The Great War and China’s Great Transformation

So much has been written about the First World War or the Great War, yet its impact on China and China’s contribution to it are rarely noticed and acknowledged by scholars in the world, including the Chinese themselves. When the world prepares to reexamine the legacy of the war to mark its one hundred year’s anniversary, it is time for all of us to understand the significant roles the war played in China and China played for the world. This paper will focus on three issues: the impact of the war on China, China’s role in the war, and how the war created a shared history between the Chinese and the rest of the world.