American Overseas Chinese Daily Online Review: Yellow Willow Frost On American Coin Chinese Continue to Write Hollywood Legends

China News Network, June 28, Hollywood's first Chinese movie star Huang Liushuang will be listed on the United States 25 cent commemorative coin, the American Overseas Chinese Newspaper network commented "Yellow Willow Cream on the American coin, Chinese continue to write hollywood legend" to commemorate her achievements.

The full text is excerpted below:

Next year, when people want to toss a coin to make a decision, they can no longer ask the other party whether to choose a positive or negative, but instead ask: "Washington or yellow willow frost?" ”

The Federal Mint recently announced the launch of the "American Women's 25 Cent Commemorative Coin Project", which plans to issue five new 25-cent coins per year from 2022 to 2025, commemorating their achievements with the heads of deceased American outstanding women of different ethnicities and different fields. Among the five women in the first year of the program were Maya Angelou, Hollywood's first African-American female screenwriter, Wilma Mankiller, the first chief female chief of the Native American Cherokee tribe, Adelina otero-warren, the first Hispanic woman to run for Congress, Sally Ride, the first American female astronaut to go into space, and Anna Wong, Hollywood's first Chinese movie star, Huang Liushuang.

There is a popular saying in social networks that "I am not a renminbi, and I can't do it everyone likes", which means that everyone will encounter mixed external evaluations, don't pay too much attention. The yellow willow cream that is about to be printed on the circulating currency of "everyone's favorite" was loved by some people in the 1920s and 1930s, and was also despised or even spurned by others. And in the face of harsh criticism, her tolerance and courage are commendable.

In 1919, 14-year-old Huang Liushuang stepped into the film circle, and at the age of 17, she shocked the film world with a "Sea Death"; in 1936, as a third-generation immigrant, she went to China to "find her roots" and was warmly entertained by celebrities such as Gu Weijun, Mei Lanfang, Hu Die; shortly after returning to the United States, the Anti-Japanese War broke out, she shot two anti-Japanese films, and donated all the remuneration and the proceeds from the sale of private jewelry to support China's War of Resistance... On acting, on the righteousness, she is blameless. However, her family did not like her role as an oriental lover. Although Huang Liushuang tried to take over the role of a positive Asian woman in the later stage, she did not have much choice in the environment at that time. She has also publicly questioned: "Why are Chinese on screen almost always villains... How can we be like this? Our civilization is several times older than the civilization of the West. ”

Moreover, at that time, the U.S. film censorship regulation Hayes Code prohibited cross-racial emotional scenes on the screen, which made Huang Liushuang doomed to miss the heroine. The biggest blow of her career was the remake of Pearl Buck's masterpiece, the rare film "The Land" that showed Chinese image in a positive way, she failed to win the heroine, and finally starred a Chinese peasant couple by a white actor, and the female lead actress later won an Oscar for the film.

It was the best of times—Huang Liushuang caught up with the golden age of Hollywood, which soared from silent films to sound color films; it was also the worst of times—the Chinese Exclusion Act prevailed for more than half a century, and Chinese women not only struggled to be protagonists, but also affected their real love lives.

In 1961, at the age of 56, Huang Liushuang died of a sudden heart attack at home. In another 60 years, Chinese Americans have a place in Hollywood, starring in Disney princesses, Marvel superheroes, and winning the Oscar for best director, Golden Globe awards and other shining trophies.

As a Hollywood predecessor, Huang Liushuang will use 25 cent coins next year to meet this person in various consumption scenarios, and use her life to remind people that although the Chinese Exclusion Act has long been thrown into the garbage heap of history, discrimination against ethnicity and gender is still lurking around like a virus, waiting for opportunities such as the epidemic. Whether it is Chinese or other ethnic minorities, in order to achieve such a counterattack as "from the daughter of a washer to a Hollywood legend", it is not enough to rely on individual struggles, but also to work together to promote the process of history and create a civilized society with equal opportunities, diversity and inclusiveness. (Cheng Ran)

Source: China News Network