The Boxer Rebellion was the fourth and largest war, Imperial China fought against Western
powers in the nineteenth century (2.382).
Oddly enough, in its early stages the Boxer movement was pitted against both Western influences
in China and the Manchu-led Qing dynasty.
The Qing Empress Dowager Cixi, however, saw the possibility to use these rebels for her
own ends and managed to court its leaders in order to forge an anti-Western alliance...
it turned out to be a bit of a misjudgment on her side, to put it mildly.
The Boxer Rebellion served as a testament to the instability and chaos that pestered
China and it definitely was one of the most interesting and tense episodes of Chinese
history.
Hey, welcome to House of History.
This video is part of Project Revolution: a collaboration with other history-oriented
YouTube channels.
Once you’ve watched this video and want to know what transpired after the Boxer rebellion,
I’d suggest you check out Emperor Tigerstar’s fascinating video about the Xinhai rebellion.
For the Mexican revolution at the beginning of the 19th century check out M Laser’s
great video.
-intro-
Geopolitical Background
By the time the Boxer rebellion set China ablaze, the reigning Qing dynasty and Chinese
people had suffered major hardships and defeats for decades.
It was once one of the most prosperous empires of the world: according to Angus Maddison’s
statistical estimates, China had the biggest share in the World’s GDP, making it the
largest economy in the world during the 18th century.
But then… two Opium Wars between China and the British empire ended in severe, humiliating
Chinese defeats.
Combined with the deadliest civil war ever seen, the Taiping rebellion, together with
several other massive rebellions, China’s GDP plummeted.
Treaties were signed, sovereignty was conceded, and Western powers gained a foothold in the
country.
Following the opium wars, the Chinese tried to reform and embark on a ‘self strengthening’
policy.
The Sino-Japanese war three decades later led to the near total annihilation of China’s
fleet, complete defeat of its army and subsequent humiliating peace treaty.
It was the dark conclusion of China’s failed reforms.
A domestic crisis followed, protests swept over the country.
Something had to be done.
Disasters were not only accredited to the Qing, but to foreigners as well.
Two German catholic missionaries were murdered in the Shandong province under governor Li
Bingheng in 1898.
This was used as a pretext to occupy multiple port cities and mining and railway rights
by the Germans at first, only for the British, French and Russians to quickly seize what
they could get.
Never waste a good crisis, right?
Some Chinese, rightly so, feared their country was about to be “carved up like a melon”.
It was in 1898 the Chinese Guangxu emperor embarked on a radical reform program, known
as the 100 days of reform.
These radical institutional reforms were unprecedented and would change China for good if successful.
Arch conservatives within the government noticed this as well, and w eren’t too happy.
The empress Dowager Cixi managed to sway several conservative Manchu princes to support her
and get rid of the Emperor.
After barely 100 days of reform, palace guards and eunuchs entered the Emperor’s palace,
seized the documents containing plans for reform and Cixi announced the Emperor had
(suspiciously) fallen ill.
It was only right for her to assume leadership, she reasoned.
How convenient….
And Cixi?
She would be the central figure during the Boxer Rebellion.
The Boxers
Now that we know the background of the Boxer Rebellion, I don’t think it’s too difficult
to grasp exactly why this anti-Western rebellion occurred.
In eighteen-ninety-eight one spark was enough to ignite a full-scale rebellion in Northern
China.
The Ji-hechuan, crudely translated to Fists of Harmony and Justice, more commonly known
as the Boxers, were that spark.
They were a secret society, loosely affiliated with the White Lotus Society and Big Swords
Society, embodying anti-foreign and anti-Christian sentiments.
Located in northwestern Shandong without real clear leadership, Boxer militias were composed
mainly of peasants.
They took to the streets and their slogan: “Remove the Qing, Destroy the foreigners”
immediately caught the attention of many disgruntled Chinese peasants.
Their anti-dynastic sentiment was due to their conviction that the Qing dynasty had lost
their mandate of heaven.
Their interesting name, the Boxers, was based on their special way of boxing that was akin
to a rhythmic like exercise, in an attempt to harmonize both spirit and muscle in preparation
for combat.
What followed was a ritual-like formula, a chant, breathing through clenched teeth and
frothing.
The boxers would claim they were possessed by spirits and were invulnerable to sabres
and foreign bullets.
Well, when demonstrations of this feat were held it wouldn’t always go according to
plan.
Nevertheless, during combat they relied on their fists and sticks, rather than more modern
weaponry.
There were female boxer groups as well, most famous the Red Lanterns Shining.
They fought alongside the Boxers.
As rebellion broke out, the initial targets were Chinese Christians and the occasional
Western missionary.
Over time, the Boxer rebellion gained momentum and spread across Shandong, sweeping village
after village, without Beijing undertaking any countermeasures.
The rest of the world wasn’t too invested in this obscure rebellion in China.
It would not be until 1900 when this rebellion overtook the front-page of Western newspapers,
pushing the ongoing Boer war to the second page.
The brutality of the Boxers would shock the world.
Boxers slaughtered and plundered as they made their way from the countryside towards Chinese
cities, among which Beijing.
And over there the European diplomat legation was housed.
These diplomats did not feel threatened… for now.
An unlikely alliance
When the Qing finally decided to take action against the Boxers in late 1899 it wasn’t
a surprise the Boxers suffered some massive defeats against Qing troops.
The Boxers now probably realized they could not fight two enemies at once and took a more
accommodating stance towards the Qing dynasty.
Their anti-dynastic rhetoric became more moderate.
Empress Dowager Cixi saw the success of the Boxer rebellion as an instrument they could
use to counter the encroachment of these European powers, to whom the boxers referred as hairy
ones.
Cixi issued several edicts serving to protect Boxers in early 1900.
She decided to join forces with the Boxers against these….
hairy ones.
As such, the Boxer’s new battle-cry would be “Support the Qing government and exterminate
the foreigners”!
As for the Western diplomats residing the capital Beijing, not too far away from Cixi,
who was now plotting to wage war against their nations?
The diplomats were confident of Western superiority and were slow to recognize that the Empress
Dowager, after decades of unequal treaties, suppression and encroachment, was finally
prepared to let this popular movement challenge the West by force.
Some Chinese governors were happy with this new alliance.
The governor of Shandong, A Manchu by the name of Yuxian, publicly encouraged the Boxers
to take action against Christians as they saw fit.
He even helped them out, massacring all Christians he gathered in his capital under the pretense
of protection.
Cixi did not enjoy popular support from all civil servants however.
Those that served in provinces that were suffering under the Boxer’s violence considered the
pro-Boxer stance of Cixi to be self-destructive.
But they could do nothing against the Boxers without unleashing an all-out civil war.
And as such, Boxers continued to pillage and murder.
Cixi didn’t mind the Christian purges and opposition to Western influence, although
the cost for some provinces certainly was heavy.
The European Corps Diplomatique
Alright, so during the spring of nineteen-hundred, Cixi issued several more decrees that implicitly
supported the Boxer movement.
Foreign diplomats, slowly waking up to what was going on, protested vehemently against
it and decided that they had to resort to violence if the Qing government didn’t undertake
any action against these thugs.
Meanwhile a squadron of seventeen Western warships had anchored just outside Taku.
As the Boxers were advancing towards Beijing, massacring and pillaging along the way, the
diplomats requested military protection and the fleet let 455 marines disembark.
Once they reached Beijing their number was described as ‘dangerously low’.
Regardless of their number, this iconic photograph you was the result of these eight nations
fighting together.
Some diplomats were worried, but others, among which sir Claude MacDonald, the British ambassador,
weren’t necessarily worried about the Boxers…
Moreso about the possibility of an international scramble for concessions if the Qing government
were to collapse.
They had to get their fair share, after all.
All the while Boxers kept advancing onto Beijing, destroying railway lines on the way, isolating
the capital.
As Boxers encircled the city days later, the worries about a scramble for concessions faded
to the background, even for Claude MacDonald.
That same afternoon Macdonald had requested, with urgency, reinforcements from the British
admiral sir Edward Seymour.
Seymour, stationed several days of travel away, left with two-thousand soldiers, composed
of eight different nationalities, the next morning.
He planned to travel the entire distance by train, repairing the railroad on the way.
On the planned date of arrival several trucks were waiting at the Beijing station to transport
the reinforcements that would arrive…
But no one arrived.
Seymour was referred to as ‘see no more’ from then on.
Wasn’t really his fault though, as soon as Seymour left his force was attacked by
a mixture of Boxers and Qing troops.
Later that day in Beijing, Sugiyama Akira, the chancellor of the Japanese legation, went
to the railway station unaccompanied wearing a bowler hat and western suit.
He seemed the perfect target for Boxers and loyalist Qing troops.
He was apprehended by Kansu Braves, Muslims loyal to the Qing, hacked into pieces and
beheaded, his mutilated corpse left on the street.
Meanwhile Seymour abandoned the expedition.
There were several skirmishes between Boxers and Westerners throughout the province and
Dagu forts were seized by Western troops to provide cover for a troop landing.
The fortification of the legation
Within Beijing tensions rose.
The reactionary and pro-Boxer prince Duan was appointed as the minister of foreign affairs.
He issued an order which allowed the Boxers to enter the capital.
Roaming the streets, dressed in motley uniforms of red, black or yellow turbans and red leggings,
killing Chinese Christians.
Several days later Cixi was informed, albeit falsely, that the European powers wished her
to abdicate in favour of the emperor.
In a rage she ordered all diplomats to leave Beijing the next day.
The next morning, German Imperial Envoy, Baron Klemens von Ketteler left the legation in
order to discuss the situation with Qing representatives.
He was shot and killed in the middle of the street.
None of the diplomats even considered leaving the legation after this.
Not leaving the city meant defying Cixi’s will, however.
The legations were fortified as the Boxers started surrounding the area, waiting for
the ultimatum to expire.
This was one of the most tense moments for the Europeans, locked in their legation quarter.
The foreign legations would number around sixty men given normal circumstances.
During the siege there were 475 foreign civilians, 450 marines and 3000 Chinese Christians that
were granted asylum at the last minute.
The legation under siege was divided in various ethnic squadrons under the command of MacDonald.
The presence of one-hundred-and-fifty ponies ensured fresh meat.
The real problem was lack of ammunition.
The Japanese didn’t have more than one-hundred bullets per man, and the best equipped defenders
not more than three-hundred.
As Cixi’s ultimatum expired, the Boxers opened fire.
The siege of the legation had begun.
The next day, on the twenty-first of June, The Qing Imperial Government officially declared
war on the European powers after receiving news about the Dagu fortresses.
Boxers, now a “loyal militia”, took the opportunity to launch a series of attacks
on mission compounds around Shanxi, Hebei and Henan.
A little bit further down the road the roman-catholic cathedral was in even more trouble.
Bishop Favier and his three-thousand followers, among which eight-hundred converted Chinese
schoolgirls were protected by merely forty-three French and Italian marines.
Boxers started setting fire to the surrounding buildings.
The famous National Academy with her irreplaceable library was torched.
A while back the Chinese government had bought new Krupp guns.
Ideal for a situation such as this one, though general Ronglu refused to use them.
Instead, he ordered his troops to fire empty shells.
Ronglu wasn’t the only Qing official refusing official orders from court, however...
Boxer War?
Cixi didn’t have much support from other Chinese governors and many provinces refused
to send troops towards Beijing, declaring themselves neutral.
China’s political system of a relatively decentralized government had proven of some
practical use, Fairbank and Reischauer write.
I’ll give you an example: Li Hung-Chang, together with the Kanton governor-general
and Imperial Commissioner Liu K’un-i, ignored Cixi’s declaration of war.
And as such, China, except for the Northern provinces, remained neutral.
The convenient fiction was accepted and the Boxer outbreak was a “rebellion” instead
of a war supported by the Qing dynasty.
After a month of siege the casualties in the legation were heavy, and the amount of Boxers
and Qing forces were even heavier.
It was a dire situation, but on the seventeenth of July, much to the surprise of the legation,
the Chinese declared an armistice.
Thing is, communication was obviously rather slow.
As a wink to contemporary times - what happened in newspapers all over the world can be considered
a historic example of fake news.
The Daily Mail published an article stating the legation had fallen and all those inside
it had been slaughtered.
The Times published the obituary of MacDonald.
Around the twenty-third of July a memorial was organized in the United Kingdom in order
to commemorate the fallen legation…
The memorial was promptly canceled once news reached Europe that the legation hadn’t
fallen…
Foreign intervention
The article in the Daily Mail did have its consequences however.
The German Emperor, Wilhelm II told his fleet that was preparing to sail towards China:
no mercy!
No prisoners!
Kill all those you capture and make them remember the German name.
Eventually the German soldiers made sure many would remember their name indeed.
Nearby Tientsin a new international military force was congregating under Lieutenant-General
Alfred Gaselee.
The fact a foreign force numbering in the thousands was gathering probably played a
role in the Qing’s decision to proclaim an armistice.
Tientsin was swiftly captured...
But instead of immediately advancing towards Beijing the commanders decided to wait until
they gathered over twenty-thousand troops.
The military force wouldn’t leave Tientsin for three more weeks.
Meanwhile, the situation around the legation turned sour again.
Li Bingheng, the anti-foreign governor arrived in Beijing at the end of July.
The armistice was broken and the legation was once again under siege.
Two weeks later the relief force finally arrived at the gates of Beijing.
Gathering around the city walls, it was agreed the European divisions would assault the city
at dawn.
International rivalry probably inspired the decision by the Russians to attack that night,
on their own, suffering heavy casualties.
Not the most tactical decision, but they breached the walls nevertheless.
That morning others followed and it was the Brits that managed to reach the legation first.
Shortly thereafter the Japanese rescued the Cathedral..
Boxer resistance crumbled and key Qing commanders took their own life.
The Europeans immediately started looting the city.
The Germans, arriving late, were exceptionally zealous and torched the villages surrounding
the city.
They certainly followed Kaiser Wilhelm’s orders.
Mass executions took place, with hundreds of Boxers beheaded on the streets.
As the European troops entered Beijing, Cixi and the Qing Imperial Court fled the city
traveling on farmer’s carts.
The Guangxu Emperor too was evacuated, but in a last act of spite, Cixi refused to allow
his favourite concubine to travel with him.
The concubine’s life would end at the bottom of a well in the Forbidden City.
The Boxer Protocol
Though the Boxers were defeated, over forty-five thousand soldiers of foreign powers were standing
in Northern China.
Cixi and the Qing Imperial Court had fled towards the remote Xián.
Peace negotiations from the Chinese side were conducted by Li Hongzhang and international
rivalry between the European powers meant they couldn’t gain too much ground and punish
China too harshly.
Installing a regime such as in British India would have caused more chaos and as such,
the European powers demanded that Pro-Boxer civil servants were punished and large indemnities
had to be paid.
Because of this, the Qing dynasty, the Chinese empire, and their own privileged positions
were maintained.
Empress Dowager Cixi could stay on as the regent.
On the seventeenth of september the Boxer Protocol was signed.
In it, the death penalty was demanded for high-ranking civil servants such as Yuxian
and many more boxers.
In forty-five cities exams were canceled for 5 years, which meant high posts in the civil
servant apparatus could not be attained anymore.
All import of arms into China was prohibited for 2 years and Western troops should be allowed
to permanently reside within China.
Three-hundred-thirty-three million dollars had to be paid as indemnity, spread over a
period of thirty-nine years with interest, which meant the total amount paid would be
more than double.
The amount was staggering for it was nearly four times the total annual Qing income.
The UK and US thought it so severe they offered to return some of the money as educational
funds for Chinese students studying abroad.
The siege of Beijing lasted for fifty-five days.
Fifty-five foreigners were murdered, whereas during the entire rebellion over two-hundred
missionaries, two-thousand foreign soldiers and over thirty-thousand Chinese Christians
were murdered.
The official death toll among the Qing troops and Boxers has never been released, though
it must have numbered in the tens of thousands.
And that’s how China entered the twentieth century.
A defeated nation that once again had to give up land, wealth and lives for the sake of
European powers.
As Cixi could stay on as regent, the next decade would be marked by an ambitious reform
program by the Qing.
It was too little, too late however.
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