Table Of ContentRace, Law, and “The Chinese
Puzzle” in Imperial Britain
Race, Law, and “The Chinese
Puzzle” in Imperial Britain
Sascha Auerbach
RACE,LAW,AND “THECHINESEPUZZLE”INIMPERIALBRITAIN
Copyright © Sascha Auerbach, 2009.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2009 978-0-230-60949-5
All rights reserved.
First published in 2009 by PALGRAVE MACMILLAN® in the
United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC, 175 Fifth
Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of
the world, this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan
Publishers Limited, registered in England, company number 785998,
of Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above
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ISBN 978-1-349-37603-2 ISBN 978-0-230-62092-6 (eBook)
DOI 10.1057/9780230620926
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Auerbach, Sascha.
Race, law, and “the Chinese puzzle” in imperial Britain / Sascha
Auerbach.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
1. Chinese—Great Britain—History. 2. Chinese—Great
Britain—Social conditions—20th century. 3. China—Emigration
and immigration—History—20th century. 4. Great Britain—Race
relations—History—20th century. I. Title.
DA125.C5A84 2009
305.895'104109041—dc22 2008042810
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
Design by Scribe Inc.
First edition: May 2009
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Printed in the United States of America.
For Allison and Colin
Contents
Acknowledgments xi
1 Introduction 1
2 “Chinese Labour” and the Imperial Dimensions
of British Racial Discourse 15
3 The Dragon and Saint George, 1910–14 51
4 “Most Insidious Is the Oriental in the West”:
Chinese and Britons in Wartime London 89
5 East (End) Meets West (End) 123
6 “This Plague Spot of the Metropolis,” 1919–21 151
7 Epilogue: The Ghosts of Chinatown 185
Notes 193
Bibliography 239
Index 257
Maps and Figures
Maps
1.1. London’s East End, 1883 5
1.2. Limehouse and the West India Docks, 1883 5
Figures
2.1. Chinese workers unloading tea from the LoudenCastle
on the East India Docks 17
2.2. “The Mongolian Octopus—His Grip on Australia,” 1886 26
3.1. “Chinese labour” replacing British miners, 1904 54
3.2. “Chinese labour” replacing British seamen, 1908 55
3.3. “In the Lamplight,” 1911 67
3.4.TheMysteryofDr. Fu Manchu movie promotional poster,
1923 79
6.1. “London’s Chinatown: Taking the Oath. A Scene
in an East End Police Court,” 1913 163
6.2. Chinese children sitting on a stoop, Limehouse, c. 1928 166
6.3. A Chinese grocery store, Limehouse, c. 1930 167
7.1. Chee Kong Tong lodge and newspaper advertising
placards, Limehouse, c. 1927 187
Acknowledgments
T
his book began as one aspect of a larger study of law and culture in
modern Britain. Its completion would have been impossible without
the generous contributions of colleagues, friends, and family. I would
first like to thank Virginia Commonwealth University and Emory
University for supporting my research. The awarding, by VCU, of
a Career Scholarship Enhancement Grant at a crucial juncture in the
project’s development was invaluable, and my special gratitude goes
to Robert Holsworth, Catherine Ingrassia, and Bernard Moitt for
their encouragement. In the VCU History Department, particular
thanks are due to Wanda Clary, Leigh Anne Craig, Samantha Giles,
John Kneebone, Gary Marquardt, Sarah Meacham, George Munro,
Kathleen Murphy, Laura Ping, and Karen Rader. I am also grateful
for the extraordinary hospitality shown to me by Bruce and Roberta
Stover during my research trips to England.
It has been my great pleasure to work with a remarkable cohort of
scholars who have guided me through every step of the research and
writing process. Antoinette Burton, Anne Clendinning, Leigh Anne
Craig, Paul Deslandes, Margot Finn, Dane Kennedy, Patrick McDe-
vitt, Zachary Morgan, and Gail Savage all read portions of the manu-
script and shared generously of their expertise. In England, Robert
Bickers, Kelly Boyd, Janet Nelson, and Kirsty Reid kindly provided
forums for me to present my work. In the United States and Canada,
Leonard V. Smith and Stephen Heathorn did the same. Thanks are
due for the comments and advice offered by the faculty and students
who attended my papers and seminars at the Centre for the Study of
Colonial and Post-Colonial Societies (University of Bristol), the Capi-
tol Hill Gang, the Institute of Historical Research, McMaster Uni-
versity, the Mid-Atlantic Conference on British Studies, the North
American Conference on British Studies, Oberlin College, the Pacific
Coast Conference on British Studies, the University of Buffalo, and
the Honors College of VCU. Along the way, I also received invalu-
able input and encouragement from Kathryn Amdur, Andrew August,
xii acknowledgments
Anna Clark, Carolyn Conley, Dina Copelman, Anna Davin, Nadja
Durbach, Heide Fehrenbach, Michael Fisher, Rick Jobs, Lara Krie-
gel, Philippa Levine, Matthew Payne, Susan Pennybacker, Elizabeth
Prevost, Ellen Ross, Kevin Siena, John Soister, and Laura Tabili. Zane
Bevan at the VCU Graphics Lab helped prepare the images for the
book. Chris Chappell, Allison McElgunn, Rosemi Mederos, Henry
Whitney and the other editors and staff at Palgrave Macmillan and
Scribe have been terrific to work with, and I appreciate all the time
and energy that they have devoted to bringing The Chinese Puzzle
to fruition.
The helpful staffs of various archives and libraries in Britain and
the United States patiently endured even my most relentless and
obscure inquiries. I am particularly thankful to the staffs of the Brit-
ish Library, the Colindale Newspaper Library, the JUSTIS legal
archive, the Library of Virginia, the London Metropolitan Archives,
the National Archives, the Tower Hamlets Local History Library and
Archive, and the Trades Union Congress Library of London Metro-
politan University. The help provided by Kevin Farley and the staff of
VCU’s James Branch Cabell Library was above and beyond the call
of duty, as was that of Anne Benham and the staff of the Alderman
Library at the University of Virginia.
To my friends, my appreciation for your patient support is
unbounded. Just a few who deserve special mention are Cennydd
Bowles, William Carrigan, Amy Enright, Larissa Smith Ferguson, Sabo
Gil, Gianni Masotto, Darren Morris, Todd Mustard, Aaron and Renee
Fichtelberg, Laura Sandy, and Godfrey Uzoigwe. To my family, who
kept me going from the first word to the last—Mom, Dad, Adam,
Martin, David, Jerry, Val, Maia, Abbie, and the Sprout—thank you for
believing that all who wander are not lost.
My most profound gratitude goes to the three people who were,
respectively, the finest mentor, the best friend, and the most loving
partner anyone could wish for. Margot, Colin, and Allison, thanks for
always being there, especially in the rough weather.
4
C h a p t e r 1
Introduction
“T
he Chinese puzzle” was a metaphor employed by British commen-
tators to sum up the difficulties of dealing with the Chinese and with
the complexities of their society, culture, and politics.1 It was used as
the title of a British play, first performed in London in 1918, about
a diplomatic scandal involving a Chinese ambassador, his Caucasian
wife (played by Lillian Braithwaite), and their associates.2 Arthur Ran-
some, the noted British journalist, similarly titled his book on China
The Chinese Puzzle (1927).3 David Lloyd George endorsed the book
and wrote its preface. Although Ransome’s experience in China was
limited to a few weeks, The Chinese Puzzle was acknowledged as an
important contribution to the subject. As one reviewer commented,
unwittingly highlighting a persistent trend in Britain, an author did
not need to possess extensive knowledge of the Chinese in order to be
publicly recognized as an authority on them.4
The concept of “the Chinese puzzle” was employed not only by
journalists, diplomats, playwrights, and scholars of international rela-
tions, but also more prosaically by political leaders and union officials
in Britain and the empire. For them, the phrase aptly portrayed the
challenges of regulating Chinese immigration and dealing with the
social and cultural incompatibilities of Chinese immigrants and white
residents. Like many other aspects of Anglo-Chinese relations, “the
Chinese puzzle” appeared first in imperial discourse and was later repli-
cated in a domestic context. In 1877, Sir Archibald Michie, the former
Attorney-General of Victoria, used the phrase to describe the legal
problems posed by Chinese immigration to Australia. “The two
people can never amalgamate,” he declared, and nowhere was this
more evident than when Chinese men appeared as witnesses, defen-
dants, or plaintiffs in courts of law.5 Thirty years later, the editors of
