The Great War helped China emerge from humiliation and obscurity and take its first tentative steps as a full member of the global community. In 1912 the Qing Dynasty had ended. President Yuan Shikai, who seized power in 1914, offered the British 50,000 troops to recover the German colony in Shandong but this was refused. In 1916 China sent a vast army of labourers to Europe. In 1917 she declared war on Germany despite this effectively making the real enemy Japan an ally. The betrayal came when Japan was awarded the former German colony. This inspired the rise of Chinese nationalism and communism, enflamed by Russia. The scene was set for Japan's incursions into China and thirty years of bloodshed. One hundred years on, the time is right for this accessible and authoritative account of China's role in The Great War and assessment of its national and international significance AUTHOR: Frances Wood studied Chinese at the universities of Cambridge, Peking and London and was Curator of the Chinese collections at the British Library until 2013. Her published works include 'The Blue Guide to China', 'Did Marco Polo Go to China?', 'The Silk Road:Two thousand years in the heart of Asia', 'The Forbidden City', 'No Dogs and Not Many Chinese' and 'Picnics Prohibited'. Christopher Arnander taught Classics in England and the USA before moving into finance and consultancy. After retiring, he took up the editing and writing of books including 'Take Your Partners,' about Orion Bank and the consortium banks, Think Globally, Spend Locally', and two books of bilingual illustrated proverbs He edited 'Private Lord Crawford's Great War Diarie' (Pen and Sword Books, 2014). 16 pages of b/w plates
