Race Law and "The Chinese Puzzle" in Imperial Britain

This book examines the historical evolution of Chinese communities in early twentieth-century Britain and their significance in the development of race as a category in British law, politics, and culture. During this period, fears about the moral and economic impact of Chinese immigration, amplified by press sensationalism and lurid fictional portrayals of London's "Chinatown" as a den of vice and iniquity, prompted mass arrests, deportations, and mob violence. Even after Chinatown 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.