The chinese labour force in the first part of the twentieth century

The Chinese labour force can draw the attention of the social and economic historian from many points of view: one can take into consideration its economic relationship to the employers (wages, hours of work), its standard of life, its political capacity to play a role in national affairs, its ability to organize trade unions or political parties on a class basis. The following paper is only meant to underline various aspects of the recruitment, allocation and supply of this labour force in the first part of the twentieth century, namely during the period of the only serious attempt, and of the failure, of an industrial development in China—of course before the jiefang ¹⁴⁶ of 1949.