China and the Great War
China's Pursuit of a New National Identity and Internationalization

This 2005 book is a full-length study of China's involvement in the conflict from perspectives of international history, using previously unknown archival materials.

Guoqi Xu (Author)

9780521283236, Cambridge University Press

Paperback, published 22 September 2011

342 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.9 cm, 0.5 kg

Review of the hardback: 'This is an important book, helping to answer hitherto neglected questions about China's role in the Great War and the role the war played in bringing China onto a changing international stage. It is well researched and written, and deserves to be read widely.' Asian Affairs

China's role in the First World War has been a curiously neglected topic. This 2005 book is a full-length study of China's involvement in the conflict from perspectives of international history, using largely unknown archival materials from China, France, Germany, UK, and USA. It explains why China wanted to join the war and what were its contributions to the war effort and the emerging world order in the postwar period. The book also demonstrates that China's participation in the First World War was not only a defining moment in modern Chinese and world history, but also the beginning of China's long journey toward internationalization. In this provocative book, Professor Xu adds a new dimension to our collective memory of the war, its tragedy and its significance, and restores the China war memory into its rightful place.

Introduction
Part I. The Stage Is Set: 1. China's preparation for entry into the international system
2. The rise of Chinese internationalism and the new diplomacy
Part II. China Attempts to Join the War: 3. China responses to the outbreak of war
4. 'Using laborers as soldiers' - an alternative strategy
5. China's formal entry into the war
Part III. The Great War in Chinese Domestic Politics and Foreign Relations: 6. The war within
7. The 1919 Paris Peace Conference and China's search for a new world order
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: International relations [JPS], First World War [HBWN], Asian history [HBJF], History [HB]