Update

I haven't posted here in such a long time primarily for two reasons: my doll collection is housed in the states and I really don't have very good images to share with you; and it's just hard to find the information I'm searching for. I do have a little bit more on Ada Lum, but have not found the time of energy to work it into a post-able format. I leave you with these photos of one of my mystery dolls. He looks so much like a Lum doll, though somewhat smaller; and carries the attached tag "Sun Wong Doll" and a stamp "Made in Formosa" (Formosa is an old name for Taiwan).

Note the split pants

If you have any knowledge of this doll I would love to hear it.

Small Chinese Cloth Dolls

My collection includes these small (10.5") cloth girl & boy dolls in Chinese dress as well. When I originally bought them, the sellers said that they were from the Philippines. I do not know if they were just mistaken or that this type of cloth doll was actually also produced there. Their appearance is clearly Chinese. It should be noted that the Chinese boy dolls typically seem to have a ponytail, actually called a queue or cue. This "hairstyle consisted of the hair on the front of the head being shaved off above the temples and the rest of the hair braided into a long ponytail" (Wikipedia Queue - hairstyle). It's interesting that, while this hairstyle iconically represents a certain time period in Chinese history, it was actually forced on the Han men in the 17th century by their Manchu oppressors. The queue lasted on in to the early 20th century. (This information also came from the Wiki article linked above.)

imagesofasia.comChina