Chinese Labour Corps

Here, I'm aiming to give some broader context as to where this giant nation sat in the 1914 global jigsaw of warring states.

I think I've mentioned elsewhere that the tremendous contribution given by the Chinese Labour Corps will have its own episode.

China, an ancient country, had been ruled as a united empire for over 2,000 years.

It was there when the Roman Empire collapsed and had survived to see the zenith of the British Empire at the start of the 20th century.

Of these, up to 10,000 died, many from the pandemic of Spanish flu in 1917-1918.

At the end of the war, some chose not to go home and a Chinese community emerged in Paris.

The last member of the Chinese Labour Corps, Zhu Zhexing, died in March 2002.

He was 106 years old.