Center for Asian American Media (CAAM)
Developed in partnership with the Chinatown Media & Arts Collaborative
Kwong Hong Fat Dry Goods – Interior and Group Portrait (1920) by May’s Photo StudioCenter for Asian American Media (CAAM)
Kwong Hong Fat (廣鴻發), 751 Grant Avenue
In the foreground of this crowded dry goods store, Kwan You Shing leans against the counter across from a table of fresh vegetables, in front of a cabinet with imported ceramic bowls, and flanked by wrapped teas, salt and rice. Ten other members of the staff stand behind him.
Part 2: Exploring a time capsule of interiors from a decade of rebuilding San Francisco’s Chinatown through the lens of the May’s Photo Studio.
Additional information about each image or video can be accessed by hovering and clicking on the top left information icon (a lower case "i" in a circle)
Men in Kitchen (1920) by May’s Photo StudioCenter for Asian American Media (CAAM)
Chinatown Basement Bakery
This basement bakery is filled with mixing bowls, scales, cooling racks with pastries, rolling pins, an E. J. Chubbuck Co. oven with huge wooden bakers’ peel, three men and a child. On the left side wall by massive electrical boxes are photographs and a Shanghai calendar poster.
Chinatown Basement Bakery
This basement bakery is filled with mixing bowls, scales, cooling racks with pastries, rolling pins, an E. J. Chubbuck Co. oven with huge wooden bakers’ peel, three men and a child. On the left side wall by massive electrical boxes are photographs and a Shanghai calendar poster.
Interior at Chinese New Year (1920) by May’s Photo StudioCenter for Asian American Media (CAAM)
“Villa of Leisure Time” Interior at Chinese New Year
Although many residents of Chinatown were poor, some merchants and a growing professional community accumulated significant wealth, and some homes displayed calligraphy, imported ceramics and art. Here the table is set for Mahjong and oranges and flowers signal Chinese New Year.
“Villa of Leisure Time” Interior at Chinese New Year
Although many residents of Chinatown were poor, some merchants and a growing professional community accumulated significant wealth, and some homes displayed calligraphy, imported ceramics and art. Here the table is set for Mahjong and oranges and flowers signal Chinese New Year.
Banquet at Shanghai Low Restaurant (1920) by May’s Photo StudioCenter for Asian American Media (CAAM)
Banquet at The Shanghai Low Restaurant
The popular Shanghai Low Restaurant at 532 Grant Avenue hosted many banquets and events. It was elegantly appointed with murals of dramatic landscapes by Mok Kug Ming, a San Francisco-based artist who also created backdrops for May’s Studio and the new Cantonese opera companies.
Banquet Welcoming Korean Representative (1920) by May’s Photo StudioCenter for Asian American Media (CAAM)
Chinatown Banquets as International Diplomacy
Banquets at Shanghai Low sometimes honored dignitaries and business deals. Here, the banner on the back wall is written in Korean, “대표단련합환영", translating as “Joining Representative Welcome Party.” It and the multiethnic diners suggest an international collaboration is afoot.
Exterior of Ning Que Protective Association (1929) by May’s Photo StudioCenter for Asian American Media (CAAM)
Exterior: Ning Que District Protective Association (寧僑會館)
This photograph shows the 1929 opening day of the Ning Que District Protective Association for people from Taishan, at 776 Commercial Street. But it was locked up long ago, leaving its interior a time capsule. The chandelier visible in the third floor still hangs there today.
Interior of Ning Que Tong (1929) by May’s Photo StudioCenter for Asian American Media (CAAM)
Ning Que District Protective Association Time Capsule (寧僑會館)
The meeting room of the Ning Que District Protective Association also hosted crowded gatherings. When the building opened in 1929, its walls were packed with art including paintings, calligraphy, photography and embroidery; and amazingly almost all of it still hangs there today.
Translating a two-panel couplet (see first line at right)
A deeply evocative calligraphy couplet on red paper frames the west wall of the Ning Que/Qiao space. Authored by Chen Huanzhang 陳煥章, a celebrated intellectual from Guangzhou who received a doctorate from Columbia in 1911, it queries issues of respecting one’s home identity.
Translating a two-panel couplet (second line now at left)
寧靜保鄉親爾焉能浼我
僑居尊國教誰或敢辱予
"Quietly protect hometown kin, how can you defile me?
Reside abroad, honor the national teachings, who dares to insult us?"
Chase Wang, a professor at Xidian University, interprets a poetic explication of Chen Huanzhang’s (陳煥章) 1929 couplet which queries issues of respecting one’s home identity.
Video in Mandarin Chinese with English subtitles
A poetic explication of Chen Huanzhang’s 1929 Hometown Couplet
Pride of Lions by Chee Chin S. Cheung LeeCenter for Asian American Media (CAAM)
An unusual lion mural by a well-known artist in Chinatown
Chee Chin S. Cheung Lee was a Regionalist artist during the 1920s who exhibited at major museums in San Francisco. His Pride of Lions outrageously juxtaposes a pride of African lions with the Sierra’s Mount Whitney, perhaps intending to suggest the protective role of Ning Que.
Marble Boat (1929) by Mock Kug MingCenter for Asian American Media (CAAM)
A mural by Chinatown’s photo backdrop and opera set painter
Mock Kug Ming is best known for his painted backdrops for both May’s Photo Studio and 1920s Cantonese opera revival in San Francisco, like this one which was gifted to the Ning Que Protective Association by the Great China Theater. It depicts the famous Marble Boat in Beijing.
Exploring the Ning Que Tong Interior: Today
A 360 interior capture lets us explore other murals at Ning Que today. These include an aerial map of Taishan by Dr. W. T. Wong, another work by Mock Kug Ming of a pavilion in Banshan donated by Hop Sing Tong, and a scene of West Lake with peacock by Zhou Yun-chu.
This is Part 2 of 1920s Chinatown Insider, a multi-part story series exploring scenes and stories from a decade of rebuilding San Francisco’s Chinatown through the lens of the May’s Photo Studio.
Read more by following one of the links below:
Part 1: People and Places
Part 3: Investing in the Community
A Tale of Two Opera Houses
Editors: Waverly Chao-Scott, Mark Dean Johnson, Stephen Gong, David Lei
Principal Designer: Waverly Chao-Scott
Editorial Advisors: Marci Kwon, Anna Lee, Ben Stone, Maggie Dethloff, Hansong Zhang
Original captions: Mark Dean Johnson, SFSU; Stephen Gong, CAAM; David Lei; Chase Wang, Xidian University
Consultants: Arthur Dong, Jianye He, Felicia Lowe, Shirley Ng, Nancy Rao, Lydia Tanji, Wylie Wong
Special Thanks: Leif Anderson, Nisha Balaram, George Berticevich, Kylee Jo Diedrich, Anna Eng, Chris Hacker, Carrie Haslett, Melissa Ho, Candace Huey, John Jacob, Anna Lee, Ding Lee, Joanne Lee, Minxiong Li, Tim Noakes
Funding and Support: Terra Foundation for American Art; Chinatown Media & Arts Collaborative; Stanford Libraries Special Collections; Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association Archives Project
Featuring Stanford's Special Collections Library: Philip P. Choy, Him Mark Lai, Judy Yung, and Wylie Wong's collection of May's Studio Photographs Part 1, Part 2, Online Archive of CA