On a warm Sunday afternoon in February, the Huntington Library was packed with Lunar New Year festivities and early spring fever. A dozen giddy preteens gathered at the entrance, eager to walk on the pristinely landscaped San Marino grounds. Sporting brown berets and screen-printed vests with colorful hand-sewn badges, they followed chaperones inside as guests waiting in line recognized them. "Oh, my God," one fangirl said as another clapped. "It’s the Radical Monarchs!" Remaining calm and composed amid the applause, the tightknit group of girls strutted straight past bright red-clothed calligraphy tables and tea ceremonies to the MaryLou and George...