The Chinese Historical Society of America brought the history of Sun Yat-sen to De Anza College Oct. 20.

Charlie Chin portrayed the Chinese revolutionary in a museum theater performance at the California History Center and Foundation

Presented in collaboration with History Alive!, the performance was a unique and engaging history lesson. After a brief introduction by CHC Executive Director Tom Izu, Chin took the floor as Sun Yat-sen.

An in-character monologue and questions were fielded as if the audience had been a crowd of Sun’s supporters in 1911. Chin then answered more questions and told of Sun’s later fate. The 100th anniversary of the Chinese Revolution gave the performance and events following particular relevance.

The packed room seemed engaged throughout the event.

Chin said he believes this type of performance is one of the most effective ways to deliver the message of Chinese-American history because it is a form of entertainment. “It should be entertaining but also a learning experience,” he said.

Chin has strong feelings on history: “The world is much too small for us to have these huge distances and lack of knowledge about each other,” he explained.

Izu had insight on the importance of history: “Any history of people in the state or region can tell us stories that are important for understanding our whole country,” he said. “Who we are and our future as well.”

Izu encourages students and community members to use the resources the CHC provides. Library archives, exhibits, classes through De Anza, and presentations are “all related to history, especially local history,” said Izu.

Chin’s portrayal of Sun Yat-sen will contiue in other locations through late spring, 2012. Contact the Chinese Historical Society of America (http://www.chsa.org/) for more information.