Menu:
Related topics
*Both Wade-Giles and Pinyin system are used. > Their Conversion
Boxer Uprising / Movement (1900) 義和團運動
Causes and background
A. Anti-foreign ideas and activities in society
i. China's anti-foreign tradition and presence of Western missionaries in China since 1860
China had a strong anti-foreign tradition. Foreigners were considered barbarians. After 1860, Western missionaries were given the right to preach Christianity throughout China and to rent or buy land for the construction of churches. The unwanted presence of these foreigners aroused Chinese anger.
ii. Anti-missionary attitude among the scholar-gentry - The scholar-gentry (those who had successfully passed government-held examinations and become China's social leaders) hated Western missionaries. There were four reasons for this:
a. Foreign missionaries seemed to be challenging the scholar-gentry's social leadership:
- Firstly, the missionaries taught Western things, thereby competing with Chinese scholars as teachers.
- Secondly, the missionaries carried out social welfare measures, which were originally conducted by the Chinese scholar-gentry.
- Thirdly, the missionaries could talk to Chinese officials as equals and demand to see high Chinese officials at any moment, a privilege that only the scholar-gentry enjoyed.
- Fourthly, the missionaries enjoyed special rights in law which previously only the Chinese scholar-gentry possessed.
b. Foreign missionaries told the Chinese people not to worship ancestors and not to take part in local festivals. In the eyes of the scholar-gentry, missionary teachings attacked China's tradition and culture.
c. Confucianism as a system of thought and religion was challenged by Christianity, since Western missionaries forbade Chinese believers to respect Confucius. d Western missionaries represented the products of foreign imperialism and national humiliations.
As a result, the scholar-gentry often secretly and indirectly supported anti-foreign activities in society. They distributed books with anti-Christian ideas and created an anti-foreign atmosphere.
iii. Anti-missionary attitude among the ordinary people
The ordinary people hated as well as feared foreign missionaries. There were three reasons:
a. As the missionaries used money to attract believers, many locally recruited Chinese Christians were bad people who joined the church just for a living. These Chinese Christians bullied the local people and committed crimes. In the eyes of local Chinese people, the Western church protected these crimes.
b. Superstition among the people increased antiforeign feelings. For example,
* It was rumoured that missionaries raped Chinese women and took out children's hearts and eyes in the church.
* Fortune-tellers and taoist magicians in Shantung announced that because the foreigners disturbed the local feng-shui natural disasters and the end of the world would come.
c. The ordinary people did not understand and were fearful of Western things in general. For example, Western engines were called the "devil's fire carts".
iv. Anti-foreign attitude among a few Chinese nationalists
A small but growing number of Chinese nationalists were shameful of national humiliations that China suffered. Western missionaries were unwelcomed because they came to China together with greedy merchants and aggressive foreign officials.
B. Anti-foreign feelings in the Qing government
i. Anti-foreign attitude of the Empress Dowager
The Empress Dowager hated foreigners:
a. She remembered how she had been forced to leave the capital when Anglo-French forces invaded Peking in 1860.
b. After 1895, there was the Scramble for Concession that threatened to partition China.
c. After the Hundred Day Reform of 1898, K'ang Yu-wei and Liang Ch'i-ch'ao were helped to escape by the British and the Japanese respectively. And when the Empress tried to choose a new emperor to replace Kuang-hsu, foreign ministers checked her from doing so. By 1898 the Empress Dowager had decided to resist foreign imperialism. For example, Italy's request for a concession was flatly turned down.
ii. Anti-foreign attitude among the Manchu conservatives
On the other hand, die-hard and ignorant Manchu conservatives like Kang-i and Prince Tuan had re established their influence at the Ch'ing court after the failure of the Hundred Day Reform. They feared that Western reform would weaken their power and destroy Chinese culture.
iii. Anti-foreign attitude among the Chinese officials
Chinese officials seldom cooperated with foreigners and often deliberately prevented Western missionaries from fully enjoying treaty rights in China. This was because:
a. These Chinese officials belonged to the scholar gentry class and were therefore themselves anti-foreign.
b. These Chinese officials needed the support of the scholar-gentry to run local administration in society. They therefore dared not anger their fellow Chinese scholars. As a result, local Chinese officials often turned a blind eye to anti-foreign uprisings in society. With the Qing court taking a strong position against foreign aggression, these local officials were encouraged to resist foreigners.
C. Growing aggressive attitude toward China. among the Western powers
From 1870 to 1894, the Western powers adopted a "gunboat" policy in dealing with China: they used force to get what they wanted. After 1895, foreign imperialism in China grew quickly. In 1897, for example, the Germans occupied Kiaochow in Shantung, which aroused great fear among the local Shantung people.
D. Growing aggressive attitude toward China among the missionaries
On the social level, Western missionaries, especially the Catholics, often misused their treaty-rights in China. There were many occasions when Western missionaries interfered in local Chinese official affairs, either on behalf of the Chinese Christians or in order to win more believers. Some missionaries once went so far as to demand the transfer of two Qing provincial governors!
E. Economic hardship and natural disaster
i. By 1900, the value of China's imports was four times that of her exports. There were two effects:
a. First, China's industries and commerce were destroyed by the inflow of cheap foreign goods like cotton clothes, which were sold 2/3 cheaper. Consequently, unemployment was great in society. The people suffered economically.
b. Secondly, as the Qing dynasty was poor (as a result of foreign economic exploitation), it was forced to increase taxes, which therefore made the economic conditions of the people even worse.
ii.. The traditional Grand Canal in North China lost its function of transport after railways had been built. Consequently, many workers, innkeepers and boatmen, who were left unemployed, rushed into Shantung. It was in Shantung that the Boxers originated.
iii. There were many natural disasters in late 19th century China:
a. The Yellow River flooded in 1898. Shantung was hard hit. Hundreds of Shantung villages were badly affected.
b. Then, in 1900, there was a serious drought in most of North China.
c. As it was believed that all these natural disasters were caused by the presence of the foreigners, anti-foreign feelings spread further.
ORIGINS OF THE BOXER MOVEMENT
A. The Boxer Movement in Shantung
In Shantung, social disturbances were especially serious. There were two reasons:
i. Many former government soldiers (especially from the Green Standard Armies), who had been disbanded by the Qing dynasty, went from Peking into Shantung and became robbers.
ii. Shantung was traditionally famous for its long history of rebellions led by secret societies. In such circumstances of social insecurity and economic depression, and for the purpose of defending against foreign missionary aggression, the people in Shantung were fond of joining self-defence units for self-protection. Thousands of young men practiced boxing in these units. Many of these units, however, were sponsored by secret societies. As a result, they consisted of many part-time bandits as well as the poor and the hungry. The secret societies organized anti-foreign uprisings and attacked Chinese Christians. Gradually such activities became a movement, which was called the i-ho ch'uan (righteous and harmonious fist. Originally, the term i-ho ch'uan referred to one branch of a secret society that broke into rebellion in the mid-Qing period. Now, in the late 1890s, the name was used to describe a general social movement of protest in Shantung. [Go Top]
Figure: The Boxers 
B. The aims of the Boxers
Basically speaking, the Boxer Movement was both anti-dynastic and anti-foreign. Not only did the Boxers hate and fear the foreigners, they also blamed the Qing dynasty for its weakness and inefficiency. As a result, the slogan of the Boxer Movement at the beginning was "overthrow the Ch'ing and exterminate the foreigners"
C. The part played by the Qing court
Faced with such an internal rebellious movement, the Qing court had two alternatives: either to suppress the Boxers, perhaps with the help of foreign powers, or to support the Boxers, so as to strengthen dynastic rule. In the end, the Qing court decided on the second policy, because of the following reasons:
i. The Empress Dowager and die-hard Manchu conservatives were anti-foreign.
ii. If efforts were made to put down the Boxer Movement with foreign help, the government would appear to be a traitor to Chinese civilization at large and the imperial dynasty in particular.
iii. According to Confucian teachings, the "voice of the people" should be listened to, and the Boxer Movement seemed to be such a voice. Besides, rulers of China were traditionally confident that armed peasants would be able to drive out the barbarians after the regular government troops had failed to do so. [Go Top]
THE COURSE AND RESULTS OF THE BOXER UPRISI NG
A. Official encouragement and the spread of the Boxer Movement
i. From 1895 to 1898, Shantung was under the rule of governor Li Ping-heng. He secretly encouraged the Boxers to attack Christian missionaries.
ii. In 1899, Yu-hsien, the new Shantung governor, gave active support to the Boxer Movement. Local Qing officials were ordered to ignore any complaint made by the missionaries. With such encouragement, the Boxers began to come over to the side of the Qing. The Boxer slogan was changed into "uphold the Qing and exterminate the foreigners". The name i-ho ch'uan was changed into i-ho t'uan (righteous and harmonious militia). Militias (t'uan-lien) were government-approved local-defence forces that consisted of part-time farmer-soldiers.
iii. The Qing court increasingly came to adopt a pro-Boxer attitude. Reactionaries like Prince Tuan and Kang-i recommended to the Empress Dowager that the Boxers be used against foreigners. Regular government troops were taught boxing. Silver money was given to the Boxers.
iv. In May 1900, the Empress Dowager asked the Boxers to enter Peking to show her their magical kung-fu. Convinced of the Boxers' strength and usefulness, she ordered half of the regular government troops to join them. Even Manchu nobles were told to practice boxing.
v. Boxer disturbances spread further. Anti-foreign activities increased. Chinese Christians were killed, railway and telegraph lines were destroyed, and foreigners were murdered. The situation quickly got out of control.
vi. Honest but cowardly officials knew that continued Boxer disorder would lead to a national disaster. But they dared not oppose the Empress Dowager, who trusted die-hard conservatives and ignored any other advice.
vii. In mid-1900, Prince Tuan tried to persuade Cixi of a war policy toward all foreigners. He made the Empress believe, though wrongly, that the foreign powers were demanding the restoration of the Kuang-hsu Emperor, who had been imprisoned by her after 1898. The purpose was served: Tz'u-hsi (Cixi), who was angry, formally declared war on the foreign powers.
viii. Conclusion — Whereas the Boxer Movement was both anti-dynastic and anti-foreign before 1899, the Qing court neutralized its anti-dynastic nature by supporting it, making it exclusively anti-foreign thereafter. In the beginning, the Boxers blamed both the foreigners and the imperial dynasty. From 1899 on, however, the Qing court tried to whitewash its share of blame by siding with the Boxers. In sum, the Qing court was responsible:
a. for changing the development of the Boxer Movement (from being both anti-dynastic and anti-foreign to being exclusively anti-foreign), and
b. for spreading Boxer disturbances from Shantung to Peking, thus leading to the war with foreigners. The Boxer Movement began as resistance to the dynasty but ended in support of it, as Peking first tolerated and then authorized the actions of the Boxers. [Go Top]
B. The Allied Expedition
The foreign powers quickly gathered an expeditionary force to rescue the foreigners in Peking. The expedition quickly and badly defeated the Boxers and the Qing troops. The Empress Tz'u-hsi fled Peking for Xian
C. The Allied occupation of Peking and the independence (mutual protection) of Southeast ChinaIt seemed that China would soon be divided among the foreign powers in Peking. But she was not. This was mainly because:
i. The powers were suspicious of each other. Britain and Japan, for example, were distrustful of Russia, who had made use of the opportunity to seize China's Manchuria and was prepared to turn the region into a Russian protectorate.
ii. The most powerful provincial officials such as Yuan Shikai (in Shantung), Li Hung-chang (in Kwangtung) and Chang Chih-tung (in the Yangtze areas) remained neutral and did not join the war against the West. Through deliberate delay, they collectively disobeyed the Qing court's orders to fight against the foreigners. They explained to the foreign powers that the Boxer Uprising was beyond the Empress Dowager's control, and that the outbreak of anti-foreign killings was against her will. An informal agreement was reached with the foreign powers, by which these provincial officials would protect foreign lives and properties in South and Southeast China, while the foreign powers would refrain from sending troops to these regions.
Figure: Allied attack on the capital 
D. Peace settlement
Knowing that armed resistance to the foreign powers was useless, the Empress Dowager called Li Hung-chang to Peking in an attempt to reach a settlement with the foreigners. After much negotiation, peace was finally established. A protocol was signed in September 1901.
E. The Boxer Protocol
In the main, the Boxer Protocol contained the following terms:
i. China had to pay a large indemnity of 450 million taels of silver, to be paid in 39 years at 4% yearly interest.
ii. The import of arms and ammunition was stopped till 1903. The forts between Taku and Peking were to be destroyed. Foreign troops were allowed to be stationed at important points from Peking to the sea. The Foreign Legation district there was enlarged and placed under the exclusive control of foreigners. Chinese were not allowed to live in the district.
iii. Many of the Boxers, government officials and Qing nobles responsible for the Boxer Uprising were accordingly punished, including Prince Tuan and Yu hsien. In the provinces, over one hundred officials were tried and found guilty. Imperial edicts were issued to forbid further anti-foreign activities and organizations in thc future. The Civil Service Examinations were suspended for 5 years in areas of Boxer disturbances as a punishment to the pro-Boxer scholar gentry. Thereafter, provincial officials were personally held responsible for any anti-foreign incidents.
iv. China would apologize publicly for the Boxer killings. In particular, missions of apology were to be sent to Germany and Japan, as the ministers of the two countries had been murdered by the Boxers. Compensation was also made.
v. Existing mining regulations in China were to be revised to the benefit of foreign investors. China's customs houses were placed under foreign supervision. [Go Top]
REASONS FOR THE FAILURE OF THE BOXER UPRISING
A. The impossibility of fighting all foreign powers
The conduct of the Boxers angered all foreign powers, who thereby organized an allied force to march to Peking. China could not hope to resist all foreign powers at the same time.
B. Military superiority of the Allied Expedition
The military forces of the Allied Expedition were far superior to the Boxers and the Qing troops. Despite military reforms carried out between 1895 and 1900, the Chinese troops in Peking were weak and useless.
C. Weakness of the Boxers
The Boxers were actually bandits. They were disorganized. Many of them joined thc Boxer Movement not so much because they were patriotic as because they were poor and hungry. They claimed that bullets and fire-arms could not hurt them because they practiced kung-fu. But they quickly fell apart when they met foreign troops. They would not defend the country; some of them did not even have the intention of doing so.
D. Absence of popular support for the Boxers
Popular support for the Boxers was lacking throughout the provinces. The provincial independence during the uprising left the Boxers in Peking alone to fight foreign troops. Neither did the Chinese people help. The Boxers were therefore bound to fail. [Go Top]
EFFECTS OF THE BOXER UPRISING
A. Effects on China: political
i. Further violation of China's national right
With the conclusion of the Boxer Protocol, China's national rights were further violated. The terms of the Protocol interfered with China's internal administration. Also, her national defence was badly shaken.
ii. Provincial safety and continued Qing rule
Thanks to the policy of neutrality of clear-head statesmen like Li Hung-chang and Chang Chih-tung, however, most of the provinces in China were not affected by Boxer disturbances or Allied invasion. With the excuse that the Boxers were rebels out of the government's control, the dynasty could return to power. The Qing dynasty continued to rule over China.
iii. The Empress Dowager's decision on reform
Within the Qing court, even the Empress Dowager realised the impossibility of fighting against foreigners. To save the Manchu dynasty, the Empress knew that institutional reform (which she opposed in 1898) was really necessary. The failure of resistance against foreign imperialism left only one alternative: reform. Some historians argue that the Empress was only trying to hide her shame by an insincere promise of reform. Other historians suggest that in announcing a reform movement in 1901, the Empress was playing a game of delay. Be it one way or another, however, reform (i.e. the Late Manchu Reform, 1901-11) was really carried out by the Qing government.
iv. Further provincial decentralization
But the political decentralization of the late Qing period was made worse during the Boxer Uprising. The independence of some provinces in 1900-01 clearly showed that Peking's control over the country at large was weak. In such circumstances, it was unlikely that the reform efforts after 1901 would succeed.
B. Effects on China: social and economic
i. Growth of anti-Manchu feelings and of social support for the revolutionary movementIn society, suffering and discontent increased when the Qing government raised taxes to pay for the heavy indemnity. At the same time, the corrupt and hopeless Manchu rule, and the Boxer humiliation brought about by the Manzhus, convinced many Chinese that revolution, not reform, was the only effective way of saving China. Having failed to resist the foreigners by force, the people concentrated on blaming the Manzhus for their inability to defend China. The downfall of the Qing dynasty quickened when revolutionary activities received more social support.
ii. Erosion of Chinese pride and self-respect
The Allied Expedition's brutal demonstration of power and China's quick defeat greatly hurt Chinese pride and self-respect. The Chinese attitude toward thc Foreigners began to change from one of hatred to one of fear.
iii. Heavy burden of the large indemnity.
The large indemnity had a harmful effect on the Ch'ing dynasty's financial conditions and obstructed China's economic growth, as large amounts of money flowed out of the country. The total sum that China had to pay in the next 39 years, with interest included, was over 900 million taels. The Qing dynasty lost much money that could otherwise be used for reform. Later, as an act of goodwill, some foreign powers used part of the indemnity to promote modern education in China. This helped bring about a class of modern intellectuals and students who were opposed to the corrupt Qing rule and who made possible the 1911 Revolution. [Go Top]
C. Effects on China's foreign relations
i. Delay in the revision of unequal treaties
To the foreign powers, China appeared very uncivilized in 1900-01, as the behaviour of the Boxers was very barbarous. Foreign governments were therefore less willing to consider any revision of unequal treaties, especially treaty rights like extra-territoriality. China's chance of recovering national rights was delayed.
ii. Decline of the Qing government's international position
In Peking, foreign ministers strengthened their position over the Qing government by organizing themselves into a powerful group. The Qing dynasty's international reputation was at its lowest.
iii. End to the Scramble for Concessions
On the level of Sino-Western relations, the Chinese determination to resist foreigners in the Boxer Movement had the effect of checking and moderating foreign imperialism in China. The foreign powers were convinced of the need to adopt an Open-Door policy and stop the Scramble for Concessions. As a result, in a general willingness to reduce international conflict and to maintain the existing conditions of China, the principle of equal exploitation was accepted by the powers, even though by 1901 the powers had occupied Peking and were in a position to partition China. The breakup of China was avoided.
D. Effect on Russo-Japanese relationsSeeds of future international conflicts in the Far East had already been sown during the Boxer disturbances. During the uprising, Russian troops entered Manchuria, pretending to protect the region from Boxer disorder but actually trying to extend their influence there. After 1901, the Japanese demanded the withdrawal of these Russian troops. Russia's deliberate delay in withdrawing them was partly responsible for the outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War in 1904.
@Philip Woo, 1980. Adapted by TK Chung.