The Yat Sing Music Club
A Cantonese opera ensemble founded by Chinese immigrants in 1939, the Yat Sing Music Club is one of the longest-running community groups in Portland's Chinatown.
Yat Sing Music Club: Two Members Pose in Front of Backdrop (1950) by UnknownPortland Chinatown Museum
Cantonese Opera in Portland
Cantonese opera has been an important thread in the cultural fabric of Portland's Chinatowns since the late 19th century. A category of Chinese opera, Cantonese opera originated in Southern China's Guangdong Province and was brought over by Portland's early Chinese immigrants.
West Shore: A Night in Chinatown (1886) by West Shore MagazinePortland Chinatown Museum
At its height, Old Chinatown* had three Chinese theatres where all neighborhood residents could enjoy the elaborate and enthralling operas, which are traditionally performed during the two weeks of Lunar New Year.
Chinese Opera Theater Program (1920) by UnknownPortland Chinatown Museum
The tradition died out after 1910, with the displacement of the Old Chinatown community to what is now New Chinatown. In the 1920s, local Chinese merchants temporarily revived Cantonese opera in Portland when they brought in traveling casts from China and Seattle to perform.
Yat Sing Music Club: Early Performance at the CCBA (1939) by Yat Sing Music ClubPortland Chinatown Museum
An Old Tradition in New Chinatown
By 1939, the Yat Sing Music Club had formed. They held performances at the Chinese Consolidated Benevolent Association to benefit the China Relief Expedition. These performances were no longer all-male two-week productions but single-night performances that included women.
Yat Sing Music Club: The Orchestra (2018) by Jeff Lee PhotographyPortland Chinatown Museum
Building Community Through Art and Music
The Yat Sing Music Club is now one of the longest-running community groups in Portland's Chinatown, featuring musicians and singers from all walks of life who love Cantonese opera. They meet every week in Portland's Chinatown to practice and also perform publicly at local events.
Dean Wong: Made in Chinatown, USA - Yat Sing John Lee (2018-08-14) by Dean WongPortland Chinatown Museum
What is Cantonese Opera?
Cantonese opera can be traced to as early as 1500 AD to communities in the Pearl River Delta region, particularly Guangzhou and Foshan. The elements of Cantonese opera are music, acting, dialogue, dancing and martial arts.
The music can be soft, romantic, sweet, joyful, sad, or angry. Originally performed with traditional Chinese string and percussion instruments, the music now includes Western instruments such as the cello, violin and saxophone.
Yat Sing Music Club: Ensemble in Full Dress (1950) by UnknownPortland Chinatown Museum
Bringing Stories to Life
The actors in a Cantonese opera wear heavy makeup and colorful, historically accurate costumes. Acting is done through exaggerated facial expressions and body gestures, with lyrics that are often poetic and reference important or popular Chinese literature.
Cantonese opera scripts also reflect people's daily lives and traditional Chinese values, with good triumphing over bad to promote feelings of hope in the audience.
A Cultural and Community Treasure
The Yat Sing Music Club represents the resiliency of cultural storytelling in an increasingly changing neighborhood, the enduring legacy of Chinese immigrants in Oregon and the quintessential spirit of Portland's Chinatown community.
Learn more about the Yat Sing Music Club's cultural and historical impact in Portland by visiting the University of Oregon’s Oregon Folklife Network and the Oregon HIstorical Society’s Oregon History Project.
Source:
Peterson-Loomis, Jacqueline. (2018). Beyond the Gate: A Tale of Portland's Historic Chinatowns. Portland Chinatown Museum, Portland, Oregon, United States. https://www.portlandchinatownmuseum.org/exhibitions/beyond-the-gate/
Additional information provided by Shirley Yee, Yat Sing Music Club member.
*Old Chinatown was located along what is now SW 2nd Avenue between Taylor and Pine streets in downtown Portland. New Chinatown is located in the New Chinatown/Japantown Historic District in Old Town Portland.
