The Chinese Boxer Rebellion

By: Shebra Sanders

Global History from the 15th Century August 17, 2013 Instructor: Arthur Finkle

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In late 19th century China there was much unrest and concern about Western

intrusion in the country. Like the discontent in Africa, some Chinese feared they would

lose their identity to the ways of the Europeans and Americans. The Chinese population

grew to over a billion people, most was landless and lived as peasants. With the country

being slowly stripped of its natural resources, the Qing emperor set out to modernize

Chinese industry, education, military, and agriculture. Opponents of Qing blocked his

western efforts and eventually removed him from power. He was put under house

arrest,“while the Empress Dowager Cixi,whom conservatives supported, actually ruled.”1

Both external and internal factors led to the Boxer Rebellion. The breakdown

of dynastic authority were primarily due to foreign pressures. External factors included

the crushing defeat in the Sino-Japanese war that gave Japan the colony of Taiwan.

Britain, France, Germany and Russia all gained territories from China that they referred

to as their “spheres of influence.”2 The United States asked that the Chinese keep trade

open and that the Qing adapt western views on politics and “to acknowledge the

superiority of Christian civilization.”3 A consequence of these factors were that many

Chinese adopted an anti-European attitude, while in support of using European

advancements in technology to strengthen China.

The biggest resistance to European intrusion was a group of anti-European

Chinese who were called “Boxers.” Although the Boxers came from various parts of

society, many were peasants, particularly from Shandong Province. Their story was tied

to missionary activities that occurred decades earlier during the Taiping Rebellion.

Earlier missionary activities were aimed at converting the elite, but by the mid-nineteenth

century, their goal was to convert commoners, as well. After the Taiping Rebellion

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missionaries in China became anxious and more aggressive in their tactics to gain

converts.

In 1897 some Chinese residents killed two German missionaries in of Shandong

Province, this prompted the German government to demand that they be allowed to build

three cathedrals, to remove all hostile local authorities and to seize the north-eastern port

of Jiaozhou. Shandong Province had been hard-hit by floods and famines and China had

given territorial and commercial concessions to European nations. “The Boxers blamed

their poor standard of living on foreigners who were colonizing their country.”4

Situations escalated and groups of martial artists began attacking missionaries and

Chinese christians. In early 1899 these groups of martial artists united under the name

Boxers United in Righteousness. They believed they were protected by some divine

intervention, they proclaimed: “We requested the gods to attach themselves to our bodies.

When they had done so, we became Spirit Boxers, after which we were invulnerable to

swords and spears, our courage was enhanced, and in fighting we were unafraid to die

and dared to charge straight ahead.”5

Internal factors that played a part in the Boxer Rebellion were the harsh economic

conditions that existed in areas hit by famines, floods and poverty. These areas, such as

Shandong, were where the Boxer movement was most popular. The Boxers consisted

mainly of young men, but women were also involved. Another factor was The Red

Lanterns, a group of teenage girls and unmarried women, declared their alliance with the

Boxers by wearing red garments. These women worshipped and trained at separate

training grounds from the men, but they were very important to the Boxers’ cause; they

were used to counteract any influence that Christian women could have on the male

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Boxers. The Red Lanterns were believed to be “pure” and capable of all kinds of magical

feats: they could walk on water or fly through the air. “Belief in their magical powers

provided critical assistance for the uprising.”6

Early in 1900 the Boxers had many powerful supporters in the Chinese court,

most notably, the Dowager Empress Cixi. The Empress struggled with the idea of

supporting the Boxers’ cause and keeping Western powers at bay. China was very

vulnerable at this time, and the Empress knew that if she did not appease the Western

powers, they could just take what they wanted by force. Still, she had a duty to uphold the

rights of the Chinese people to keep their traditions and not adopt Western ways.7

Eventually the Empress embraced the Boxers’ cause and in June of 1900, declared war

against the foreign powers.

Foreign involvement was inevitable after the Boxers harassed and killed

foreigners and Christians. Their violence spread from northern China to southern China.

They destroyed railroads, telegraph lines and any symbol of Western influence visible. In

Beijing they took over foreign embassy compounds where diplomats and their families

took refuge until being rescued.

In August of 1900, an army of 20,000 troops, consisting mostly of Japanese

troops; the balance were from Russia, Germany, Britain, France and the United States,

invaded China and defeated the Boxers. In the aftermath, the Chinese were forced to sign

the Boxer Protocol, which called for the Chinese to pay compensation for damages to

foreign life and property. It also authorized foreign powers to station bases in Beijing for

the protection of foreign diplomats and their families.

“America returned the money it received from China after the Boxer Rebellion,

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on the condition it be used to fund the creation of a university in Beijing. Other nations

involved later remitted their shares of the Boxer indemnity as well.”8

After being established for approximately 300 years, the Qing Dynasty was

severely weakened by the Boxer Rebellion, and in 1911 after another uprising, the

dynasty came to an end and China became a republic in 1912.9

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Notes

1. Robert Tignor et al., Worlds Together Worlds Apart, 3rd ed., vol. 2 (New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2011), 678.

2. Robert Tignor et al., Worlds Together Worlds Apart, 678.

3. Robert Tignor et al., Worlds Together Worlds Apart, 679.

4. "Boxer Rebellion," History.com, accessed August 16, 2013, http://www.history.com/topics/boxer-rebellion.

5. Robert Tignor et al., Worlds Together Worlds Apart, 680.

6. Robert Tignor et al., Worlds Together Worlds Apart, 680.

7. Dugdale-Pointon,TDP, "The Boxer Rebellion, 1900," The Boxer Rebellion, 1900, September 19, 2004, section goes here, accessed August 17, 2013, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_boxer.html.

8. "Boxer Rebellion," History.com, "Did You Know?," accessed August 16, 2013, http://www.history.com/topics/boxer-rebellion.

9. "Boxer Rebellion," History.com, accessed August 16, 2013, http://www.history.com/topics/boxer-rebellion.

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Bibliography

"Boxer Rebellion." History.com. Accessed August 16, 2013. http://www.history.com/topics/boxer-rebellion.

Dugdale-Pointon,TDP. "The Boxer Rebellion, 1900." The Boxer Rebellion, 1900. September 19, 2004. Accessed August 17, 2013. http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/wars_boxer.html.

Tignor, Robert, Jeremy Adelman, Stephen Aron, Stephen Kotkin, Suzanne Marchand, Gyan Prakash, and Michael Tsin. Worlds Together Worlds Apart. 3rd ed. Vol. 2. New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2011.

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