Chinese Laborers In World War Ⅰ And WeihaiWei

The fact that Beiyang Government sent Chinese labor to attend the World War I marked that China began to contact with western cultures. From the Opium War in 1840, Imperialist powers forced the Chinese Government signed a series of unequal treaties. Till the breakout of the Wrold War I, the domestic political situations in China were volatile and the economic situations were extremely poor and weak, and it had become a semi-colony and semi-feudal society. In such situations, historians argue a lot about such issues: whether China would join the World War I, whether China would join the war among the imperialist powers, gains would be more than lose or lose more than gains if joining the war, and China would be cannon fodder or get some actual profits. The paper makes good use of the original documents in the record office in Weihai, absorbs the arguments of foreign experts and systematically analyzes the sending of Chinese labors to the World War I by Beiyang Government was a positive strategy employed by it in the specific situations at that time, which began the internalization of china and changed the Chinese history greatly.After the breakout of the World War I, the Beiyang Government experienced gradual process: riding the fence—declaring for neutrality—declaring war. At the initial stage of the World War I, the party which opposited the attending the war believed that German was powerful and the Triple Entente would not win the war at last. Besides, if China joined into the Triple Entente, China would not gain actual profits and because of its international status at that time even if the Triple Entente won the war. And China might be the victim of fighting for profits among those imperialist powers. The party who advocated attending the war believed that German would be defeated undoubtedly. If China joined the Triple Entente, it was possible for China as a victorious nation to repeal the unequal treaties imposed by German.When China was in the period of declaring for neutrality, Beiyang Government hoped to be part of the Triple Entente. But in order not to damage the position of a neutral nation, some persons of insight figured out the strategy of "replacing the soldiers with labors". That is to say, the government would use the advantage of the large population in China and send labors instead of soldiers to the European fields. The French Government supported the strategy actively. So it established the Georges Truptil Mission and cooperate with Huimin Company to recruit Chinese labors.The British Government was not interested in this issue at the very beginning. But with the process of the war, especially the heavy casualties in the Sohm military campaign, the British Government began to recruit Chinese labors in the north part of China like the French Government and it established recruiting institute and training institute in British colony of Weihai. According to the statistics, the number of labors trained in Weihai and sent to Europe came to 54,000. During the period of the World War I, the total number of Chinese labors recruited by Britain and France was 140.000.Those Chinese labors had a devil of a time in the journey of going abroad. When getting to the fields, they trenched, constructing roads, rescuing the wound. They worked hard in the rear which showed the Chinese virtue of hardworking and bravery. They got a good reputation from the British and French Government and military staff. It was the first time that western people got to know Chinese people. Beiyang Government also paid great attention to the situations of those labors in the foreign countries. It established a special institute and sent special people to the field to superintend and guide them.The Chinese labors were credited for the winning of the Triple Entente. Although the 140,000 young Chinese labors didn't attend the war directly, they saved 140,0001abors for both Britain and France. At the same time, the presence of the Chinese labor made China get the position of the victorious nation and boosted up the national confidence. After the war, because China didn't get profits it should get, May Fourth Movement broke out at home, which changed the process of the society in China.A large number of Chinese labors were immerged in the western cultures. After returning to China, they made contribution to the enlightenment of the people and the improvement of the quality of the population. But the most important historical meaning is that it showed the beginning of internationalization in the modern history.The contribution of the Chinese labors in internationalization of China is reflected form several aspects. First, they provided China with an opportunity to attend the war and protected the national interest. Second, they also provided China with opportunities to attend the Paris Peace Conference and other international affairs. Although it was hard, the presence of those Chinese labors made it come true for China to repeal the unequal treaties imposed by German and got actual profits at last.