The Unexpected Participants in a Global Conflict

When most people think of China’s involvement in 20th century world wars, their minds immediately jump to the massive sacrifices during World War II. Few remember that China also played a significant role in World War I, though not through military force. Between 1916 and 1918, approximately 140,000 Chinese laborers were sent to the Western Front, becoming an essential but often overlooked part of Allied war efforts.

This remarkable story begins with Liang Shiyi, a controversial but influential figure in China’s Beiyang government. As President Yuan Shikai’s chief secretary, Liang recognized early that Germany would likely lose the two-front war. His strategic vision led to China’s unconventional participation – not through soldiers, but through laborers.

From Chinese Villages to European Battlefields

The recruitment process began in earnest in 1916 with the establishment of the “Huimin Company” in Tianjin. Promising substantial wages (about five times typical Chinese earnings at the time), the recruitment drives attracted thousands of peasants, predominantly from Shandong province. After rigorous physical examinations, selected laborers underwent basic training before their long journey to Europe.

French and British forces, desperate for manpower after catastrophic battles like Verdun and the Somme, eagerly welcomed these workers. The British took about 100,000 laborers, while France received 40,000, later transferring 10,000 to American forces. Initial agreements stated Chinese laborers wouldn’t engage in combat, but the realities of total war made this impossible to maintain.

Life and Death on the Western Front

Chinese laborers found themselves performing some of the war’s most dangerous tasks: digging trenches mere meters from enemy lines, repairing bombed railways under fire, clearing unexploded ordnance, and burying the countless dead. Their work ethic and adaptability impressed European commanders, with one British report calling them “the best of all foreign laborers.”

Tragedy struck frequently. The French ship Athos was torpedoed in 1917, killing all 540 Chinese laborers aboard. Many others perished in direct combat, like those who fought German troops with shovels during a trench collapse in Picardy. Psychological trauma also took its toll, with some laborers driven to suicide by the constant shelling and impossible working conditions.

Between Appreciation and Discrimination

Despite their crucial contributions, Chinese laborers faced systemic discrimination. British forces particularly treated them as inferior, assigning identification numbers instead of using names, restricting movements, and even posting signs like “This toilet for Europeans only – Chinese forbidden.” Poor living conditions, withheld wages, and physical abuse led to several labor revolts.

The French proved slightly more welcoming, allowing laborers some civilian interactions. This openness led to an unexpected cultural phenomenon – hundreds of marriages between Chinese laborers and French women. With France’s male population decimated by war, many women found Chinese workers’ discipline and family values appealing, despite government discouragement.

The Bitter Aftermath and Long-Delayed Recognition

When the war ended in 1918, about 11,000 laborers returned to China, while 3,000 remained in France, forming that country’s first Chinese immigrant community. Tragically, approximately 20,000 never came home, with only 1,874 identified graves scattered across Europe.

China’s hopes for postwar recognition were crushed at Versailles, where Allied powers transferred German concessions in Shandong to Japan instead of returning them to China. This betrayal sparked the May Fourth Movement and demonstrated how little the laborers’ sacrifices were valued internationally.

Memorialization came slowly. France finally acknowledged the laborers’ contributions in 1988, and a decade later erected a monument in Paris’s Chinatown with bilingual inscriptions honoring “the Chinese workers and soldiers who died for France.” All graves face eastward, toward their homeland.

An Enduring Legacy

These laborers, mostly illiterate peasants, became accidental ambassadors of Chinese resilience. Their story encapsulates both the possibilities and limitations of China’s early 20th century international engagement. While they couldn’t change geopolitical realities, they demonstrated Chinese capabilities to a skeptical world.

As historian Xu Guoqi notes, the laborers represented China’s first large-scale interaction with the West beyond diplomatic circles. Their experiences – both the triumphs and humiliations – foreshadowed China’s long journey toward global respect and the complex dynamics of cross-cultural exchange that continue today. The Paris monument stands not just as a war memorial, but as a testament to ordinary people caught in history’s currents.