Chinese in America (MOCA) Collection “中国娃娃”明信片暨演出"Slant Eyed Scandals"的广告，Marnie Mueller捐赠，美国华人博物馆（MOCA）馆藏
In the 1938, Chinese American club owner Charlie Low opened the Forbidden City in San Francisco, the most famous of the “chop suey circuit” of Chinese nightclubs that thrived throughout the 40s and 50s. While the clubs sometimes played off “Oriental” stereotypes, the all-Asian casts of dancers and singers largely performed popular American songs and dances of the times. These vaudeville floor shows shocked the conservative Chinese communities and puzzled white crowds, who were fascinated by the Asian performers singing, dancing, and dressing in ways they had never seen before.
Following the success of the West Coast circuit, Tom Ball, a Caucasian stage producer, opened China Doll in New York on 51st between Broadway and 7th Avenue in 1946 and billed it as “New York’s only all-oriental night club.” China Doll differed in many ways from the West Coast establishments like Forbidden City. It chose a pale blue color scheme that contrasted with the palatial reds and golds of San Francisco’s clubs; this design choice was meant to draw the more well to do New York crowds. A much more significant change was that the China Doll played on Asian stereotypes in ways that Chinese-owned San Franciscan clubs did not. This difference led to shows with names such as “Maid in China” and “Slant Eyed Scandals.” Like the black entertainers uptown at the Apollo Theater or the Cotton Club, the Asian performers often experienced racist degradation while on stage. Still, chop suey circuit nightclubs like China Doll introduced a new image of Asian American performers to a broad audience and enabled the careers of a whole generation of Asian American entertainers.
1938年，美国华人俱乐部老板刘英培（Charlie Low）在旧金山创办了“紫禁城”夜总会，该夜总会在40年代和50年代蓬勃发展的中国夜总会中以其Chop Suey巡回演出最为著名。虽然这些夜总会有时会宣扬“东方”的刻板印象，但是大部分时候，这些全亚洲演员阵容的舞者和歌者主要表演的还是当时流行的美国歌曲和舞蹈。这些歌舞杂耍表演让保守的华人社区感到震惊，让白人观众感到困惑，他们被之前从未见过的亚洲演员的歌舞和服装迷住了。
1946年，随着西岸巡回演出的成功，白人舞台制作人Tom Ball在纽约百老汇和第七大道之间的51街上创立了“中国娃娃夜总会”，并将其标榜为“纽约唯一一家全东方风格夜总会”。中国娃娃在很多方面都与西岸的“紫禁城”等场所不同。它选择了一种淡蓝色的配色方案，这与旧金山的俱乐部富丽堂皇的红色和金色形成了鲜明对比；这种设计选择是为了吸引更多的纽约人群。一个更为重要的变化是中国娃娃俱乐部以一种旧金山的华人夜总会不曾使用过的方式展现了亚洲的刻板印象。因为这种差异才有了《中国女佣》（Maid in China）和《斜眼丑闻》（Slant Eyed Scandals）等节目的播出。就像纽约上城的阿波罗剧院（the Apollo Theater）或棉花俱乐部（the Cotton Club）的黑人艺人一样，亚裔演员在舞台上经常遭受种族歧视。但是，像中国娃娃这样的Chop Suey巡演夜总会向广大观众展示了亚裔美国演员的新形象，使得整整一代亚裔美国艺人的事业得以发展。
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。