ABSTRACT
In the 1930s, the Shanghai area was the center of Chinese commerce, banking, and industry, possessing a substantial modem sector and capitalist elite. The Sino-Japanese War of 1937 to 1945 dealt a devastating blow to Chinese business. The conflict was followed by the civil war and Communist revolution. Agonizing over which capitalists collaborated with the enemy, and thus became hanjian, quickly gave way to the categories of "class enemy" or even "enemy of the people." The surprising factor about these stereotypical images is not that they exist, but that so little scholarly work has been done to produce a more nuanced portrait. The combination of war conditions and government actions thus limited the effectiveness of the transfer program, even though some Chinese industrialists sincerely desired to contribute to the war effort and escape Japanese control. If foreign flag protection failed, the best that they could hope for was to continue as junior partners to the Japanese.
