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CHINESE HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL PROJECT CELEBRATIONS

CHINESE HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL PROJECT CELEBRATIONS

BY Gerrye Wong  May 29, 2023

 

When the CHINESE HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL PROJECT (CHCP) ,  a non-profit organization in Santa Clara Valley whose mission is to share the proud history of Chinese Americans in the area, presents anything,  it goes out of its way to serve the community.  This month of May of Asian American Pacific Islander (AAPI) Heritage month, it hosted hundreds of visitors to its CHINESE AMERICAN HISTORICL MUSEUM IN History San Jose park for the first AAPI celebration in San Jose.

   Rising Phoenix Dragon  leads parade through History  Park, starting at Chinese American Historical Museum

I have to admit being a bit biased about this group in lauding its accomplishments this month, because way back in 1987, the concept of its origins and a museum were just a dream  conceived by my co- founder Lillian Gong-Guy and myself.  We realized then, some 36 years ago, that for too long, the proud history of Chinese accomplishments that contributed to the history of California had been overlooked in history books and the education of our school children. Gathering a team of dedicated believers in the cause to raise awareness of this lack of knowledge given in history classes, I am happy to say this non-profit group continues to serve its mission to bring people to our museum to learn about Chinese American history in Santa Clara Valley.

           

Dragon leads parade from CAHM to Japanese Friendship Garden and then The Republic of Vietnam Museum

Board member Mike Mak and CHCP President Dave Yick led the call to host San Jose’s first AAPI Heritage Month celebration last week, and welcomed visitors to a day filled with entertainment by many Asian American dance troupes, as well as opening  doors to its Chinese American Historical Museum and collaborated with the neighboring Vietnamese museum and Japanese Friendship Garden leaders.

                 

Dragon weaves inside Vietnamese Museum and greets Lion Head at Chinese American Historical Museum after giving blessing to each museum.

Under a beautiful California sunny day, the CHCP  welcomed visitors to an afternoon of cultural dances, singing, entertainment, tours and exhibits at History San Jose park to celebrate “Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month.   Amidst booming drum beats,  the program started with The Rising Phoenix Dragon Team rallying the audience to follow it in a parade to first stop and bless the Vietnamese Museum, march on to the Japanese Friendship Garden, and return In a flurry of intricate  movements to the front of the Chinese museum.  There it entered with wild fanfare  the CAHM to bless the site, greet the museum’s Lion Head exhibit with ferocious fervor, and then return to the outdoor front stage to whirl around the audience outside to the delight of the children in attendance.  In true Chinese tradition, a red li see money filled envelope was placed in the dragon’s mouth in thankfulness for its visit.     Chairman Mike Mak, President Dave Yick and  CHCP Co-Founder Gerrye Wong opened the program, welcoming all and stressing the importance of acknowledging and showcasing the many Asian cultures which  now  inhabit our Santa Clara County.

             

San Jose City Councilman Bien Doan visits museum, greets audience, and  stands before museum with CHCP  Board members

San Jose City Councilman Bien Doan who represents District 7 where our museum is located, also encouraged the audience to think about the future of our Asian American community, and stressed we must all work together to proudly share the many aspects of our culture and history that is being shown today by the CHCP.  The amiable and friendly young Councilman Doan cited that since this is the first time an AAPI Festival type event has happened here, he in his council capacity hopes to bring city support in the future for an even bigger event during next year’s AAPI Heritage month.  As people streamed in and out of the Chinese and Vietnamese museums, ongoing entertainment were enjoyed by the outside audience.  The Silver Creek High School Polynesian Dance Club members put on a thrilling  Hawaiian dance routine, followed by the Northeastern Art Troupe lovely ladies, clad in the traditional Vietnamese ou-dai dress,  who performed a Vietnamese dance

         

Silver Creek Polynesian Dance Club  and Northeastern Art Troupe perform during Festival.        Councilman Doan and guests join together for photo.    

CHCP Board members Edith Gong, Debbie Gong-Guy and Brenda Wong happily greeted over 250 visitors to the museum where people learned about the history of the first 4 Chinatowns that had been mysteriously burned down during the late 1800s  Although culprits were never found or prosecuted, the  anti-Chinese hate violence was evident and a safer community called Heinlenville was eventually established with a wall encircling it for safety  against intruders.  Many of the original pieces from this Chinatown are displayed in the CAHM including the ornate gold leaf altar, which is considered the largest historic altar on display in a public venue  in the United States.   Thankfully the CHCP had it restored for the opening of this museum in 1991 and has since been seen by thousands of school children on tours, many of which the CHCP has funded when school money for tours was not available in low income schools.

         

Silver Creek High School Filipino Club perform.  CHCP Board welcome guests.               Visitors enthralled with Ng Shing Gung Altar, circa 1888

The beautiful ladies of the Silver Creek High School Filipino Club performed in front of the museum next followed by the concluding act of the Golden Turtle Lion Dance Association performing in open air setting with swift and harrowing moves on platforms and each others shoulders. The intricacies of Chinese Lion dancing takes many hours of practice by the young members of this troupe,  and this Golden Turtle troupe performance thrilled the audience at the festival.   It was heart warming for me to hear from so many that they knew nothing of Chinese American contributions to the making of the Transpacific railroads, and contributions during WWII until coming to our museum.  These topics were shown in banners lining the walls in our second story area, as produced by the Chinese Historical Society of America, on loan from the CHSA in San Francisco.  Also shown that day was a CHSA exhibit titled Towards Equality: California’s Chinese American Women Virtual Exhibit.

     

Rising Phoenix Dragon Team               Chinese Historical and Cultural Project welcome AAPI festival goers with Golden Turtle Lion Dance Assn.

It has gladdened my heart to see so many more stories on Asian Americans being shown in theaters and television this Asian Pacific Heritage month.  Everyone of us has a family story of contributions to history and thank you to CHCP for carrying on the mission to bring Asian American culture through music, dance and dragon and lion performances at this event .   Thank you to CHCP and congratulations to the CHINESE HISTORICAL AND CULTURAL PROJECT for educating our community about Asian American cultures .   For further information, visit its website CHCP.org .  New members are always welcome to join this fine group of dedicated volunteer CHCP members, so contact the organization if you believe in its mission and would like to help further its cause with future events.  If you missed attending this AAPI celebration, hopefully the photos will encourage you to join in the next CHCP upcoming event.  Hope to see you there.

        

Children enjoy meeting Chinese Lion                             CHCP   Directors   thank guests for  supporting CHCP  AAPI event.

CHCP HONORS HIGH SCHOOL YOUTH

In its quest to honor and acknowledge accomplishments and scholastic merit of high school students, the Chinese Historical and Cultural Project annually awards Lillian Gong-Guy Memorial Scholarships. Student Recognition Day was May 7  at History San Jose park. Congratulations to the 2023 Scholarship recipients:  Christina Chang – Saratoga HS; Aaron Cheung – Henry Gunn HS; Adrienne Ferguson – Prospect HS; Lisa Fung – Saratoga HS; Jolina Wei Hor – Milpitas HS; Katie Lam – Notre Dame HS; and Samantha Leong – Lynbrook HS.   Debbie Gong-Guy, daughter of Lillian Gong-Guy for whom the scholarships are named, together with Allan Low were the CHCP Scholarship Committee Co-chairpersons.

            

Lillian Gong-Guy Memorial  Scholarship Recipients                            CHCP Student Docent Cultural Ambassadors and Families   

 

Along with the others, a ceremony of recognition of the CHCP student Docent Cultural Ambassadors (SDCAP) was led by chair Brenda Hee Wong. Honored that day were the following students and the years of volunteering:    Joshua Zhang – 6 years; Emmalynn Walker – 5 years; Maxim Hom, Kendrick Lam, Vanessa Lam – 4 years; Ryan Dowlat, Kasey Walker 3 years; Rylan Butt, Allison Cheng, Charity He, Lauren Lin, Metrica Shi – 2 years;  Ethan Butt, Zacharee Ho, Nguyen Huynh, Owen Lee, Albert Luo, Victoria Ma, Trinity Yu and Sophia Zhang – 1 year.

In 2014, the CHCP created the Lillian Gong-Guy Memorial Scholarship in tribute to our late co-founder.  Her passion for sharing her Chinese heritage led Lillian to co-found the CHCP and she helped to establish the Chinese American Historical Museum just off the plaza in History Park. Lillian was a trailblazer and impacted the community through active leadership and contributions to dozens of nonprofit organizations.

   

CHCP Directors congratulate longest volunteer Joshua Zhang              SDCAP families and recipients gather  in celebration

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