Experiencing “Empire” and “Nation” from Afar: Chinese Laborers and Students in Europe in the 1910s and 20s

Symbolized by the May Fourth, the May Thirtieth, and the Educational Right Movements for China’s independence from the Western and Japanese imperial powers, China had seen a radical rise of mass political movements from the late 1910s to the late 1920s. While modern Chinese historiography addresses this significant change primarily within China’s domestic context, these movements had indeed often taken roots in the Chinese community in Europe. This paper identifies the origins of these movements in this community, examining how various political forces had emerged as a result of these individuals’ encounter of “empire” and “nation” in Europe, especially in France. This community was primarily composed of Chinese laborers, who were recruited by the Allies for the Great War, as well as the Chinese work-study (gongxue) students. In the beginning, there were hardly political activists with specific political agendas, because of their individual goals for wealth and further education. However, as it became difficult to achieve these aims while facing racial discrimination and economic exploitations, they came to find that the reason for their suffering was their weakened “nation” under the domination of the “empires” of the West and Japan. This turned some to communism and others ultra-nationalism. Although these politically different groups collaborated to initiate movements for China’s independence even in foreign lands, conflicts appeared first among Chinese students, and later among laborers as the former attempted to gain supporters from the latter. Furthermore, as the leading figures of these groups worked with their domestic allies, the dynamics of these struggles were also transferred into the China’s domestic political realm, causing the organized political conflicts in the aforementioned anti-imperialist movements. By tracing this transformation of the Chinese community in Europe, this paper thus suggests a transitional dimension in the rise of modern Chinese mass politics.