20] Moreover, then-President Herbert Clark Hoover (1874-1964) planned to attend. Xiong Chongzhi, Chinese Consul General in New York, also presided over a welcome banquet in New York, and vigorously praised Mei Lanfang's visit to the United States, because "the state can achieve such a great effect without spending a little money or doing a little thing." [21]
This kind of official reception and courtesy from China and the United States in the form of folk performances and personal travels is a commendable effect of cultural diplomacy, which reveals the great significance of Mei Lanfang as a national ambassador.
(4) Peking Opera diplomacy with people as the mainstay
Although the diplomatic and local departments of China and the United States have assisted Mei Lanfang's visit to the United States, this is a Peking Opera diplomacy that is mainly non-governmental. Obviously, without official assistance and cooperation, the trip to the United States is difficult to achieve, but if the official color is too strong, the cultural exchange function that can be highlighted must be hindered, and the result is half the effort.
Left Declaration1930-1-1 Mei Lanfang went to the United States to promote art Right Mei Lanfang made an advertisement for fundraising for a visit to the United States
Mei Lanfang's conception and preparation for visiting the United States were first and foremost closely related to american non-governmental figures. After 1915, Beijing was already quite open, Mei Lanfang also had a certain degree of popularity, when American friends from all walks of life visited Mei Lanfang, Mei Lanfang "will be extremely sincere hospitality, but also can be regarded as the friendship of the landlord, but also regarded as a matter of national diplomacy." [22] As early as 1925, American newspapers and periodicals began to vigorously recommend and praise Mei Lanfang and Zhang Pengchun, arguing that Chinese Peking opera offered a surprisingly close parallel to our drama of the Middle Ages. [23]
At the same time, all the funds for Mei Lanfang's visit to the United States were raised by the people. It is very different from Mei Lanfang's visit to the Soviet Union in 1935, because the visit to the Soviet Union was invited by the Soviet ambassador to China, the Soviet side took the initiative to provide food and accommodation, but the performance remuneration could not be in foreign currency, and the specific itinerary was arranged by the Soviet ambassador to China and the cultural counselor, although the official inviting unit was the acting president of the Soviet Foreign Cultural Association. Moreover, the Soviet government also sent the "North" special ship from Shanghai to escort Mei Lanfang to Vladivostok. [24]
In contrast, Mei Lanfang's visit to the United States can only raise funds by herself, and she has experienced many difficulties and twists and turns. Mei Lanfang first set up a special drama academy in Beijing, aiming to attract funds from friends in Beijing, Tianjin and Shanghai. Later, in the spring of 1929, he was strongly promoted by Li Shizeng (1881-1973), who had been the president of Peking University and the president of Beijing Normal University, and was supported by celebrities such as John Leighton Stuart (1876-1962) and Philip Fugh (1900-1988), president of Yenching University. Moreover, because the United States is suffering from a serious economic depression, resulting in a sharp depreciation of the US dollar, at the time of the trip, in addition to the "100,000 yuan that has been raised, it is necessary to raise tens of thousands more", and at the last moment, the government did not come forward, but was assisted by the bank, "Fortunately, Feng Youweijun's painstaking Zhang Luo, with the help of the princes of the banking circles, actually raised more than 100,000 yuan in Shanghai." [25] According to the diary of Uncle Li Fei, the secretary and third disciple who accompanied Mei Lanfang to the United States, Mr. Feng "was the earliest and most powerful founder of Mr. Mei, and also the person mr. Mei most respected and relied on." According to Li Feishu's recollection, the funds for visiting the United States were first, Li Shizeng, Zhou Zuomin, and Wang Shaoxian from Beijing, and second, "unanimous sponsorship by Mr. Cheng Du Yuesheng, Jin Jinrong, Zhang Xiaolin, Feng Youwei, and Yu Qiaqing" was successful in this trip to the United States. [26] At the same time, a total of 219 people donated money in the United States, including Columbia Professor Dewey of academia, Stuart Layden, president of Yenching University, Robert Hutchins (1899-1977), president of the University of Chicago, Chaplin, and others in the literary and artistic circles, and President Wilson's wife, her son-in-law, and the Secretary of the Treasury (W.G.G.) in politics. McAdoo), former U.S. Ministers to China Charles Crane and John MacMurray and Los Angeles Mayor John Porter. [27]
Du Yuesheng took a group photo with famous people from the north and south on his 60th birthday, a total of 28 people
The left is Du Yuesheng and Dr. Mei co-starring in the four chakra visiting the mother The right is Qi Rushan's "Mei Lanfang's Travels to the United States" (1933 B species version) to Du Yuesheng
In addition, the host organization and core members are all non-governmental. The main reception unit of the US side is the non-governmental Huamei Association. According to Meng Zhi's recollection, "In January 1928, I visited Zhang Pengchun, Mei Lanfang and Qi Rushan in Beijing to discuss Mei Lanfang's visit to the United States to perform. It was not until August 1929 that serious discussions began, and letters were received from Zhang Pengchun and Mei Lanfang, who hoped to start performing in New York at the beginning of the Spring Festival in the Year of the Horse (February 1930). [28] Through Mei Lanfang's visit to the United States, Meng Hope will transform the Huamei Association into a non-profit cultural institution that promotes Chinese culture to the West. Moreover, through Mei Lanfang's visit to the United States, the Huamei Association hopes to re-evaluate the standards of theatrical art and prompt Westerners to "initiate a new interest in the culture of the oldest living nation." [29]
More importantly, Mei Lanfang's visit to the United States has been treated favorably by the American people and overseas Chinese along the way. From January 18, 1930, when boarding a ship and leaving Shanghai, stopping in Japan, in the course of traveling through Victoria City (Canada), Seattle, Chicago, Washington, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Hawaii for a full 6 months, the Mei Opera Troupe has always been welcomed and received by all walks of life in the United States in terms of eating, living, traveling, baggage clearance, service attitude, etc. For example, when Mei Lanfang returned to China from the United States and passed through Hawaii, the local overseas Chinese hoped that the owner of the ship would dock two hours late, because the people who picked up the boat had not yet arrived, so "non-share" demands, the owner of the ship actually agreed to cooperate. Moreover, according to the statutes of the American Railways, single trailers were not allowed, but a special car was hung for the May Theater Company from Seattle to Chicago. [30] In particular, on March 20, 1930, the American Newspapermen's Association held a farewell banquet in New York, attended by 5,000 people, a table of $500, a table of $1,000 in a private room on the second floor, and New York Mayor Jimmy Walker accompanied Mei Lanfang into the hall, and all the guests stood up, silent, and only the ladies were heard screaming of love and envy. [31]
Therefore, rationally positioning the purpose and purpose of the performances in the United States, appropriately relying on official assistance and support, and striving to strengthen the organization and fundraising of non-governmental circles should be the three important boosts to the success of Peking Opera diplomacy and the western transmission of middle schools.
exegesis:
[1] Ien Ang, Yudhishthir Raj Isar, and Phillip Mar, “Cultural Diplomacy: Beyond the National Interest?”, International Journal of Cultural Policy, vol. 21 （4） （2015）: 365;
Gao Fei and Peng Xin, "Academic Interpretation of Cultural Diplomacy", Journal of Wuhan University of Science and Technology (Social Science Edition), No. 3, 2021, p. 268.
[2] Lucian Jora, “New Practices and Trends in Cultural Diplomacy,” Political Science International Relations, X （1） （2013）: 43.
[3] Hu Shi, "The Concept of Literary Evolution and the Improvement of Drama", New Youth, Vol. V, No. 4, 1918, pp. 308-315.
[4] Uncle Li Fei: "Mei Lanfang's Diary of Youmei", edited by Fu Jin: The Complete Works of Mei Lanfang, vol. 7 (Beijing: China Drama Publishing House, 2016 edition), pp. 342-343;
Li Xiaohong, "Uncle Li Fei in Mei Lanfang's Diary of Youmei", Drama Studies, No. 1, 2021, pp. 93, 98.
[5] Chih Meng, Chinese American Unverstanding: A Sixty-Year Search（New York: China Institute in America, 1981）, p.150.
[6] Shi Shuqing, Westerners Watch Chinese Drama, People's Literature Publishing House, Beijing, 1988, pp. 9, 23.
[7] Thomas Kuhn, “Logic of Discovery or Psychology of Research.” In Imre Lakatos and Alan Musgrave, eds., Criticism and the Growth of Knowledge, second ed. （Cambridge: Cambridge Unviersity Press, 1972）, pp. 6-7; Vann Woodward,The Future of the Past（Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989）.
[8] "Mei Lanfang Farewell Party Ji Sheng", Declaration, January 17, 1930, p. 15.
[9] Qi Rushan: Mei Lanfang's Travels to the United States (B Kind), Vol. III (Beiping: Beiping Commercial Press, 1933), p. 15.
[10] “Mei Lan-Fang here with his Actors: Foremost Member of China’s Stage Warmly Welcomed by Compatriots,” New York Times, Februrary 9, 1930.
[11] Qi Rushan: Appendix to Mei Lanfang's Travels to the United States (B- Edition), p. 10.
[12] "Mei Lanfang Farewell Party Ji Sheng", Declaration, January 17, 1930, p. 15.
[13] “Mei Lan-fang Paises American Cordiality,” New York Times, March 23, 1930.
[14] Qi Rushan: Mei Lanfang's Travels to the United States (B- Edition), Vol. 1, pp. 10, 11, 18.
[15] Qi Rushan: Mei Lanfang's Travels to the United States (B- Edition), Vol. 1, pp. 2, 9, 50, 49.
[16] Uncle Li Fei, The Diary of Mei Lanfang's Tour of the United States, pp. 366-367.
[17] Qi Rushan: Mei Lanfang's Travels to the United States (B- Edition), vol. IV, pp. 37-38; Vol. III, p. 5.
[18] Nancy Younhwa Rao, Chinatown Opera Theater in North America, 2017 Quote from Drowning: "A Historical Exploration: Transoceanic Cantonese Opera and the Disappearing Chinatown Theater", https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/0X3nxGVRnkBlRWoefEdUxQ.
[19] Qi Rushan: Mei Lanfang's Travels to the United States (B- Edition), vol. III, p. 21.
[20] “Mei Lan-Fang in the States,” North-China Sunday News, Februrary 16, 1930.
[21] Qi Rushan: Mei Lanfang's Travels to the United States (B- Edition), vol. IV, p. 41.
[22] Qi Rushan: Mei Lanfang's Travels to the United States (B- Edition), Vol. 1, p. 3.
[23] A. E. Zucker, “Chinese Wits and the Drama,” The Saturday Review of Literature, April 25, 1925.
[24] Xu Ji's Biography: Mei Lanfang's Travels to Russia, in Fu Jin, ed., The Complete Works of Mei Lanfang, vol. 7 (Beijing: China Drama Publishing House, 2016), p. 14; Huang Dianqi, "Zhang Pengchun and Mei Lanfang's Visit to the United States and the Soviet Union", Chinese Peking Opera, No. 2, 1995, p. 43.
[25] Qi Rushan: Mei Lanfang's Travels to the United States (B Kind) Vol. 1, pp. 4, 14.
[26] Uncle Li Fei, Mei Lanfang's Diary of a Tour of the United States, pp. 362, 369.
[27] Mei Shaowu, "A List of American Patrons Of American Performances in the United States", My Father Mei Lanfang (Part 1) (Beijing: Zhonghua Bookstore, 2006), pp. 230-237.
[28] Chih Meng, Chinese American Understanding, p.151.
[29] Edward C. Carter, “Mei Lan-Fang in America,” Pacific Affairs, vol. 3, 9 （Sept. 1930）: 827.
[30] Qi Rushan: Mei Lanfang's Travels to the United States (B- Edition), Vol. II, pp. 1-4, 3.
[31] A.C Scott, Mei Lan-fang: The Life and Times of a Peking Actor（Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 1971）, p. 111.
About author:Chaohui Hong, tenured professor of history at Fordham University in New York, USA, with research interests in the history of Sino-US relations, American history and economic history; Dong Cunfa, an independent scholar in Canada and a special researcher at the Center for Asia-Pacific Regional Cooperation and Governance at Fudan University, is interested in the history of the Republic of China and the du yuesheng family history.
Editor-in-Charge: Shanshan Peng
Proofreader: Liu Wei