Week 6: Work in the West in WWI

Exploration Pack 3: The Chinese Labor Force at the European Front

The place and treatment of Chinese workers in America in the late 19th century and early 20th century is pretty well documented. The Chinese exclusion act was put into place, which was a successful effort to stop more Chinese people from immigrating and those who already had immigrated were not treated well. But how were Chinese laborers treated in other places around the world?

Going through exploration pack 3 of this week I was very surprised to learn that Chinese laborers were sent to the Western Front of WWI, as I had never heard of it before. Then with further reading, I discovered that early 140,000 Chinese laborers ended up serving on the Western Front of WWI in positions ranging from trench diggers to factory workers, out of these 140,000 very few men returned home. While few men were killed due to combat reasons during the war many many of the laborers lost their lives due to the 1918 Flu as they were helping rebuild France.

Most of the laborers worked under French command for the majority of the war but some did work with the British as well. Two major things that surprised me throughout the readings were the fact that the Chinese were not compensated at all for their efforts in WWI when they made up the largest foreign workforce to participate in the war. The German imperialized areas of China were not given back but rather went under French control, which seemed unfair to me not only because of the Chinese’s efforts during the war but also the good light the French painted them in. While there were some cultural and racial issues from the French or British its extent paled in the comparison to what the Chinese laborers faced in America. From their description the French may have thought the Chinese were a little goofy or unusually but they held them in high regard, complimenting them on their worth ethic, strength, cleanliness, devotion, and ability to sacrifice.

While there were slightly more tensions with British-controlled Chinese laborers, some of this can be attributed to the increased rigor and structure of the British’s handling of the Chinese compared to the French who were more laid back. But it is obvious that the British held the Chinese in high regard as well since King George V visited a Chinese laborer’s camp and paid his respects to their efforts during the war and for his reception.

Therefore, considering their high regard and respect for the Chinese it seems wrong to me that the British and the French gave them the short of the stick in terms of compensation, especially considering the lives lost. Chinese laborers’ treatment overall was better in WWI than in America during the gold rush or in the early 20th century, but the outcome was still the same: The minimalization of Chinese sovereignty as well as respect on an international scale.

Bibliography:

Xu, Guoqi. Strangers on the Western Front: Chinese Workers in the Great War. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 2011.