In 1834, a Chinese woman named Afong Moy arrived in America as both a prized guest and an advertisement for a merchant firm--a promotional curiosity with bound feet and a celebrity used to peddle exotic wares from the East. This first biography of Afong Moy explores how she shaped Americans' impressions of China, while living as a stranger in a foreign land. Davis's book is not only a triumph of historical scholarship and storytelling, but also a surprisingly human story that restores to Afong Moy much of the dignity her handlers, managers, and audiences denied her.