Conclusion

The centenary of World War I began in July 2014 with a series of commemorations of the outbreak of the war organized by committees across the continent of Europe. Christopher Clark’s (2013) The Sleepwalkers: How Europe Went to War in 1914 is a monumental work on the events leading up to the First World War. The book reexamines the origins of World War I and challenges the consensus that Germany was the main culprit, as it was where the origins of the war were located. Strong and diverse responses to the book came from Britain, France, and Germany (Weigelin-Schwiedrzik, 2015). World War I carried vast and far-reaching consequences for Europe. China, a participant in the war, had comparatively few voices in the commemoration of the war, while European nations were immersed in disagreements over its narrative and memory. Chinese historians have lagged behind their European counterparts since China’s involvement in the war—even some fundamental historical aspects—largely remain unpacked.