Documents 

In a career that has spanned over four decades and three continents Johnny Yong, either performing with The Yong Sisters and Brothers, The Yong Brothers and Sister or The Yong Brothers, has been featured under the spotlight with the greatest circuses in the world from Cirque Bouglione to Ringling Brothers, in the world''s most majestic venues from Radio City and Circus Circus to Moulin Rouge and the Casino du Liban, and alongside the most renowned talent from the circus, stage, and screen.[4e de couv.]

This picture album presents the prize-winning performances of Chinese acrobats in world competitions. Through this book, readers will enjoy the thrilling, spectacular, and faultless performances of Chinese acrobats. Acrobatics is a pearl in the treasure house of Chinese traditional art. From 1981 to 1987, Chinese acrobatic troupes competed at the Festival Mondial du Cirque de Demain, the Destival International du Cirque Monte-Carlo, and the Circus World Championships in London. Their excellent showings in these competitions caught the acrobatic world by surprise and won their admiration. [editor summary]

This paper examines how acrobatics was imbued with multiple meanings through the practices of nation-state building and international diplomacy. More specifically, the author discusses why the Chinese government chose acrobatics to facilitate the Sino-US rapprochement and the implications of this cultural diplomacy for the governments as well as the acrobats. Drawing on oral history interviews and archival data, this study demonstrates how the relationship between acrobatics and the ideas of ‘Chinese revolution’ was established, strengthened, disrupted, and finally re-modified to facilitate China’s relations with the West. This historical investigation advances the literature on performing arts and politics by exposing the political logics in the North-South exchange. As important, the analysis of acrobats’ engagement with Cold War politics evades state-centric narratives and contributes to an understanding of international diplomacy from a bottom-up perspective.