Traditional Chinese Masks- British Columbia, Canada

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Institution: Royal British Columbia Museum

Province: British Columbia

Object: Mask

Era: 20th Century

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Following the decline of the gold rush and railroad work, many Chinese immigrants faced unemployment and discrimination. Chinese secret societies were created to offer aid, community, and the preservation of tradition in enclaves like Victoria’s Chinatown.

The first secret society in Victoria was the Chee Kung Tong, an aid organization that established rules of conduct in the gold fields. In the 1920s, it was renamed the Chinese Freemasons and expanded its membership to migrant workers, shopkeepers and small merchants. 

These large paper mache masks were donated to the Royal British Columbia Museum by Jack Tang, the former secretary of Victoria’s Chinese Freemasons. According to Tang, the masks were used in various cultural activities, parades, and ceremonies. The style and colors are modeled after traditional Chinese opera masks, however both examples are fairly large (about 2.75 x 2 ft) and unlikely used to be worn over the face.

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Sources:

• Ng, Wing Chung. “Ethnicity and Community: Southern Chinese Immigrants and Descendants in Vancouver, 1945-1980.” Ph.D. Diss., The University of British Columbia, 1993.

• Marshall, Alison R. “Everyday Religion and Identity in a Western Manitoban Chinese Community: Christianity, the KMT, Foodways and Related Events.” Journal of the American Academy of Religion 77, no. 3 (2009): 573–608.

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