TheChinese Labour Corps (CLC;French:Corps de Travailleurs Chinois;simplified Chinese:中国劳工旅;traditional Chinese:中國勞工旅;pinyin:Zhōngguó láogōng lǚ) was alabour corps recruited by theBritish government in theFirst World War to free troops for front line duty by performing support work and manual labour. TheFrench government also recruited a significant number of Chinese labourers, and although those labourers working for the French were recruited separately and not part of the CLC, the term is often used to encompass both groups. In all, some 140,000 men served for bothBritish andFrench forces before the war ended and most of the men were repatriated toChina between 1918 and 1920.[1]
In 1916,Field MarshalSir Douglas Haig requested that 21,000 labourers be recruited to fill the manpower shortage caused bycasualties during the First World War.[2] Recruiting labourers from other countries was not something unusual at that time. Other than the Chinese, labour corps were serving inFrance fromEgypt,Fiji,India,Malta,Mauritius,Seychelles, and theBritish West Indies, as well as alabour corps fromSouth Africa.[3] At the end of the war, an estimated over 300,000 workers from the colonies, 100,000 Egyptians, 21,000 Indians and 20,000 black South Africans were working throughout France and theMiddle East by 1918.[2]
AsChina was initially not a belligerent nation, her citizens were not allowed by the Chinese government to participate in the fighting. As a result, the early stage of recruiting in China was somewhat sketchy, with semi-official support from local authorities. However, after Chinadeclared war againstGermany andAustria-Hungary, on 14 August 1917, the Labour Department of the Chinese government began organizing the recruitment officially.[3][4]
The scheme to recruit Chinese to serve as non-military personnel was pioneered by the French government. A contract to supply 50,000 labourers was agreed upon on 14 May 1916, and the first contingent leftTientsin forDagu andMarseille in July 1916. The British government also signed an agreement with the Chinese authorities to supply labourers. The recruiting was launched by the War Committee in London in 1916 to form a labour corps of labourers from China to serve inFrance and to be known as the Chinese Labour Corps.[3] A former railway engineer,Thomas J. Bourne, who had worked in China for 28 years, arrived atWeihaiwei (then a British colony) on 31 October 1916 with instructions to establish and run a recruiting base.[5]
The Chinese Labour Corps comprised Chinese men who came mostly fromShandong province,[6] and to a lesser extent fromLiaoning,Jilin,Jiangsu,Hubei,Hunan,Anhui andGansu provinces.[3] The first transport ship carrying 1,088 labourers sailed from the main depot at Weihaiwei on 18 January 1917. The journey to France took three months.[7] Most travelled to Europe (and later returned to China) via the Pacific and acrossCanada.[8] The tens of thousands of volunteers were driven by the poverty of the region and China's political uncertainties, and also lured by the generosity of the wages offered by the British. Each volunteer received an embarkment fee of 20 yuan, followed by 10 yuan a month to be paid over to his family in China.[9]
Two of the unit's commanders,ColonelBryan Charles Fairfax andColonelR.L. Purdon, had served with the1st Chinese Regiment in theBoxer Rebellion in 1900.[citation needed]
A deal between the Chinese government and the allies resulted in the enlistment of thousands of Chinese who formed the Chinese Labour Corps (CLC), mainly poor Chinese men from the north who were told they would be in non-combatant roles. The Canadian government had restricted the arrival of all Asians and the CLC were secretly landed atVictoria, British Columbia. They were drilled in the formerWilliam Head quarantine station inMetchosin, British Columbia onVancouver Island.[10] Roughly 81,000 Chinese men were then taken onCanadian Pacific Railway trains toHalifax to board steamships to England.[11] On arrival, they crossed theEnglish Channel to France. After the War, over 40,000 returned by ship to Halifax and then by train to Vancouver; they were returned by ship to China.[12][13] An unknown number of the labourers never made it to Europe, died and buried in unmarked graves inBritish Columbia (including 21 at William Head) andOntario (one known grave, of Chou Ming Shan, inPetawawa, Ontario).[11]
A total of about 140,000 Chinese labourers served on theWestern Front during and after the war.[14] Among them, 100,000 served in the British Chinese Labour Corps. About 40,000 served with the French forces, and hundreds of Chinese students served as translators.[15]
By the end of 1917, 54,000 Chinese labourers were working with theBritish Armed Forces in France andBelgium. In March, theAdmiralty declared itself no longer able to supply the ships for transport and the British government were obliged to bring recruitment to an end. The men already serving in France completed their contracts.[7] By the time of thearmistice, the CLC numbered nearly 96,000,[7] while a further 30,000 were working for the French.[2]
In May 1919, 80,000 Chinese Labour Corps were still at work.[7] The British soldier Arthur Bullock, in his wartime memoir, gives an account of the interactions between the British soldiers and Chinese workers. He also drew a sketch of one Chinese labourer,Tchung Camena Tungwa, who invited Bullock to have tea with him inPeking whenever he visited the city. (Bullock was never able to make the trip).[16] Also an armed company of the Corps were employed in 1919 with theBritish North Russian Relief Force atArkhangelsk among reinforcements to assist the withdrawal of British and allied forces from theRussian Civil War.[17]
The workers, mainly aged between 20 and 35, served as labour in the rear echelons or helped build munitions depots. They carried out essential work to support the frontline troops, such as unloading ships, building dugouts, repairing roads and railways, digging trenches, and filling sandbags.[18] Some worked in armaments factories, others in naval shipyards, for a low wage of one to three francs a day. At the time, they were seen as cheap labour, and were not allowed out of camp to fraternise locally. When the war ended, some were used for mine clearance, or to recover the bodies of soldiers and fill in miles of trenches.[18] Men fell ill from poor diets and the intense damp and cold, and on occasion, theymutinied against their French and British employers or ransacked local restaurants in search of food.[19] The harshness of the conditions in which some of these men worked is recorded by Bullock,[20] he also recalled the differences between the 'coolies' and the Germanprisoners of war, in terms of their attitudes to work and to each other.[21]
After thearmistice of 11 November, the Chinese, each identified by a reference number, were shipped home. Only about 5,000 to 7,000 stayed in France, forming the nucleus oflater Chinese communities inParis.[22] The contribution of these Chinese men went uncommemorated for decades until military ceremonies resumed in 2002 at the Chinese cemetery of Noyelles-sur-Mer.[16]
Throughout the war,trade union pressure prevented the introduction of Chinese labourers to the British Isles.[3]Sidney andBeatrice Webb suggested that the CLC was restricted to carrying out menial unskilled labour due to pressure from British trade unions.[23] However, some members of the corps carried out skilled and semiskilled work for theTank Corps, including riveting[24] and engine repair.[25]
One member of the corps,First Class GangerLiu Dien Chen, was recommended for theMilitary Medal for rallying his men while under shellfire in March 1918. However, he was eventually awarded theMeritorious Service Medal, as it was decided CLC members were not eligible for the Military Medal. By the end of the war, the Meritorious Service Medal for bravery had been awarded to five Chinese workers.[26]
After the war, the British government issued theBritish War Medal in bronze to all members of the Chinese Labour Corps who entered a theatre of war.[27]
After the end of the war Chinese labourers were given transport back to China between December 1918 and September 1920.[28]
The workers saw first-hand that life in Europe was far from ideal, and reported this on their return to China. Chinese intellectuals of theNew Culture Movement looked on their contribution to the war as a point of pride –Chen Duxiu, for instance, commented that "while the sundoes not set on theBritish Empire, neither does it set on Chinese workers abroad." The CLC had a major impact on the educated youth who came to France to work with them as interpreters, such asJames Yen, whose literacy programmes under the auspices of theYMCA showed him the worth and dignity of the Chinese common man. He worked out a 1,000-characterprimer, which introduced basic literacy and became the basis of his work in China.[29] Other Chinese intellectuals who worked with the CLC in France includedJiang Tingfu andLin Yutang.
Initially the members of the CLC were memorialised in thePanthéon de la Guerre which was painted between 1914 and 1918. The CLC was later "airbrushed from history" and became the subject of a documentary.[30]
The last surviving member of the CLC,Zhu Guisheng (朱桂生), died inLa Rochelle on 5 March 2002 at 106 years old. He had also served in theFrench Army during theSecond World War.[31]
The CLC did not directly perform in combat. According to the records kept by the British and French recruiters, around 2,000 men of the CLC died during the war, many from the1918 flu pandemic, with some Chinese scholars estimating the total could be as high as 20,000, victims of shelling, landmines, poor treatment, or the disease.[15]
Fifteen members of the corps were sentenced to death for murder during the course of the war.[26][32] In December 1917, armed guards fired on members of the 21 Company Chinese Labour Corps, killing four and wounding nine.[26]
The members of the CLC who died were classified as war casualties and were buried in about 40 graveyards in the north of France and one in Belgium, with a total of about 2,000 recorded graves.[7] The largest number of graves are atNoyelles-sur-Mer on theSomme, next to the workers' camp of the British army, where a cholera outbreak and some of the fiercest battles occurred, as well. The cemetery contains 842 gravestones, each engraved withChinese characters, guarded by two stone lions, gifts from China.[18]
One of the four following epitaphs was inscribed on the standardCommonwealth War GravePortland stone gravestones for members of the CLC: "Faithful unto death (至死忠誠zhì sǐ zhōngchéng)", "A good reputation endures forever (流芳百世liúfāng bǎishì)", "A noble duty bravely done (勇往直前yǒngwǎng zhíqián)", and "Though dead he still liveth (雖死猶生suī sǐ yóu shēng)", which are English translations of commonChinese idioms for soldiers.[6]
| Location | Cemetery | Number of Burials | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Abbeville | Communal Cemetery Extension.[6] | ||
| Albert | French National Cemetery.[6] | ||
| Arques-la-Bataille | British Cemetery | More than 70[7] | |
| Ascq | Communal Cemetery.[6] | ||
| Ayette | British Cemetery.[6] | ||
| Beaulencourt | British Cemetery, Ligny-Thilloy | ||
| Blargies | Communal Cemetery Extension | ||
| Caudry | British Cemetery | ||
| Essegney | Charmes Military Cemetery | ||
| Chocques | Military Cemetery | ||
| Ebblinghem | Military Cemetery | 1 | The grave is numbered "106247" and bears the inscription "A good reputation endures forever." It is listed simply as a "Non-Commonwealth" grave in the register. |
| Foncquevillers | Military Cemetery | 2[6] | |
| Gezaincourt | Bagneux British Cemetery | ||
| Haute-Avesnes | British Cemetery | ||
| Laventie | Military Cemetery | ||
| Le Portel | Communal Cemetery | 1 | |
| Les Rues-des-Vignes | Communal Cemetery | 1 | |
| Longuenesse (nearSaint-Omer) | There is a special memorial commemorating 23 men of the Chinese Labour Corps whose remains could not be exactly located. | ||
| Mazargues | War Cemetery | ||
| Noyelles-sur-Mer | Chinese Cemetery and Memorial | 838 | A memorial commemorates 40 more who died on land and sea and whose graves are unknown.[7] |
| Ruminghem | Chinese Cemetery | 75 | Half the burials were transferred from a Chinese cemetery atSaint-Pol-sur-Mer after the war.[7] |
| Sains-en-Gohelle | Fosse No.10 Communal Cemetery Extension | ||
| Saint-Étienne-au-Mont | Communal Cemetery | about 170 | Most of the cemetery's 170 burials in the Commonwealth Section are Chinese.[7] |
| Saint-Sever | Cemetery Extension | 44 | Located within a large communal cemetery situated on the eastern edge of the southernRouen suburbs of Le Grand Quevilly and Le Petit Quevilly |
| Sangatte | Les Baraques Military Cemetery | More than 200[7] | |
| Tincourt-Boucly | New British Cemetery | ||
| Villers-Carbonnel | Communal Cemetery |
| Location | Cemetery | Number of Burials | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ypres | New Irish Farm Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery | 7 | |
| Kortrijk | (St.Jan) Communal Cemetery | 8 | |
| Poperinge | Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery | 35 | |
| Elverdinge | Gwalia Cemetery | 4 | |
| Kemmel | Klein Vierstraat British Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery | 1 | |
| Poperinge | Poperinghe Old Military Cemetery | 1 | |
| Poperinge | Poperinghe New Military Cemetery | 1 | |
| Proven | Mendinghem Military Cemetery | 8 | |
| Reningelst | Reninghelst New Military Cemetery | 7 | |
| Poperinge | Haringhe (Bandaghem) Military Cemetery | 4 | |
| Vlamertinge | Brandhoek New Military Number 3 Commonwealth War Graves Commission Cemetery | 1 | |
| Heuvelland | Westoutre British Cemetery | 3 | |
| Westvleteren | Dozinghem Military Cemetery | 3 | |
| Wevelgem | Kezelberg Military Cemetery | 1 | |
| Heuvelland | Croonaert Chapel Cemetery | 1 | |
| Machelen (Zulte) | Machelen French Military Cemetery | 1 |
| Location | Cemetery | Number of Burials | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Petawawa, Ontario | Garrison Petawawa | 1 | Chou Ming Shan, died 1917 inChapleau, Ontario[33] |
| Metchosin, British Columbia | William Head Prison | 21 | Site of former Quarantine Station, initial unmarked graves and since documented in 2019.[34] |
| Location | Cemetery | Number of Burials | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Plymouth | Efford Cemetery | 8 | |
| Folkestone | Shorncliffe Military Cemetery | 6 | |
| Liverpool | Anfield Cemetery | 3[35] | Research by ProfessorGregory Lee indicates that there are three further, unmarked, CLC in the "Chinese" section (Section 17) ofAnfield cemetery. The original headstones of the three named CLC members buried in Anfield were recently replaced by the CWGC with new ones. |
In addition, 73 labourers have been accepted for commemoration by the CWGC after their deaths were discovered by the researchers of theIn From The Cold Project. The majority are commemorated in the CWGC's United Kingdom Book of Remembrance, pending any discovery of their graves.[36]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
