Teaching World War I in the 21st Century 1 | Page 13

95,000 Chinese laborers to transport machinery, dig
trenches, and clear battlefields after combat.

While their contract explicitly stated they were not
to be used in active engagements, service near the

front still exposed these workers to danger; more than
10,000 Chinese were killed as a result. Though their
contribution has largely been forgotten today, the

sacrifices these workers made in the service of France
did earn some recognition at the time.

Chinese workers were all physically fit, whereas the
best workers from nations actively engaged in the

fighting had already been drafted for military service,

leaving behind those who were less able. The Chinese
also tended to show a willingness to work that made

them especially valuable. Fearless under fire, many of
them were killed while digging trenches and placing
barbed wire entanglements.3

In 1917, China officially entered the conflict on the
Allied side. Having supported the winning side to

that point and contributed 140,000 crucially needed
workers, China now believed it had earned a voice

in postwar negotiations. Chinese diplomats, greatly
encouraged by Wilson’s Fourteen Points, especially

the call for national self-determination, were confident
that previously held German concessions would be

returned to Chinese control. At the Treaty of Versailles,
however, Shandong would be awarded to Japan rather
than China. Japan’s seizure of German-held territory

to advance its strategic interests in China turned out

to be more effective than China’s 7G&FVw