During the 19th century, and even into the early 20th century, it was common for circuses, carnivals and other shows to exploit people with rare disabilities or deformities — and sometimes for just being ethnically different. Two people who became international celebrities in these shows and who toured Boston in the early 1800s were known as “Chang and Eng.”
On August 16, 1829, the Sachem, captained by Abel Coffin, sailed into Boston Harbor, bearing with it Chang and Eng, who eventually became known worldwide as the “Siamese twins.” Robert Hunter, a British merchant, was also aboard, working with Coffin, hoping to financially benefit from displaying Chang and Eng to the world.
Though they were born in Thailand, Chang and Eng possessed Chinese ancestry, on both their father and mother’s side, and were conjoined twins, bound at the abdomen by a five-inch long section of skin. The Boston Patriot, August 17, 1829, printed, “We have seen and examined this strange freak of nature. It is one of the greatest living curiosities we ever saw.” A number of physicians would also spend time examining Chang and Eng. Then, Chang and Eng were exhibited at the ruins of the former Exchange Coffee House, which had burned down in 1818.
In “Inseparable: The Original Siamese Twins and Their Rendezvous with American History” by Yunte Huang (Liveright, 2018), it was stated that “In the last week of August 1829, thousands of Bostonians, lured by a blizzard of publicity via newspaper reports, advertisements, handbills, and eye-catching posters, stood in long queues outside the tent at the Exchange, eager to get a peek at the curiosity from afar. Each of them would pay a stiff fifty-cent admission fee.”
That fifty-cent fee would be equivalent to about $45 today, so was a substantial fee at that time, indicative of the great interest of Bostonians to view this exhibition. Soon after this display in Boston, Chang and Eng were taken to Providence, Rhode Island.
But the two were not the only to be exploited in this way in Boston in that era.
A Chinese woman arrived in the U.S. on Oct. 7, 1834, stopping first in New York City, was supposedly the first Chinese woman to arrive in this country. She soon adopted the name of Afong Moy, and was more commonly known as the “Chinese Lady.” Afong was put on display in New York City, for an admission of fifty cents, and eventually left the U.S. in 1837, only to return about ten years later. On Sept. 7, 1847, she made an appearance in Boston, for only a 25 cent admission, for several days at the Tremont Temple.
The Boston Courier, September 7, 1847, noted that she would “appear in her native costume, composed of the most superb Chinese Embroidery, and will also exhibit her magnificent Worshipping Robe!” In addition, it was mentioned that she would speak in Chinese, sing a Chinese song, and eat with chopsticks. She would also walk across the elevated stage, intended to “display (the extraordinary and peculiar characteristic of the higher classes of her countrywomen) her wonderful little feet.”
At this time, the Chinese and others from abroad were still seen as exotic. Their “performances” were just simply to engage in some normal activities, such as speaking, walking, and eating. To Bostonians at this point in time, it was an alluring draw, to learn more about the Chinese of which they knew so little.
In 1853, a troupe of “Chinese Artists” performed in Boston. The Boston Herald, March 28, 1853, printed an advertisement that a troupe of Chinese Artists would make their first appearance in Boston at the Meledeon, before they left to tour Europe. There would be “…astonishing feats of Magic, Legerdemain, Jugglery, Dexterity, & c.” The troupe had 14 performers, both male and female, children and adults. One of the noted performers was Chin Gan, a “Double-jointed Dwarf,” who was 29 years old and 30 inches high. He had “…double processes in all the joints of his limbs and body” and was said to be a special favorite of the Emperor of China.
The troupe had performed in many U.S. cities, including San Francisco, Sacramento, New Orleans, St. Louis, Cincinnati, Pittsburgh, New York, Baltimore and Washington. It was said this troupe would provide “…opportunities they will furnish to obtain correct impressions concerning the peculiar character, manners and customs of a nation whose history is more remarkable and worthy of investigation than that of any other people in the world.” The cost of admission to the show was 50 cents for adults and 25 cents for children.
Another newspaper, from Louisiana, provided some more details about this troupe. The Times-Picayune, December 3, 1852, stated the troupe was “The great company of Chinese Jugglers, Magicians, Necromancers, Tumblers, Rope Dancers, etc.” It included performers such as Wan Sing (great Knife Thrower and legerdemain with Stone Balls), Tack Quy (famous juggler, performs The Fan & Flying Knives), Ching Moon (magician, balances on his nose Chinese coins affixed to the end of a straw), Thong Mong (stilt walking), Loi Pha (pupil of Thong Mung), Lo Pu (pupil of Thong Mung), Yan Yow (magic and legerdemain) and Chinese music by Ar Sam, Loi Pha, Lo Pa and Chin Gan.
The troupe proved so popular in Boston that the Boston Herald, April 29, 1853, reported they would also give performances at the Lyceum Hall for two nights, at the request of the residents of South Boston. They also had an afternoon matinee for children under 15 years old.
As more Chinese came to the U.S. to live and work here, more overt racism reared its ugly head, leading to many difficulties, for years and years to come, for the many Chinese who simply sought a new life in the U.S.
SAMPAN, published by the nonprofit Asian American Civic Association, is the only bilingual Chinese-English newspaper in New England, acting as a bridge between Asian American community organizations and individuals in the Greater Boston area. It is published biweekly and distributed free-of-charge throughout metro Boston; it is also delivered to as far away as Hawaii.
