Hello, little fat talk about history, meet again.
Today is November 2, 2021, and on this day in 1998, a monument commemorating the death of a Chinese worker in the First World War was erected in Paris, France.
Speaking of this monument, we must start with an article published in a Newspaper in Jinan in 1993.
A descendant of a Chinese worker, Ms. Cheng Ling, published an article in the newspaper titled "How to Pay Homage to The Grandfather Who Rested in France."
Fast forward to 1914, when World War I broke out, and although China was poor and oppressed at that time, it was a victorious power like a fake bag.
Some people have questioned that China's own internal strife is not endless, and it has not sent troops to participate in the First World War at all, so why should it pretend to be a victorious country?
China went to war, and the number of them was enormous— the 140,000 Chinese laborers sent to Europe by the beiyang government in power.
At that time, Shandong, China, was being occupied by Germany led by the Allies, and the politician Liang Shiyi, through analysis, found that the Germans were divided into two fronts, and they certainly could not persist for a long time, and they would undoubtedly lose.
If China can become one of the victorious powers, it can legitimately return to Shandong's sovereignty.
However, at that time, we, whether it was the economy or the army, could not really take it, so the proposal of "replacing the soldiers with work" was adopted by the authorities.
Thousands of miles, rushing overseas, this trip 80% can not come back, but the number of people who signed up is not a minority. The people are too poor, the salary given by France is 25 francs per month, and the domestic family members can receive a subsidy of 10 silver dollars per month. You must know that at that time, a silver dollar could buy a bag of rice, 10 pounds of pork, if you have a life, you can support a family, this business is not a loss.
These 140,000 sons signed a deed of sale, went to the other side of the ocean, and began to throw themselves into the whirlpool of the First World War.
In the beginning, the Chinese workers mainly transported ammunition, grain and grass behind the front. As the war progressed, europeans began to demand that Chinese workers, who had not experienced any military training at all, go directly to the front line, build fortifications, rush to repair runways, carry the wounded, and do what dangers.
If you dare to resist, you will be beaten in exchange for a severe torture.
When digging trenches on the battlefield, Chinese workers were directly exposed to the range of the enemy's rifles, and in some places they were even no more than 50 yards away from the enemy trenches, and even the sound of chatting could be heard. After the Chinese workers had dug the trenches, the british soldiers came in with grace. Sometimes the defensive line was broken by the Germans, and the Chinese workers could only use tools such as shovels to fight with heavily armed soldiers, killing and wounding countless people.
Many people, there is no chance to go home at all.
Cheng Ling's grandfather was one of the Chinese workers who did not return to the motherland alive, and whenever there was a Qingming Dynasty, the descendants of these Chinese workers wanted to go abroad to pay tribute to their relatives, but they could not find even a tombstone.
This report attracted the attention of the French Qilu Cultural Association, and after many efforts, it was finally held at 4 p.m. on November 2, 1998, in order to commemorate the erection ceremony of the Chinese workers, in the 13th arrondissement of Paris, where the Chinese lived.
Ben sacrificed his life for justice and should be admired by future generations.
After four years of fighting the First World War, China, as the victorious power, has still not been able to recover Shandong at the cost of tens of thousands of Chinese workers.
But the blood of Chinese workers did not flow in vain, and the famous May Fourth Movement broke out after the Paris Peace Conference, and the door of China's new democracy was completely opened.
Today's sharing ends here, we will see you tomorrow.