DuPont (China), Inc.: Chemical Knowledge and the Business of Colour in China, 1921-1951.

This article examines DuPont's convoluted history of the dye business in China from 1921-1951 with an emphasis on synthetic dye as a commodity and a chemical substance. Drawing on the company's archival documents stored at the Hagley Museum & Library, the article charts the expansion of DuPont's business in China from sales and marketing to the inclusion of research and manufacturing. The development was driven by DuPont's effort to provide tailored dyes for the Chinese market and was intertwined with major political events both in China and globally. Building on recent studies in the history of chemistry on the relevance of senses to the making of chemical knowledge, the article demonstrates how DuPont geared its laboratory work towards delivering the precise shades and visual experiences that the sensitive Chinese consumers desired. New knowledge emerged from this process, which engaged various social groups from both sides of the Pacific, ranging from foreign managers to Chinese chemists and assistants, sales agents, and warehouse workers. Although DuPont entered China as a sales company, this article argues that its business of colour spurred the production and dissemination of new chemical knowledge that shaped the most ordinary sensory experience of the Chinese people.