The First World War was a profound catastrophe in human history in which many countries were greatly traumatized. This world war was an unjust war waged by two imperialist blocs for the struggle for and re-division of the colonies, which changed the pattern of interests of the imperialist countries in China. Because the great powers were busy fighting on the battlefield, they temporarily relaxed their aggression against China, and China, which had gained a breathing space, gained economic, ideological, and political development from it.
But China is not immune. With the continuous development of the war situation, all the countries participating in the war have caused huge casualties because of the war, and human resources are very tight. In order to make up for the labor gap, young and middle-aged people from the major participating countries began to invest in the front line, but even so, the problem of labor shortage was still difficult to solve.
Against this backdrop, France came up with the idea of recruiting laborers from China. As we all know, China is a populous country, and Chinese people are tough and hardworking, so they have become a target for France. Soon, the French demanded that the Beiyang government recruit laborers from China, hoping that Chinese could go to Europe as workers to support the Allies' side. As a result, a large-scale labor recruitment campaign quietly began in China.
After much deliberation, the cowardly and chaotic Beiyang government of China finally acceded to France's request, on the one hand out of support for the Entente, and on the other hand, in order to establish the status of the participating countries, so that after the war it could obtain certain benefits as a victorious country.
At that time, in order to mobilize enough laborers to rush to Europe, the Beiyang government also gave very generous treatment. Although they knew the danger of going to the battlefield, but at that time China was in a turbulent period of division by the empire, the people's life was very difficult, in order to maintain the family life, these laborers could only listen to the government's words, traveled to the war-torn Europe, began their tragic and arduous labor experience.
In fact, before the Chinese workers went to Europe, the Beiyang government signed a recruitment contract with France, which clearly stipulated that France must give Chinese workers the same treatment as French workers, but France did not honor the contract.
On January 18, 1917, the first batch of Chinese workers who were recruited boarded this adventurous road from Weihai Harbor under the escort of their relatives, and the first Chinese workers to serve in Europe were the first to participate in the war. During the transportation, these Chinese workers were locked in closed cabins, and the environment was extremely harsh, so many Chinese workers suffered from navigation diseases. After becoming ill, these Chinese unions were cruelly abandoned and thrown into the vast sea.
After a long journey, these Chinese workers finally reached France and were then assigned to serve in various parts of Europe. When they arrived in Europe, they found that everything was not as good as they thought, the harsh environment made them suffer, and at the same time, the Europeans were also full of arrogance and discrimination against these Chinese workers, and even beat them cruelly.
Although the living environment is harsh, in order to survive, these Chinese workers can only choose to compromise. Whether on the front line or in the rear, Chinese laborers always do the most tiring, hardest, and dirtiest work, such as building roads and bridges, clearing mines, and so on. On the Battlefield of Europe, many Europeans were impressed by the super adaptability and hard-working spirit of Chinese laborers.
Gradually, the French changed their attitude towards Chinese laborers, and many French women even fell in love with these strong, brave, hard-working Chinese laborers, and Chinese laborers who worked alone in foreign lands also fell in love with beautiful French women.
After the end of World War I, Chinese laborers were supposed to be sent back to China, but French women expressed strong opposition to this. In order to keep their beloved, French women also joined forces to ask the government to give these Chinese laborers a formal free status so that they could stay in France.
Despite some hesitation, the French government eventually agreed to the petition of the French women. After all, in the war, France lost a lot of strong population, considering the need to restore the economy, France agreed to chinese laborers to stay in France, but only if they chose to stay in France, Chinese laborers could never return home.
Chinese laborers are also very happy about this, during the period of labor, they gradually adapted to the land, and most Of the Chinese laborers have formed families with French women, for them, staying in France is the best choice. But some Chinese laborers also asked to return to China, and eventually they returned to their homeland under the arrangement of France.
epilogue
These Chinese, who had come to Work in Europe, made a tremendous contribution to world peace. In that extremely difficult and difficult years, they endured hardships, were brave and strong, and finally won the respect of that country, as future generations, we should not forget this tragic and difficult history, let us pay tribute to them!