周黎明 (Raymond Zhou's bilingual blog) 用中文写娱评，用英文写时评

Lei Yixin is not a household name in China. Even when he was selected as the sculptor for a monument to Martin Luther King Jr. to be erected on the National Mall in Washington DC, it did not make the front page of the culture section in the Chinese press.

But in the US, the news has turned into a controversy. To put it mildly, a group of black artists are questioning the wisdom of choosing a non-black - even a non-American - for such a high-profile arts project. And to back up their argument, they have freely mixed politics and personal sentiments.

I can understand why they are not happy with the selection, which, by the way, was done by a 12-member committee, 10 of whom are black. When three Chinese actresses got major roles for the Hollywood movie "Memoirs of a Geisha", some Japanese actresses were just as upset. By the same token, when a French architect was chosen to design China's National Theater, you can imagine how many of his Chinese counterparts were displeased. It is difficult to tell whether the reason is the nationality of the person or the design of the floating egg.

The defense for picking someone ethnically unaligned with the subject of portrayal is usually on technical grounds: the Chinese actors can speak better English, or Lei the sculptor has a better grasp of realism.

I'm sure there are myriad reasons someone like Lei got the job over black artists who competed and may be competent in their own ways. Technical skill is just one consideration. I'm no expert on fine arts, so let me illustrate my point with vocal music.

When Grace Bumbry was cast in a Wagner opera in Bayreuth in 1961, people were stunned. Wieland Wagner, grandson of the composer, said it was "the color of her vocal tone, not the color of her skin that counts". 

After that, opera gradually grew color-blind, to the extent that a black singer may sing the role of Desdemona on the same stage with a white singer - in blackface - in the role of Othello.

I don't believe Wieland Wagner was oblivious to Bumbry's skin color. In the early years when black singers were opted to sing non-black roles, it was more of a statement that people of color should not be barred from this pantheon of European high culture. The fact they were artistically brilliant is of second importance.

You may say, theater is make-believe. In 1989 Jessye Norman, another great black American singer, was invited to sing "La Marseillaise", the French national anthem, in Paris during the celebration of the bicentennial of the French Revolution. This would be tantamount to the Beijing Olympics having a foreign vocalist to sing the theme song.

One possibility that can be ruled out is that the home country does not have the talent for the occasion. My assumption is, the French wanted to imply that even though it was a quintessentially French celebration, it was also something to be shared with the whole world.

We live in a global village, yet we also need to preserve our national and ethnic identity. It could become a balancing act. What does an artist stand for? His ethnicity? Nationality? Artistic merit? Political belief? A different perspective?

To come back to the King statue, it would be equally valid to assign the work to a black artist or a non-black, non-American one. A black sculptor may understand him better, but an outsider may provide a fresh look. 

And just imagine what extra good it will bring if this project gets more Chinese to know the teachings of Dr. King. Someone like King who preached universal love and understanding should be for everyone.