In 1872, thirty young Chinese boys landed in San Francisco to begin a ten-year period of education in American colleges and technical institutions. Their mission, and the mission of those who followed (China's "first hundred"), was to acquire Western technical knowledge and skills and return to China as a core group of engineering experts. These young men were to propel China into the twentieth century. In "China's First Hundred," Thomas LaFargue tells the story of these young Chinese pioneers in the Occident. In their careers we catch glimpses of the profound social upheaval caused when the aggressive and technological West encountered in the philosophic, stable culture of traditional China. Originally published in 1942, "China's First Hundred" is an important pioneering work, unique in the study of social and economic contact between China and the United States.

Thomas LaFargue was an assistant professor of history and politics at the State College of Washington when he wrote "China's First Hundred."