The Alexandria History Museum at the Lyceum
Thursday, November 10
7-8:30 p.m.
$10 in-person, $6 virtual. Tickets available here.

Join us Thursday, November 10, at The Alexandria History Museum at The Lyceum for the lecture, “The ‘Chinese Lady’s’ Presence in Virginia, the District of Columbia, and Maryland” by Nancy E. Davis, curator emeritus of Home and Community Life at the National Museum of American History.

In November 1849, Afong Moy, dubbed “The Chinese Lady,” appeared at Lyceum Hall in Alexandria, Virginia, during a tour of the mid-Atlantic states. She had come to New York in 1834 and was the first recognized Chinese woman to arrive in America. For 17 years, she travelled across the country, becoming the first Chinese person to receive wide public acclaim and national recognition. American merchants Francis and Nathaniel Carne and the ship captain Benjamin Obear brought Afong Moy to America and played on, controlled, and mediated the public’s consciousness of her visual difference—her bound feet, Chinese clothing, and accessories—to promote Chinese goods they were selling.

In the later 1830s and 40s, and by the time she appeared in Alexandria, Afong Moy had made a transition from a promoter of goods to that of spectacle. During this time, she experienced the conjoining of two worlds—that of the market and the theater. Afong Moy operated simultaneously as entertainment, edification, and billboard. Her new manager occasionally set her against a panoramic backdrop of an illusionistic oriental scene, thus highlighting her cultural exceptionality through her clothing, objects, and images.

Virginians, Marylanders, and citizens of the District of Columbia had numerous opportunities to view the "Chinese Lady.” The lecture will provide an overview of her life, as well as Afong Moy's experiences in this geographical area.

Nancy E. Davis is curator emeritus of Home and Community Life at the National Museum of American History, Smithsonian Institution. She has worked as a public historian in local, state, and national museums for more than forty years. Her research in museums and as a lecturer has frequently addressed aspects of Asian influence on American culture.

Tickets are $10 to attend in person and $6 to watch the lecture live on Zoom. Tickets are available at: AlexandriaVA.gov/Shop. The Alexandria History Museum at The Lyceum is located at 201 South Washington Street in Old Town, Alexandria.

The City of Alexandria is committed to compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, as amended.  To request a reasonable accommodation or an alternative format, e-mail jim.holloway@alexandriava.gov or call 703.746.4994.

For inquiries from the news media only, contact the Office of Communications & Public Information at newsroom@alexandriava.gov or 703.746.3969. 

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This release can be found at Alexandriava.gov/go/4070.