The Roots of Anti-Foreign Sentiment in Late Qing China
The Boxer Rebellion of 1900 emerged from decades of growing Chinese resentment against foreign encroachment. Following China’s humiliating defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894-1895), the imperial powers accelerated their scramble for concessions across the weakened Qing empire. Missionary activity became particularly controversial, as Christian converts often received preferential treatment from local officials, creating social tensions in rural communities.
By the late 19th century, over 3,300 foreign missionaries operated in China, establishing sixty Christian organizations with nearly 800,000 converts. While some missionaries genuinely sought to spread their faith or contribute to education and medicine, others served as advance agents for colonial interests. This complex dynamic fueled four distinct waves of anti-missionary activity between 1861 and 1900, gradually transforming from elite-led protests to mass peasant movements.
The Spark in Shandong Province
The rebellion first ignited in Shandong, a province that had suffered disproportionately from recent crises. As the battleground during the Sino-Japanese War, Shandong endured severe devastation. The subsequent German occupation of Jiaozhou Bay in 1897 and railway construction projects displaced thousands of traditional boatmen and laborers. Compounding these hardships, Christian communities – numbering over 80,000 converts across 1,000 churches – were seen as benefiting unfairly from foreign protection.
The Boxers originated from various martial arts societies like the Righteous Harmony Fists (Yihequan) and Big Sword Society (Dadaohui). These groups blended physical training with spiritual practices, claiming invulnerability through ritual possession. In 1898, leaders like Zhao Sanduo in Guan County raised banners proclaiming “Support the Qing, Destroy the Foreign” (扶清灭洋), marking the movement’s formal beginning.
The Storm Reaches Beijing
By spring 1900, Boxer activity had spread across Zhili province (modern Hebei), reaching the capital region. As foreign diplomats demanded Qing suppression of the movement, the court became divided. Conservative officials like Prince Duan saw the Boxers as potential allies against foreign pressure, while more pragmatic ministers urged restraint.
The crisis escalated in June when Boxer fighters entered Beijing, establishing nearly 1,000 training centers with over 100,000 participants. Meanwhile in Tianjin, leaders like Cao Futian and Zhang Decheng organized attacks on foreign concessions. The movement’s rapid expansion reflected widespread frustration with Christian privilege and economic disruption from foreign enterprises.
International Response and the Siege of Legations
Alarmed by the uprising, eight nations (Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan, Austria-Hungary, and the United States) formed an expeditionary force. The June 17 capture of the Dagu Forts by allied warships prompted Empress Dowager Cixi’s controversial June 21 declaration of war against the foreign powers – while simultaneously seeking secret negotiations.
For 55 days, Boxer fighters and imperial troops besieged Beijing’s Legation Quarter and Beihai Cathedral. The poorly coordinated attacks, hampered by the Qing court’s ambivalence, failed to dislodge the defenders. Meanwhile, provincial governors in southern China ignored the war declaration, establishing the “Southeast Mutual Protection” agreement with foreign consuls to maintain regional stability.
The Fall of Tianjin and Beijing
After fierce urban combat, allied forces captured Tianjin on July 14. The August 4 march on Beijing involved 20,000 troops from eight nations. Despite brave resistance at battles like Beicang and Yangcun, Qing defenses collapsed. On August 14, foreign armies entered the capital, sending the imperial court fleeing to Xi’an.
The occupation witnessed horrific violence. German Field Marshal Alfred von Waldersee, who arrived in October to command the multinational force, later admitted: “The conditions of the Boxer War led to excesses on all sides.” Systematic looting emptied the Forbidden City and Summer Palace of priceless artifacts, while reprisal killings targeted suspected Boxer sympathizers.
The Boxer Protocol and Its Consequences
The September 1901 Boxer Protocol imposed crushing terms: a 450 million tael indemnity (equivalent to $10 billion today), permanent foreign garrisons around Beijing, and execution of anti-foreign officials. The agreement’s Article X famously required imperial monuments to be erected for murdered diplomats, including the still-visible Chongwenmen stele for German minister Clemens von Ketteler.
These provisions completed China’s transition to semi-colonial status. The Qing dynasty, now clearly subordinate to foreign powers, would collapse within a decade. Yet the rebellion also reshaped imperialist strategies – the dramatic resistance convinced most powers that direct colonization of China was impractical, favoring instead economic domination through “spheres of influence.”
The Boxer Legacy in Modern China
The Boxer Rebellion represents a paradox in Chinese historical memory. On one hand, the movement’s anti-imperialist fervor is celebrated as patriotic resistance. The Communist Party later honored Boxer fighters as precursors to revolutionary struggle. On the other, the rebellion’s superstitions and xenophobia are acknowledged as products of feudal backwardness.
Contemporary historians emphasize how the Boxer experience influenced later nationalist movements. The failure of “Support the Qing” slogans discredited monarchism, while the court’s betrayal of peasant fighters exposed the regime’s fragility. These lessons would inform the 1911 Revolution’s republican ideals.
The rebellion also left physical marks across northern China. From the preserved Legation Quarter buildings in Beijing to mass graves outside Tianjin, these sites continue to shape how modern China remembers this turbulent encounter between tradition and globalization. The Boxers’ complicated legacy – simultaneously heroic and tragic – remains essential for understanding China’s rocky path toward modernity.