China in the First World War: A Forgotten Army in Search of International Recognition

The First World War (1914-1918) has been widely considered as a European conflict and a struggle for dominance among the European empires. However, it is important to note that non-European communities from various parts of the world such as the Chinese, Indians, Egyptians and Fijians also played significant roles in the war. This paper intends to provide an analysis of the involvement of China in the First World War. During the outbreak of the war in 1914, the newly established Republic of China (1912) encountered numerous problems and uncertainties. However, in 1917 the Republic of China entered the First World War, supporting the Allied Forces, with the aim of elevating its international position. This paper focuses on the treatment that China had received from the international community such as Britain, the United States, France and Japan after the war. Specifically, this paper argues that the betrayal towards China by the Western powers during the Paris Peace Conference and the May Fourth Movement served as an intellectual turning point for China. It had triggered the radicalization of Chinese intellectual thoughts. In addition, China's socialization during the Paris Peace Conference had been crucial to the conception of the West's negative identity in the eyes of the Chinese that has remained in the minds of its future leaders. It has also reinforced China's uncompromising attitude over territorial disputes till today. This study also highlights the contribution made by the Chinese Labour Corps (CLC). As the involvement of CLC has hardly been recognized after the First World War, this work not only elaborates China's involvement in the war but equally important, it also focuses on the role of the CLC which has been long forgotten.