Teaching World War I in the 21st Century 1 | Page 12

China, too weak to militarily rebuff Japan’s advances,

in China. These workers were not colonial subjects

and carve out a new national identity, in contrast to

with a larger goal of earning the sponsoring nation

sought a creative solution. Chinese leaders believed the
conflict and postwar negotiations would give China the

opportunity to become involved in international affairs
the humiliating status that had characterized China’s
position since the Opium Wars. Unable to protect its

territorial integrity through force of arms, China sought
to earn a seat at the postwar peace conference by
actively assisting the Allies in Europe.

Realizing that Britain and France faced manpower

shortages, China approached both of those powers

with a “laborers-as-soldiers” strategy. China would

offer thousands of Chinese workers to serve in support
roles, freeing up native manpower for military service.
In June 1915, Chinese officials offered to supply the
British with 300,000 laborers. Both the British and
French initially rejected this plan, as officials were
worried labor unions would object to employing

Chinese workers. Additionally, some British officials

feared accepting assistance would recognize China’s
equality, necessitating a changed relationship after

the conflict that would mean declining British power

answering the call to aid the mother country in its

moment of need; rather, they would be volunteers,

under contract to be paid, protected and respected,

equal standing in international affairs. But while the
initial Chinese offering of laborers-as-soldiers was

declined, the unfolding realities of the war soon altered
the scenario.

The enormous number of casualties in the Battle of

the Somme in the summer of 1916 made the British
realize they could spare no effort to win the war. As

Winston Churchill stated in the House of Commons in

1916, “I would not even shrink from the word Chinese
for the purpose of carrying on the War....There are

great resources in Africa and Asia that, under proper

discipline, might be the means of saving thousands of
British lives and of enormously facilitating the whole
progress and conduct of the War.”2 Aware that overt

participation in the fighting might make it more likely
imperialist powers would attack China, however,

Chinese diplomats emphasized the need to keep the

collaboration secret. The British and French agreed; as
they saw it, keeping the Chinese workers secret would
reduce chances that their own domestic labor unions
would protest the move.

In the fall of 1916, recruitment efforts commenced,

with Chinese government agencies—under the guise of

private contractors—soliciting volunteers. In exchange,
the Chinese government requested that Britain help

China gain a seat at the postwar peace conference. The
workers, most of whom would come from Shandong
Province, volunteered due to difficult economic

conditions at home and a desire to see the world. They
would travel from China to the west coast of Canada,

then by train across Canada to ports of departure for
Japanese War Service Medal. (Image courtesy of the National World
War I Museum)

2

8

Quoted in Xu, Strangers on the Western Front, 27.

Essays & Resources

France. All told, the French employed 40,000 Chinese

workers, who would mostly replace factory employees
who had become soldiers. Great Britain contracted