2010 Volume 76 Issue 3 Pages 409-425
This article explores fraudulent trading and how it was prevented, taking as an example the adulteration of cotton for export in Hankou (in Hubei province) in the beginning of the 20th century. From the late 19th century, the Japanese and Shanghai cotton-spinning industries developed rapidly, increasing the demand for raw cotton. The Japanese merchants who bought cotton for the cotton-spinning industries began to require good and unadulterated cotton, but the Chinese cotton merchants annoyed them with their devious practice of mixing water into cotton. Most earlier written accounts mention this fraudulent practice. But there is no explanation of why this transpired or how it was prevented. However, it was important for the cotton-spinning industries to prevent adulteration in order to buy quality cotton. First, the discussion will focus on why this fraudulent practice transpired. Then, how it was prevented will be examined. This paper suggests that the process from deception to eventual prevention helped build trust between trading partners, Japanese merchants, Chinese merchants, and Chinese peasants: if the quality of cotton was good, they could trade on better terms in the cotton market.
