Courtesy of I-Ching and Mark Scott, Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection A&F "炒锅和保龄球" T恤
I-Ching和Mark Scott捐赠，美国华人博物馆（MOCA）馆藏
In 2002, Abercrombie & Fitch began producing new line of t-shirts featuring Asian American caricatures. ‘Wok-N-Bowl’ depicts a stereotypical image of a Chinese American restaurant workers wearing a rice hat. In making fun of the Chinese American restaurant worker, the image fails to take into account how this stereotype was born. With the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, Chinese laborers were barred from immigrating or obtaining citizenship for a decade. This act was a result of many American laborers feeling threatened by Chinese laborers who worked for a lower wage. Only special businesses were allowed to bring in employees from China through the use of a merchant visa. In 1915, restaurants were among the few businesses added to this list. Between 1910 and 1920 the number of Chinese restaurants in New York City alone nearly quadrupled. The image of the Chinese American restaurant worker was therefore born out of exclusionary actions taken by the US and a community left with very few other job options.
This shirt is an important part of MOCA’s collections as it causes one to reflect on the history of the image. Where do these stereotypes come from? Why are they still prevalent? Without asking these questions or confronting them, they will continue to exist. The Asian American community confronted this offensive image through collective public protest back in 2002, causing this shirt and two others to be pulled by Abercrombie & Fitch.
2002年，A&F品牌开始生产表现亚裔美国漫画的新系列T恤。“炒锅和保龄球”描述了一个带着米斗帽子的华裔美国餐馆工人的传统刻板形象。在取笑在美中国餐馆工作者时，这张漫画没有考虑这个传统刻板形象是如何诞生的。根据1882年的“排华法案”，中国劳工被禁止移民或者获得公民身份长达十年之久。这个法案是由于许多美国劳工感觉受到来自工资较低的中国劳工的威胁的结果。只有特殊企业才被允许利用商户签证从中国引进员工。在1915年，餐馆成为加入此列的少数行业之一。在1910年到1920年间，仅在纽约的中餐馆数量就几乎翻了两番。因此，美国华人餐馆工作者的形象其实是源于美国的排他性行为，以及一个被留下极少其他工作机会的社区。
这件T恤是MOCA馆藏中一个重要物件，因为它反映出一个图片的历史。这些刻板印象从哪里来？为什么他们仍在流行？如果我们不去问这些问题，不去面对他们，他们就仍将继续存在。亚裔美国社区在2002年通过公众集体抗议对抗这一冒犯性的漫画，直接导致这件T恤和其他两件都被Abercrombie & Fitch公司下线。
Countdown to the TCS NYC Marathon on November 3, 2019: 216 Days.
2019年是美国第一条横贯大陆铁路建成150周年，为了纪念第一批华人来美建设这条铁路所做出的巨大贡献， MOCA将其2019 TCS NYC Marathon的活动命名为 MOCA Spike 150 – Running Forward With Our Stories！ 鼓励大家通过马拉松公益跑，全国线上接力，以及一天一个故事的方式讲述150个华人的历史故事，敬请大家持续关注， 讲出华人自己的故事，回顾过去，立足现在，展望未来，共同书写美国历史，使之更加充实完整。