The Source of Railway Workers in Late Qing Dynasty

Mainly transformed from bankrupt farmers and family craftsmen, it has a natural connection with farmers and is convenient to form an alliance of workers and peasants. Therefore, the working class in China is the most advanced, revolutionary and powerful class in modern China society.

The main sources of the working class in modern China were bankrupt and unemployed farmers, craftsmen and the urban poor in urban and rural areas.

Professionally speaking, in addition to farmers and craftsmen, modern railway workers in China also have skilled workers in other industries, urban residents and students without fixed occupations. Geographically, unskilled workers mainly come from Hebei, Shandong, Henan and other provinces, and most skilled workers come from coastal areas such as Guangdong, Shanghai, Fuzhou and Tianjin. The differences in occupation and geographical sources are mainly caused by different recruitment methods. China's modern railway departments mainly include sponsorship system, apprenticeship system, contract system, introduction of railway workers or trade unions, examination and recruitment methods.