This was often referred to as “carving up the Chinese melon”. Each of the foreign nations “carved up” and took pieces of their choosing. This threat caused members of Chinese society to try and find a way to rid their empire of these “Foreign Parasites”.
The Mandate of Heaven
The Chinese believed in the “Mandate of Heaven”. This meant that the current dynasty had a right to rule as long as they brought peace and success to their people. A period of natural disasters, civil disturbance and poor governance meant that the mandate of heaven had been withdrawn, which gave the people just cause to overthrow the government.
The great river, the Huanghe, shifted course and flooded twice which had a devastating impact on hundreds of villages in the Shantung province and millions of people living in them. Following this, In the northern Shandong province of China a severe drought had hit and the people were facing starvation. These disturbances meant that the Mandate of Heaven had been withdrawn from the Ching dynasty, and the people had the right to overthrow them
Members of Chinese Ching Dynasty
Ci Xi’ Rise to Power
The Dowager Empress, Ci Xi had begun her influence over China after her husband, the emperor Hsieng-feng, died in 1891. Her six-year-old son, Tongzhi, was then given the throne, however as he was still young the leadership was really in the hands of his uncle, Prince Kung, His mother, and the other wife, Tz-uan.
Tongzhi died at age 19, Ci Xi then called to power her nephew, Guang-Xu who was only four years old. This effectively kept Ci Xi in her position of power. When Tz-uan died in 1881, supposedly poisoned by Ci Xi, Prince Kung had withdrawn from politics leaving Ci Xi as the one effective ruler of China.
The Boxers
A secret society had formed within China with plans to return the Feng Shui of the land and pleasing the spirits by expelling the foreigners. They named themselves Fists of Righteous Harmony, however foreigners referred them to as “The Boxers” because of the martial arts they practiced. The boxers believed that these martial arts would give them magical powers and allow them to become immune to foreign bullets.
Aim and Motivation
At first the boxers’ aim was to overthrow the Ching dynasty and to expel the foreign devils. However the crafty empress Ci Xi, through her ministers begun to support the boxers and support the expelling of foreigners. She stated that the foreigners angering the spirits was the reason for the disturbance in China, and the mandate of heaven had not been withdrawn. This act then lead to the boxers changing their slogan to “Support the Ching; Destroy the foreigner.”
Means to Achieve their Aims
The violence used by the boxers in achieving their means included Vandalism, Theft, Extortion, Kidnapping, Arson, and Deaths. Most of their violence was in fact not targeted against foreigners. I am not saying that foreigners weren’t attacked by the boxers, however the vast majority of violence was targeted toward Chinese people who converted to Christianity.
The boxers put out a manifesto that stated “no matter what village you are in, if there are Christian converts, you ought to get rid of them quickly. The churches… should be Unreservedly burned down. Everyone who intends to spare someone or to disobey our order by concealing Christian converts, will be punished according to the regulation when we come to his place.” These punishments included being burnt to death.
The Impact of the Boxers on Chinese History
Short Term
In the end however, it was seen by many that the boxer rebellion was in fact a pointless loss of innocent lives. The uprising seemed to be a desperate and fanatical response by peasants to powers far greater then their comprehension and control. In the end taxes went up in order to pay for indemnities to foreign powers.
Long Term
However, over a longer period it seemed that the boxers played a more important role in triggering historical changes. Their acts of destruction stopped the foreign powers from partitioning China into separate colonies. Without the boxers, it is believed that these foreign nations would have established their separate colonies.
Conclusion
So although many see the boxer rebellion as pointless, and simply a loss of innocent lives, it is clear that the uprising was an important part of Chinese History and lead to great social, political and economical change within the nation.
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Bibliography
Dennett, B. Dixon, S. (2000) Key Features of Modern History, Oxford University Press, Australia
, Saturday 7th June 2003
, Saturday 7th June 2003
, Saturday 7th June 2003
, Saturday 7th June 2003
