Shenxin’s Yarn Production System Before the Anti-Japanese War: A Multi-period Analysis

The present study analyses the yarn production of the Shenxin Company across three periods, ranging from the First World War to the eve of the Chinese War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (the Anti-Japanese War). The study adopts a quantitative method to compare, analyse and discuss the development trends of the company during different stages of history, and explores the changes in yarn production of the members of the Shenxin conglomerate in Hankou, Wuxi and Shanghai in detail. The analysis showed that despite a slowdown in the Chinese economy, Shenxin’s cotton spinning and weaving system had managed to exceed its yarn production shares in 1931–1932, indicating that the system coped well with the economic crisis.