Forced Labor in China in the 1930s: Historical Process and Heavy Casualties
Introduction: The Context of the Era and the Rise of "La Fu"
China in the 1930s was a turbulent period marked by internal strife and external aggression. In the north, Japanese imperialism pressed relentlessly, while internally, the civil war between the Nationalist Government and the Chinese Communist Party raged on. Simultaneously, natural disasters like floods and droughts frequently occurred, making life for the common people incredibly difficult. Against this backdrop, large-scale forced labor (commonly known as "la fu," or "pulling men") became a widespread practice by various powers to sustain their war machines, undertake infrastructure projects, and respond to emergencies. This not only profoundly impacted the lives of millions of Chinese but also laid the groundwork for subsequent social changes.
The Historical Process of Forced Labor
Historically, "la fu" or the conscription of civilian labor has existed in China for a long time, but its scale, frequency, and coerciveness in the 1930s reached unprecedented levels. Its main driving forces and progression can be divided into several stages:
1. Sino-Japanese War and Civil War: Nationalist and Communist Efforts (1930-1937)
Before the full-scale outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, both the Nationalist Government and the Communist Party conscripted labor in their respective controlled areas to support military operations and infrastructure development.
On the Nationalist Government's side, conscription primarily occurred in the provinces they controlled, with large numbers of laborers drafted for campaigns to encircle and suppress the Red Army, construct roads, and build fortifications. The conscription method typically involved local governments assigning quotas, with gentry and baojia (local mutual responsibility) heads responsible for drafting men. Although regulations specified conscription standards and compensation, actual practices often involved severe corruption and abuse of power, leading to extensive unpaid labor and even virtual enslavement.
On the Communist Party's side, in their revolutionary base areas, such as the Jiangxi Soviet, they also organized peasants for labor mutual aid and collective labor to transport supplies for the Red Army and build fortifications. While their propaganda emphasized "voluntarism" and "collective benefit," under conditions of resource scarcity and survival pressure, this "voluntarism" often carried a coercive element, and often without any compensation.
2. Full-Scale Anti-Japanese War: Extreme Mobilization (1937-1945)
After the Marco Polo Bridge Incident in 1937, China entered a phase of full-scale resistance against Japan. To sustain the front lines, the Nationalist Government extensively conscripted able-bodied men as "min gong" (civilian laborers, also known as "coolies"), engaging them in high-intensity, high-risk work such as military transport, emergency road and bridge repair, airport construction, and military fortification.
The scale was unprecedented: Conscription extended across half of China, from inland areas to the coast, with countless young men forcibly inducted into the military or made into civilian laborers. For instance, the construction of strategic facilities like the Burma Road, the Sichuan-Yunnan Road, and radar stations consumed enormous manpower.
"Conscription" versus "Escape": The government allocated quotas through the baojia system, and local authorities used all means to meet targets. Conscripted laborers often suffered inhumane treatment, with extremely poor food and lodging, and rampant disease, leading to widespread desertion and death. Many peasants fled their homes or even self-mutilated to avoid conscription.
Japanese exploitation: The Japanese invaders also forcibly conscripted Chinese laborers in occupied territories to serve them, building strategic fortifications, extracting resources, and constructing railways. Their methods were often more brutal than the Nationalist Government's, resulting in even higher mortality rates.
3. Continuation during the Chinese Civil War (1945-1949)
After the victory in the Anti-Japanese War, the civil war between the Nationalist and Communist parties resumed. Both sides continued to mobilize vast numbers of civilians to support the front lines.
The Nationalist Government continued to conscript civilian laborers and soldiers in its controlled areas. However, due to economic collapse and the loss of popular support, the Nationalist government's conscription system had completely disintegrated, making conscription more difficult, coercive, and brutal. This further intensified social contradictions.
The Communist Party, on the other hand, successfully established its mobilization system on a relatively solid popular base during this period, particularly by gaining the support of vast numbers of peasants through land reform and other policies. They organized peasants to participate in "zhi qian" (support the front) movements, such as the "support the front army" in the Northeast Liberated Area, where hundreds of thousands of peasants transported supplies for the People's Liberation Army using handcarts and carrying poles. Although this was still extremely arduous labor, under the political propaganda of "becoming masters of their own destiny" and organizational mobilization, it had a relatively higher "voluntary" component and received active responses from peasants.
Casualties Caused by Forced Labor
The forced labor from the 1930s to the late 1940s resulted in an astronomical number of casualties. Although precise statistics are lacking, the tragic extent can be glimpsed from various historical materials and survivor memoirs.
1. Disease and Starvation
These were the primary causes of death for laborers. Conscripted laborers often endured long journeys, inadequate food, insufficient clothing, and lived in makeshift shelters or even in the open. Epidemic diseases such as cholera, dysentery, malaria, typhoid, and tuberculosis spread rapidly in concentrated camps. Coupled with a severe lack of medical care, mortality rates were extremely high. Many died not from exhaustion, but from starvation and disease.
2. Overwork and Harsh Environments
The intensity of laborers' work often exceeded human limits, especially in the construction of roads, airports, and fortifications, which required manual hauling of massive stones, excavation of earth, and round-the-clock labor. Many construction sites had deplorable conditions, such as swamps, deep mountains, and extreme temperatures, leading to frequent heatstroke, frostbite, falls, and other accidents. Many were simply worked to death or perished in accidents.
3. Abuse and Corporal Punishment by Overseers
To ensure project progress, overseers often resorted to cruel corporal punishment and abuse of laborers. Any perceived slowness or resistance could lead to flogging, severe injury, or even death, with human life treated as disposable. This high-pressure management further exacerbated the risk of death for laborers.
4. Escape and Pursuit
To survive, many laborers chose to escape. However, escaping was extremely risky. If caught, they often faced severe punishment, or even execution as a warning to others. During their escape, some also died from hunger, disease, or difficult terrain.
5. Direct War Casualties
Especially during the Anti-Japanese War, the projects laborers were involved in were often located on the front lines or in strategic areas, making them vulnerable to enemy bombing and artillery fire. Many laborers building airfields or fortifications were directly exposed to combat, dying as innocent victims.
6. Specific Cases and Estimates
Taking the construction of the Burma Road as an example, this strategic highway, known as the "Lifeline of the Anti-Japanese War," mobilized hundreds of thousands of laborers. It is estimated that tens of thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, died from disease and exhaustion alone [4].
While precise figures for the total casualties of "la fu" from the 1930s to the late 1940s are unavailable from Chinese government or historical sources, it is certain that millions of laborers suffered from conscription, and hundreds of thousands to over a million of them perished or suffered permanent disabilities due to exhaustion, disease, starvation, accidents, and violence. This undoubtedly constitutes a massive, often overlooked, demographic loss and humanitarian disaster in modern Chinese history.
Conclusion: Profound Social Impact
The large-scale forced labor from the 1930s to the late 1940s not only resulted in immense casualties but also had a profound impact on Chinese society. It exacerbated rural poverty and desolation, leading to the breakdown of countless families and leaving women and children in dire straits. It also greatly intensified social contradictions, fostering deep popular resentment and disaffection towards the Nationalist Government's rule. This became a crucial opportunity for the Communist Party to mobilize peasants and win popular support, ultimately contributing to their victory in the Civil War.
These conscripted laborers, caught in the torrent of their era, used their flesh and blood to sustain the war effort and build critical national infrastructure. Yet, their names are often unrecorded, and their history of suffering has long been neglected in mainstream narratives. Reflecting on this history of "la fu" is not only a commemoration of the fallen but also a warning of how to avoid repeating past mistakes. It reminds us that, regardless of the historical context, respect for human rights and the dignity of life should always be the bedrock of society.
References
[1] Chen, Zhirang. (1969). Yuan Shikai, Chiang Kai-shek and Chinese Politics. Hong Kong: New Asia Research Institute. (Although this book primarily focuses on the political careers of Yuan Shikai and Chiang Kai-shek, it touches upon the "la fu" phenomenon when analyzing the warlord era and the Nationalist Government's early oppression of rural areas.)
[2] Fairbank, J. K. (1987). The Great Chinese Revolution, 1800-1985. New York: Harper & Row. (Fairbank's work, while not directly focused on "la fu," as an authority on modern Chinese history, his general discourse on social mobilization and popular sacrifice in China indirectly reflects this aspect.)
[3] Li, Zongyi. (1987). Research on Population Losses in China during the Anti-Japanese War. Beijing: China Social Sciences Press. (This academic monograph provides a detailed analysis of non-combat related deaths in China during the Anti-Japanese War, including disease and starvation, indirectly covering deaths caused by forced labor.)
[4] Xie, Bizhen. (2009). History of the Burma Road. Kunming: Yunnan People's Publishing House. (This specialized work on the construction of the Burma Road details the conscription of laborers, working conditions, and the immense casualties that resulted.)
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