What Does World War I Mean to China?

By+GAO+ZHUAN

THE First World War （1914- 1918） broke out in Europe， but embroiled scores of countries on other continents. Over 60 million soldiers fought， of whom nearly one sixth died and countless were injured or disabled. It was one of the bitterest conflicts in human history， imposing immeasurable misery and damage on human societies. The war was fought between the Central Powers， represented by Germany and Austro-Hungary， and Entente Powers mainly comprising Britain， France and Russia. Most major participants in the war have evolved into EU member countries. To mark the centenary of its outbreak， commemorative activities are held in many countries.

Chinas involvement in WWI is a neglected part of world history. Yet WWI profoundly influenced Chinas modern and contemporary history. During the war， China followed the examples of the Western worlds parliamentary and presidential systems. Manipulated diplomatically by Western powers， weak and impoverished China failed to independently implement its foreign policies. Chinas stance in WWI reflected its absurd political systems and exposed its political incompetence. Initially neutral， China later formally declared participation， without direct involvement， and then dispatched Chinese laborers to the European battlefields. This ended in a diplomatic fiasco at the Paris Peace Conference， a testament to Chinas humiliating history. In particular， through the Paris Peace Conference， Chinas intellectual circles and general public saw through the treasonable actions of the warlord government and the true nature of Western powers. Chinas diplomatic fiasco directly actuated the May 4th Movement and prompted the historic awakening of the Chinese nation.

Origin and Nature of WWI

Reflections on WWI inevitably lead to examinations of its origin and nature， which is still significant for international affairs. In the 1870s， world capitalism began its transition to imperialism with several powers in Europe entering the imperialist stage. Internationally， the old European Power System featuring the “balance of power” was being replaced by the new “World Power System，” aimed at colonial aggression and expansion. Radical nationalism was rife in European countries with rising war fever. The basic motivation for European powers to launch foreign aggression was to gratify their insatiable desire for more power and prestige， seize markets and raw materials outside Europe and spread their religion and civilization. For example， the U.K.， which seized Hong Kong， claimed that their race was the most advanced in the world. According to their beliefs， God shaped the English to create a society based on justice， freedom and peace. Wilhelm II， who carried out the “World Policy” of German Empire， put his nationalism in a more straightforward way when invading and occupying Jiaozhou Bay of East Chinas Shandong Province. “If someone tries to impair our legitimate rights or harm us， well rise up to confront them with military force.”endprint

Interest conflicts between the European powers in their scramble for more colonies， oversea markets and raw material in turn had impact on the European political scenario. In spite of their different development bases， they had the same imperialist nature. In 1914 when WWI broke out， the European powers had control of 84 percent of world territory. On June 28， 1914， Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria and his wife were shot in Sarajevo， Bosnia， which directly triggered WWI. The deep underlying reason for the war was the escalating tension among the European powers entailed by their swelling nationalism and imperialist expansion. In 1918， when the war ended， Li Dazhao， one of Chinas first Marxists， analyzed the origin of WWI in his book The Victory of the Plebeian， “While reviewing the origin of the world war， we can attribute it to conflicts of various nationalisms， like Germanic， Slavic and Japanese chauvinism.” Its origin decided its nature. Lenin explained that the world war （1914-1918） was between imperialists aiming to divide the world， triggered by their conflicts in grabbing colonial land， capital and resources. Therefore， it was an aggressive and predatory war.

With clear understanding of WWIs origin， its easy to pinpoint the absurdity of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in his brazen slander of China while attending the World Economic Forum on January 22， 2014. Abe compared current China-Japan relations with GermanBritish relations before WWI， claiming that despite their closely-bound economic relationship， the two European countries nevertheless clashed. Comparing peaceful China to militarist Germany is a sinister rhetorical trick. It obscures fundamental political differences with incidental economic data.

Chinese Laborers in WWI

After the outbreak of WWI， fierce contentions occurred among various political forces in China over the question of whether or not to participate in the conflict. Finally Duan Qirui， Chinas head of state， gained the upperhand and declared war against Germany and Austro-Hungary. China was supported by Japan， which coveted German rights and interests in Chinas Shandong Province.

However， Chinas participation in the war was limited to sending laborers to help the allies. During WWI， at least 150，000 Chinese laborers were recruited to allied countries like Britain and France to provide civilian war service. They were mostly from Shandong. In British eyes Shandong people were hard-working and well adapted to the European climate. Starting in 1916， special agencies of Britain and France began massive recruitment of Chinese workers in North China. They excavated trenches at the front， engaged in industrial production or worked as porters. Around 5，000 Chinese workers died in Europe. Despite their huge contributions and sacrifices to the European allies， those Chinese workers never obtained recognition. Although some documents from the British Parliament recorded that Chinese workers had risked more than other colored workers， they did not receive a single medal. After the war， they were all repatriated to China.endprint

For China， the presence of Chinese workers in Europe to support the allies evoked the Chinese peoples labor consciousness. Famous Chinese educator Cai Yuanpei proposed the slogan “Sacred Laborers” after the war and emphasized the valuable contribution of 150，000 Chinese laborers in France and pointed out that the future world would belong to the workers.

The Paris Peace Conferences Impact on China

WWI ended with the victory of the Entente Powers. To address post-war problems， the Paris Peace Conference was held in January 1919， manipulated by five powers （the U.K.， the U.S.，F(xiàn)rance， Italy and Japan）. Prior to the conference， American President Wilson proposed Fourteen Points， with one item stating that colonial disputes would be resolved with full consideration of national self-determination and territorial integrity. Therefore， Chinese intellectuals expected Western statesmen to stand by principles of humanity， justice， selfdetermination and peace. Under popular pressure， Chinas warlord government committed to retaking Germanys concessions in Shandong. In addition， the warlord government nullified Yuan Shikai governments acceptance of Japans 21 requirements in 1915， and abrogated consular jurisdiction held by Western powers in China.

However， Chinas efforts in the conference failed. The Western powers intensified their aggression towards China. On behalf of the five Western powers， French Prime Minister Georges Clemenceau argued that Chinese complaints didnt fall into the category for discussion at the conference. Only when discussing German colonies was Chinas Jiaozhou Bay touched on. When Japan proposed taking over all German interests in Shandong. Chinese diplomat Wellington Koo （Gu Weijun） passionately argued that Shandong couldnt be divided from China， calling it a door to China in the north and significant for national defense. Further， that Shandong is the birthplace of Chinese luminaries like Confucius and Mencius. However， Koos diplomatic thought was still confined to the framework of “resisting one foreign power with another，” a typical tactic of semi-feudal and semi-colonial China. He even promised China would maintain its open policy to benefit other countries. At that time， China was too weak to master its own destiny. Finally， the conference decided in Japans favor.

The terrible verdict awoke Chinese intellectuals to reality. Tao Lügong， a progressive youth， wrote an article in New Youth magazine calling on young people to take their responsibilities for Chinas urgent political， economic and social issues by uniting.endprint

Beijing students first rose up to protest against the Paris Peace Conference， venting their indignation on imperialists， as well as the Beijing government dominated by Japanophiles. In the afternoon of May 4， 1919， over 3，000 students rallied in front of the Tiananmen Rostrum， crying out the slogan“Strive for sovereignty， punish traitors” and “refuse to sign the peace agreement.” To confront the violent crackdown by military force， students across Beijing began to boycott classes. The students move was like a rumbling spring thunder， rolling across the whole country. Soon afterwards， workers in major cities of the country put on the first political strike in Chinas history.

The alarming awareness of the countrys peril prompted the young people to seriously think over the question raised by the New Culture Movement advocated by the New Youth magazine， and which ideology should be followed to save the country. The May Fourth Moment made Marxism an irreversible trend in China. As a demonstration staged by a multitude against imperialism and reactionary warlords， it marked the beginning of Chinas new-democratic revolution. Two years later， Chinas proletarian party， the Communist Party of China， was founded in 1921.endprint