Chung Ling Soo

High school (ages 12+)
History & Culture

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/chung-ling-soo

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What was Chung Ling Soo's job?American magician and illusionist
2. What is the full name?William Ellsworth Robinson
3. What is the stage name?Chung Ling Soo
4. Who was Chung Ling Soo?Chung Ling Soo was a magician named William Ellsworth Robinson who pretended to be a Chinese illusionist.
5. Why did he use yellowface makeup?He used yellowface makeup to change his look so people would think he was Chinese, making his magic seem more mysterious.

Orientalism: A Western academic and artistic tradition that presents Eastern cultures as exotic, inferior, and unchanging.
Misdirection: A theatrical technique used by magicians to draw the audience's attention away from the real method of a trick.