The British and French governments did not give sufficient recognition to the Chinese workers who aided France in World War I, and the newspapers of the two countries did not carry out due propaganda and reports. Pen × fun × Pavilion www. ｂｉｑｕｇｅ。 ｉｎｆｏ

So much so that after more than ten years, except for the local residents who have seen it with their own eyes, other French people do not know about the existence of Chinese workers who have aided France. As the winner of the highest award for French fiction, Zhou Hexuan told these stories to reporters and judges at the award ceremony.

The French are still very cute, and the loveliest thing about them is their contempt for authority and government.

As soon as they heard that the government was hiding such a thing, the French journalist suddenly became motivated. Hehe, you're hiding it and not publicizing it, right, I'm going to write an article to report it!

In the afternoon of the same day, many reporters went to the Chinese settlement in Paris to find insiders to interview the news about the Chinese workers who had aided France.

Although the person's account is not as vivid as Zhou Hexuan's, it is bloody. The reporters in charge of the interviews were completely shocked by these stories, and at the same time even more angry - the Chinese who came to help from thousands of miles away were actually treated as hard work by British and French officers!

Le Figaro soon published a full-page report: "In June 1916, after the inhabitants of the town of Noyelle had finished cutting their wheat, the British began to build their first camp...... A few months later, they were surprised to see the first Chinese coming down from the train, closely guarded by British soldiers armed with thick sticks. The Chinese were not tall, wearing large blue cotton jackets, small round hats and fur earmuffs, wrapped leggings, bloomers, and numbered copper bracelets on their hands. Their bamboo poles (flat poles) carry rice bags and wooden planks, swinging back and forth, and there is a wheelbarrow with a triangular handle. These outsiders have a very bad complexion, but they are very disciplined......"

The Le Figaro article was written in great detail, describing both the brutal treatment of Chinese laborers by British and French officers, and the emphasis on the role of Chinese laborers in the war effort. In particular, the Chinese laborers used their flesh and blood to ride the mines laid by the German army on the front line of the war, and this paragraph makes people shock and sad to read.

……

The economic crisis from the United States has not affected France for the time being, and Paris is still bustling today.

George was an ordinary company clerk who had just returned from a business trip. Before boarding the train home, Georges walked into the station bookstore and said to the clerk, "Are the results of the Goncourt Literary Prize out?" ”

"Yes, sir, it's this 'The Goddess'." The clerk pulled out a new French edition of "The Goddess" and said that the packaging was similar to before, but a small line was printed on the cover: "Goncourt Literary Prize Winning Works".

Instead of picking up the novel with his hands, George asked, "Can you wrap it up?" ”

"Of course." The clerk laughed.

The French have an interesting tradition of awarding the Prix Goncourt just before Christmas, so every year when Christmas comes, many people choose to give the winning works of the Prix Goncourt as Christmas gifts to relatives and friends.

This is also why, some novels that sell only 20,000 or 30,000 copies will sell 780,000 copies in an instant once they win the Prix Goncourt.

When the clerk had wrapped the book, Georges said, "Two newspapers, one Le Figaro and one Le Paris." ”

"Okay, please put it away." The clerk took down the newspaper and said.

George put the novel in his purse and read it as he walked, holding the newspaper. It wasn't until the train started that he finally read the Le Figaro about Chinese laborers and couldn't help but exclaim: "God, it's unbelievable!" ”

After reading "Le Figaro" with a hard heart, Georges hurriedly flipped through the "Paris Daily", and finally found the relevant news on one of the pages - the winner of the Prix Goncourt, telling the history of the blood and tears of Chinese workers on the spot!

Mr. Zhou Hexuan was clearly a maverick, and he walked into the restaurant wearing a labor uniform and carrying a big shovel to have lunch with the well-known people in suits and leather shoes. Everyone, including the author, was amazed by his unusual attire, and at this time Mr. Zhou explained to us his intentions, he wanted to tell the French a fact! Just over 10 years ago, during the war in Europe, 140,000 Chinese laborers from rural China, working 10 to 16 hours a day and receiving a meager salary, were discriminated against and abused by British and French officers, and sacrificed their lives for the war day and night......

After reading the report, George suddenly caught a glimpse of his neighbor reading the Eastern Republic, and he said, "Excuse me, can you read the newspaper interchangeably?" ”

"Absolutely." The other party smiled and handed him the newspaper.

This newspaper also has relevant content, and the headline is even more sensational - children of heaven, France must not forget them!

After reading the article carefully, George silently put the newspaper aside.

The passenger sitting next to him took the initiative to accost: "Are you also shocked? If it weren't for the Chinese writer who mentioned it, I wouldn't have known that there were still 140,000 Chinese laborers participating in the European War. ”

George shrugged his shoulders and said: "I am shocked by the brutal treatment of Chinese laborers by British and French officers. Britain and France, civilized societies, can still commit such atrocities, they treat the Chinese as livestock, call them 'ogres', 'two-legged pigs'. But these Chinese laborers, who were obviously on our side, were helping us in the war, but many of them died under the whips of British and French soldiers. ”

"Who's to say it isn't? Those Chinese laborers are so pitiful," asked a neighbor passenger, "have you seen Mr. Zhou's 'The Goddess'?" ”

George said, "No. But I've already bought it and I'm going to give it to my wife as a Christmas present. ”

The passenger next to him said, "I think you can take a look." After reading "The Goddess" and then reading those reports about Chinese labor, I will feel more profound. ”

"Really? Then I'll give it a try. George unwrapped the wrapper and read it on the spot.

"The Goddess" is really poisonous, George didn't read a few chapters, and he felt cold in his vest, numb in his scalp, frightened by the indifference and cruelty of the world that he took for granted, and at the same time he couldn't stop immersing himself in all kinds of magical scenes.

It wasn't until the train pulled into the Paris station that Georges couldn't finish closing the book.

As the passenger next to him said, after reading "The Goddess", George already had an intuitive understanding of China's low-level civilians. When I think of the Chinese laborers in the report, I feel an inexplicable sympathy and compassion even more, which makes people feel uncomfortable.

Due to the great attention of the French to the Goncourt Award, Zhou Hexuan's public opinion guidance this time was extremely successful. In the following days, major French newspapers reported that "Son of Heaven" had become a respectful pronoun for Chinese workers aiding France.

On Christmas Day, when the French people were celebrating with the whole country, Zhou Hexuan suddenly appeared in the newspaper to explain. He wanted to build cemeteries and monuments for Chinese laborers, solicit relevant information from all over France, and hoped that the French government and people would provide reliable information.

The enthusiasm of the French finally showed itself, and as soon as Christmas passed, city halls across France received countless letters from citizens every day, urging the government to help build the Chinese Workers Cemetery.

Some people even organized a march to demand severe punishment for the soldiers and officers who mistreated the Chinese workers in those years, and many students studying in France also spontaneously organized themselves to hold various commemorative activities for the Chinese workers.

The Legation in France took the opportunity to promote Sino-French friendship, and Li Shizeng also took advantage of this trend to actively contact French scientific research institutions, hoping that the other party could reach academic cooperation with the Beiping Research Institute.

What makes Zhou Hexuan most gratified is that the French people's impression of the Chinese has changed greatly, at least not as discriminatory as before.