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<\/p>\n4 June 2014<\/p>\n
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In Western spheres of influence, WWI is also known as The Great War for Civilization, but it\u2019s unlikely that the Chinese men recruited to supplement the French, British and American war efforts would have viewed it as such. These destitute but hardy men labored in factories, digging trenches and maintaining equipment for foreign powers in what was, to them, an utterly alien landscape.<\/p>\n
Mark O\u2019Neill\u2019s slim volume The Chinese Labour Corps explores their experiences. China\u2019s involvement in that thoroughly European conflict is sketched out swiftly, but in detail, and is essential to understanding why the toil of the laborers was a tragic affair on a national as well as a personal level.<\/p>\n
Though the work was hard, filled with shell shock and other traumas of war, O\u2019Neill also emphasizes the simple luxuries the men enjoyed. In the French CLC contingent, for example, many men could spend their free time in the museums and caf\u00e9s of French towns, mingling with the local community, and, on occasion, forming romances.<\/p>\n
O\u2019Neill\u2019s analysis of the national implications of the CLC\u2019s European adventure is illuminating, particularly because of its relevance to China\u2019s current relationship with Japan, and yet it is overwhelmingly in the description of the men\u2019s everyday lives that the book\u2019s real value lies, as it is, quite simply, a remarkable tale which badly needs more telling.<\/p>\n
The Chinese Labour Corps is available on Amazon.com<\/p>\n
From:http:\/\/www.cityweekend.com.cn\/beijing\/blog\/reviews\/book-review-the-chinese-labour-corps\/#.U55tVRSL5ew.twitter<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
4 June 2014 In Western spheres of influe … Continue reading