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Blogs Categories: Asian American History

Blogs Categories: Asian American History

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Stories Above and Beyond: The Medal of Honor

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This is the second blog post in a series relating to the Medal of Honor. Today, in advance of Veterans Day, the Veterans History Project (VHP) debuts a new online portal built to share the stories of Medal of Honor recipients in our collection. Through this feature, entitled “Stories Above and Beyond,” we offer access …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

World War I: Immigrants Make a Difference on the Front Lines and at Home

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This is a guest post by Ryan Reft, a historian in the Manuscript Division. By 1910, nearly a third of the United States’ 92 million residents were either born abroad or the progeny of parents who immigrated to America. The idea of “hyphenated Americans”—citizens who identified as Polish-American or Italian-American, for example—discomforted many native-born citizens. …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Inquiring Minds: Chinese Opera in North America

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In her new book, “Chinatown Opera Theater in North America,” music scholar Nancy Yunhwa Rao tells the story of how Chinatown opera, performed initially to entertain Chinese immigrants, developed into an important part of America’s musical culture. Drawing on new Chinese- and English-language research—including sources at the Library of Congress—she unmasks the backstage world of …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

New Finding Aid: Asian-American and Pacific-Islander Resources

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This is a guest post by Andrew Gaudio, reference librarian and classics, medieval studies and linguistics specialist in the Humanities and Social Sciences Division. The Library of Congress collects materials on most subjects, excluding agriculture and medicine. In a collection of over 160 million items, finding what you are looking for can be challenging. To …

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Pic of the Week: Celebrating Classical Cambodian Dance

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The Cambodian-American Heritage Dancers and the Chum Ngek Ensemble performed classical Khmer dance and music in the Coolidge Auditorium on May 25. The program took place as part of the Library’s Homegrown Concert Series and in celebration of Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

Image of an ornate clock showing 2:05 with sculpted male figures sitting on each side of the clock face

Recognizing the Service of Asian-Pacific-American Veterans

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The following is a republication of a post by Andrew Huber, liaison specialist for the Veterans History Project. It was first published on the Library’s “Folklife Today” blog. Throughout the month of May, we celebrate Asian-American and Pacific-Islander heritage and remember the contributions made by people of Asian-Pacific descent. Those contributions are numerous, from Duke …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Recognizing the Service of Asian Pacific American Veterans

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The following is a guest blog post by Andrew Huber, Liaison Specialist for the Veterans History Project (VHP). Throughout the month of May, we celebrate Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage, and remember the contributions made by people of Asian Pacific descent. Those contributions are numerous, from Duke Kahanamoku, who brought the sport of surfing …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Teaching the Japanese Tea Ceremony: Mine Somi Kubose

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Tea began as a medicine and grew into a beverage. In China, in the eighth century, it entered the realm of poetry as one of the polite amusements. The fifteenth century saw Japan ennoble it into a religion of aestheticism—Teaism. Teaism is a cult founded on the adoration of the beautiful among the sordid facts …

A man playing a guitar and singing to a close crowd of a dozen or so men and women

Music and a Mystery to Celebrate the Chinese New Year

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Happy Chinese New Year! The Year of the Rooster begins on Saturday, January 28th.  To celebrate, here are four recordings of Chinese music recorded on Victor in 1902 and 1903.  We hope that someone reading this article might be able to tell us more about these songs. The recordings are part of the collections of …