Betrayed Ally: China in the Great War by Frances Wood (PDF)

Description

The Great War helped China emerge from humiliation and obscurity and take its first tentative steps as a full member of the global community.In 1912 the Qing Dynasty had ended. President Yuan Shikai, who seized power in 1914, offered the British 50,000 troops to recover the German colony in Shandong but this was refused. In 1916 China sent a vast army of labourers to Europe. In 1917 she declared war on Germany despite this effectively making the real enemy Japan an ally.The betrayal came when Japan was awarded the former German colony. This inspired the rise of Chinese nationalism and communism, enflamed by Russia. The scene was set for Japans incursions into China and thirty years of bloodshed.One hundred years on, the time is right for this accessible and authoritative account of Chinas role in The Great War and assessment of its national and international significance

User’s Reviews

Reviews from Amazon users which were colected at the time this book was published on the website:

⭐A subject that was completely new to me, but it makes for fascinating reading, and has been very carefully researched. The many and interesting illustrations helped a great deal as at times the text was quite hard work. Little details like Lord Kitchener trying to pocket the china pots for his own use and having to be restrained by his staff, and Shackleton insisting on using Manchurian ponies to go to the South Pole (reported proudly in the Chinese papers) as they were said to be so reliable and good, also make for light relief. One must not forget that the translation of the N C O’s wash house, was translated as the “British Overseers Wash Face House” – useful knowledge for the traveller. A book to be recommended not only for the scholar, but also for the total novice.

⭐A well researched account of the political events that occurred in the years that led up to the WW1 and thereafter. Its title is a bit misleading as there is little about the work that the Chinese did during the war and more about western perceptions and how they treated Japan to the disadvantage of China. However it does infer the treachery of Japan that was so fully revealed in WW2. A most interesting and enlightening account of maters that are no well known

⭐What a marvellous book – fresh and lively and brimming with originalresearch! Who would have thought there was so much fresh light to be shed onthe much-covered subject of the First World War, with such implications forthe world today? This is what history is all about!

⭐Just sufficient detail for my requirements

⭐The presence of chinese workers on the Western Front during the First World War is little known, notwithstanding the presence of some chinese cimiteries in France or in Belgium. They were organised as Chinese Labour Corps, not a military organisation but as a support to the soldiers – they were entitled to do dirty and cumbersome jobs (like repairing locomotives). Most of them were illiterate peasants, they spoke only chinese dialects, for these reasons westerners had very little opinion of them, if not contempt (they did not speak english, had horrible habits ,…). The book makes a good overview of the process of hiring the chinese workers, of the opinions of the state leaders and ministries of the time – really we should be ashamed of their beliefs (some of those opinons are still alive). Just a little remark: le book is based on articles of contemporary newspapers and memoirs of the relevant political persons.The authors are not historians so it is understandable that little reference is made to diplomatic documents or contractual archives. In any cause, I recommend to read it, it is necessary to understand china modern history.

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