Imperialism, Globalization, and the Soap/Suds Industry in Republican China (1912-37): The Case of Unilever and the Chinese Consumer

One of the most contentious issues in Chinese history has been the assessment of foreign involvement in the Chinese economy since the end of the nineteenth century. Following Allen and Donnithorne's 1954 publication Western Enterprise in Far Eastern Economic Development which claimed the limited ability of Western foreign firms to penetrate the economy of late Qing/early Republican China, several generations of China historians and economists have framed their research and evaluations around this declaration.[...]