Boxer Rebellion
"Heaven's legions had been sent to exterminate the foreign devils."-Fei Ch'i-hao's account of the Boxer Rebellion
The economic crises and the expansion of foreign domination led to mounting hatred towards foreigners. Finally, members if Righteous and Harmonious Fists (Boxers) massacred foreigners and Chinese Christians.
"But, more terrible than all, these demon-possessed ruffians in their frenzy perpetrated upon some of the noblest womanhood of the century atrocities that it would be hard to parallel in history. Their murderous passions claimed no fewer than 186 slaughtered foreigners"--Boxer Rebellion: From Tientsin to Peking, by Reverend Frederick Brown, 1902 |
Dowager Cixi and conservative officials perceived it as a rare chance to eradicate "foreign devils" and revive unity in China. On 19 June, Empress Cixi declared war against foreign powers and demanded every diplomat and foreigners to leave Beijing.
"The Royal Court had been lenient to accommodate their demands, but these foreigners had turned aggressive and unreasonable, their attitude had been worsening by the day, they try to bully everyone, they bully ordinary folks, they blaspheme our holy men and our gods. Our good people had built up hatred inside the hearts, and everyone is asking for revenge, this is the main reasons why those boxers were burning the churches, and killing Chinese Christian converts....we shall not live a miserable and submissive life, be shamed in history for the next ten thousands years, we should fight this war in a big way, to see who is the male, who is the female. The Court officials had been gathering for days, to work out strategy and to reach consensus. In provinces adjacent to Peking and Shandong, hunderds of thousands of boxers have gathered on free will, even 5 feet tall boys would take up weapons to safeguard the homeland. The foreigners have cunning and deceptive plans, we hold the rules from heaven, the foreigners relied on brute force, we have the support of the heart of the people. China has many loyal patriots, they are not afraid to die."-Imperial Decree of declaration of war against foreign powers, 1900
Eight nation alliance of Britain, France Italy, Russia, Austria-Hungary, Japan, USA, and Germany had despatched its first international force. Following the declaration was reinforcement of 20000 allied troops. At once, the allied forces marched 120km from Tientsin to Beijing.
"As we British marched along the soft road to the south, but not a shot or shell came near us. No effort was made to defend the road we traversed"-Boxer Rebellion: From Tientsin to Peking, by Reverend Frederick Brown, 1902
City walls of Beijing, the capital city of the empire, was ruthlessly bombarded to ruins.
"By August 14th, 1900, British and other armed forces had also arrived and were camped in the ruins of Beijing...Numerous small towns and villages on the north China plain had seen vicious destructive warfare, and foreign troops launched raids to `punish' residents living in the sites of alleged Boxer activity deep into 1901."-Chinese Burn Britain in China 1842-1900 by Robert Bickers, History Today |
On 7 September, 1901, Boxer Protocol, the final "unequal treaty" was signed.
"Article II. (a.) Imperial Edicts of the 13th and 21st February, 1901 (Annexes 4, 5 and 6), pronounced the following punishments upon the chief culprits for the attacks and crimes which took place against the friendly Governments and their subjects...Article V. China has agreed to forbid the import into its territory of arms and ammunition...Article VI. In an Imperial Edict of 22nd May, 1901 (Annex 12), His Majesty the Emperor of China has agreed to pay the Powers an indemnity of 450 millions Haikuan taels... Article VIII. The Chinese Government has consented to have the Taku forts razed, and those which might impede free communication between Peking and the sea."-Boxer Protocol, Source: China's External Relations
Once again was unspeakable humiliation. Through this final decisive defeat, the Qing Imperial Court lost its legitimacy as a political institution completely. Movement toward modernization of China would spread and catalyze the irrevocable fall of the Qing Empire.
Frederic Wakeman at UC Berkeley, discusses the Boxer Rebellion and rising anti-Manchu sentiment
|
Excerpt from a documentary, "In Search of History, China's Boxer Rebellion", on the end results of the Boxer Rebellion
|