ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the significance of Britain's recruitment of Chinese labour during World War One through the prism of contemporary and contrasting British and Chinese representations of the workers. The Chinese 'coolie' in Anglophone discourse became the symbol and the very incarnation of cheap, docile and menial labour. The controversial nature of the 'coolie trade' and the appalling conditions and treatment endured by the Chinese indentured workers gradually convinced the Qing government that it needed to be more actively concerned with recruitment practices and conditions. Chinese workers' attitude towards authority was always a perplexing issue for their British employers. The British concern for a loss of 'face' during their employment of Chinese workers in France also extended to China in several ways. They were constantly on the lookout for critical comments in the Chinese press on the British management of the Chinese Labour Corps (CLC).
