The Transnational “Heathen Chinee,” the Minstrel Form, and the Afterlife of US Slavery
Abstract
Examining the “heathen Chinee” craze prompted by Bret Harte’s poem and its transnationalization uncovers what happened to the minstrel form and the violence of slavery that the figure evokes. As the “heathen Chinee” figure became racialized as distinctly “Oriental,” it obscured the antiblackness of the minstrel form.
Fields of Study & Subjects
Theater
Performance
and Music History
Theatre and Performance Studies
Arts and Performance Studies
Publication details
- Journal / source
- TDR/The Drama Review
- Volume
- 70
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- 110–125
- Publication date
- 1 March 2026
- Language
- EN