Race, Law, and "The Chinese Puzzle" in Imperial Britain

In the early twentieth century, Chinese immigration became the focal point for racial panic in Britain. Fears about its moral and economic impact - amplified by press sensationalism and lurid fictional portrayals of London's original 'Chinatown' as a den of vice and iniquity - prompted mass arrests, deportations, and mob violence. Even after the neighborhood was demolished and its inhabitants dispersed, the stereotype of the Chinese criminal mastermind and other 'yellow peril' images remained as permanent aspects of British culture. This painstakingly researched study traces the historical evolution of Chinese communities in Britain during this period, revealing their significance in the development of race as a category in British culture, law, and politics.

Auteur
SASCHA AUERBACH is an Assistant Professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, USA.

Contenu
'Chinese Labour' and the Imperial Dimensions of British Racial Discourse The Dragon and Saint George, 1910-1914 'Most insidious is the Oriental in the West': Chinese and Britons in Wartime London East (End) Meets West (End) 'This Plague Spot of the Metropolis,' 1919-1921 Epilogue: The Ghosts of Chinatown