From the Tsar's Railway to the Red Army: Penguin Specials

by Mark O'Neill

It is a little known fact that during the First World War Russia received the majority of Chinese wartime labourers working overseas. Despite assurances that they would not be involved in the war, thousands of Chinese workers dug trenches and carried ammunition for troops on the Eastern Front under brutal conditions. Then, in 1917, life for the Chinese worsened with the Bolshevik Revolution's arrival. Some of the workers signed up to fight for the Red Army and many were left stranded in Russia, unemployed and destitute. Their plight has been described as the most tragic episode in 400 years of Chinese emigration. The men had crossed the border into Russia with dreams of earning enough money to build a house or business for their family at home. None could have imagined the hell that awaited them.

Genres: History, China

80 pages, Kindle Edition

First published August 25, 2014

About the author

Mark was born in London, England and educated at Marlborough College and New College, Oxford. He worked in Washington D.C., Manchester and Belfast before moving to Asia in 1978. He has lived here ever since. After a long journalistic career, in 2006 he turned to writing books and has completed 12 so far in English. Seven have been translated into traditional Chinese and three into simplified Chinese. He speaks French, Mandarin, Cantonese and Japanese and lives in Hong Kong with his wife. He is busy with new books and hopes to bring them out in 2021.

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want to read non-fiction about hell on earth, and being in the wrong place at the wrong time don't pass this one up.

There are a few little nagging editing errors, but otherwise it kept bugging my eyes out. Unbelievable all the bad, and life-changing events the Chinese went through who wound up working in Russia during World War I. I am really glad I was not one of them.

It is also quite revealing how some of these workers became much more than that in the very changed Russia when the Bolsheviks took over. In a few cases.

Too many cases were tragic and inhumane. It was a nasty event -- both on the front and behind the lines. If job hunting, read this, and try and stay out of countries that might be in revolution, war, or suffering from epic plagues. You will know why in these pages.

It is a quick read of less than 100 pages, but action-packed, and then some. Most of these details are not common knowledge in many countries.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Continuing my efforts to improve my knowledge of China, I'm finding the China Specials from Penguin very interesting...

From the Tsar's Railway to the Red Army: The Experience of Chinese Labourers in Russia during the First World War and Bolshevik Revolution by Mark O'Neill reveals aspects of WW1 history that link Tsarist Russia with the fledgling Republic of China through the use of Chinese labourers to prop up Russia's industrial shortcomings.  Wikipedia has nothing to say about this, claiming only that:

China participated in World War I from 1917 to 1918 in an alliance with the Entente Powers. Although China never sent troops overseas, 140,000 Chinese labourers (as a part of the British Army, the Chinese Labour Corps) served for both British and French forces before the end of the war. (Wikipedia 'China during World War I' lightly edited to remove unnecessary links, viewed 7/1/24).

But the blurb for Mark O'Neill's book says otherwise...
People pity the fate of the Romanovs and rightly so, but it should not be forgotten that the Tsar's refusal to reform meant that he presided over an economy that was a basket case.  Militarily and economically, Russia was the weakest of the great powers and its industries were too backward to equip its army for a mechanised war.

In 1914, 85 per cent of the Russian population were peasants living at a subsistence level, and the national literacy rate of those over the age of nine was 40 per cent. While the country grew enormous quantities of food, with grain accounting for 90 per cent of arable farming, it produced few manufactured goods and imported 70 per cent of its machinery; even agricultural implements such as axes, sickles and scythes were brought into the country. During the war, 20 per cent of its bullets, 40 per cent of its rifles and 60 per cent of its machine guns, airplanes and motor vehicles were imported. Russia borrowed US$4.5 billion, nearly all of it from Britain and France – a debt that the new Soviet government would repudiate in 1918; it was the largest default in history, and a major reason why the Western powers would oppose the new regime and try to overthrow it. (Loc 142-3)

The war in the east was different to the trench warfare in France and Belgium.

The war was fought over a distance of more than 1600 kilometres, stretching from St Petersburg in the north to the Black Sea in the south, from the Baltic Sea in the west to Minsk in the east. The density of soldiers was lower and the lines were easier to break. Once a line was broken, the large distances and weak communication networks made it hard for the defender to bring reinforcements, which resulted in an enormous number of Russian soldiers being taken prisoner by the German and Austro-Hungarian forces. Historian Nik Cornish put the figure at five million, more than three times the total of 1.3 million British, French and German soldiers taken prisoner during the war. A war of attrition set in on this vast Eastern Front. (Loc 156)

Desperately short of manpower, and (unlike Britain and France who could recruit from their colonies) Russia turned to China.  Beijing supported recruitment provided China's neutrality would be maintained, and diplomats in China set up model contracts outlining 'reasonable' working conditions. But in a chapter titled 'The mountains are high and the emperor is far away' O'Neill shows just how badly these labourers fared...

To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2024/01/07/f...

[Ruchama · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extremely interesting! A lesson in historic events I have never heard in any other way. Recommend it!

[L · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some spelling mistakes, easy to read.
During the late 19th century and early 20th century, Russia had not been very nice to China but Chinese people were still eager to work in Russia for more wages and hence remittance. This book is not available in public libraries in Hong Kong but I do think people should remember this part of history. How Chinese people have helped Russia and how Russian people treated Chinese should be remembered.

[Maddie Hah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating and important untold history. I wish there was more on how the Chinese workers politics were transformed and what they wrote. But I understand that would've been very difficult to discover.

[Melaslithos · Rating 4 out of 5]

I never knew, or even never thought about this little bit of history before. Very interesting introduction and overview of it.

[Stefan · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5* — I think O’Neill’s other Penguin China Special is better, but I may be misremembering that. I’ll re-read it soon.

[Yuni Amir · Rating 5 out of 5]

A good short read on a deleted history. Workers’ right is a human right!

[Ian McHugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Interesting story but too much narrative 'filler' in here about the Russian Revolution.