So, as we went over in class, the I Ho Ch'uan or "The Fists of Righteous Harmony" was a Chinese secret society that opposed any foreign presence or influence in China (specifically Christian influence). Western nations nicknamed the individuals in this society "Boxers". Boxer violence was initially directed at Christian converted Chinese individuals, but as their ranks expanded and they realized that the Chinese government was not taking any strong action against them, the group became more ambitious, targeting foreign missionaries and representatives.
Now, you might be wondering, why was the Chinese government took such a passive stance if a rebel group was destroying the property of and harming its citizens. Chinese Dowager Empress, Tzu Hsi, stated that the Boxers represented a group of individual citizens expressing their beliefs, and she would not label them as a criminal organization by opposing them. You see, even though the group was only a comparatively small portion of the population, the ideals they stood for represented the anti-foreign sentiment that a huge and diverse part of the Chinese public had adopted. So while we call this a rebellion, it was more like government supported anarchy.
This is why the West stepped in. The Boxers were throwing China into complete chaos and it became obvious that the Chinese government would do very little to stop them. So Western forces, including many U.S. soldiers and marines, arrived in Pecking (now Beijing). They slowly spread their control until China was stabilized, and the Boxers were overpowered.
China generally did not take this well. It was seen as a display of Western imperialism. The United States had previously been seen by China as a sort of protector from imperialist interests, but now the relationship between the nations would be wrought with distrust.
This is why the West stepped in. The Boxers were throwing China into complete chaos and it became obvious that the Chinese government would do very little to stop them. So Western forces, including many U.S. soldiers and marines, arrived in Pecking (now Beijing). They slowly spread their control until China was stabilized, and the Boxers were overpowered.
China generally did not take this well. It was seen as a display of Western imperialism. The United States had previously been seen by China as a sort of protector from imperialist interests, but now the relationship between the nations would be wrought with distrust.
Hey Emily! Thanks so much for posting this. I didn't know (anything) about the Boxer Rebellion, but I liked the name.
ReplyDeleteI actually found something interesting when I was doing a little bit more research. Apparently, the Dowager Empress actually declared war on "all foreign nations with diplomatic ties to China" (which sounds like a bad idea if you ask me) on June 21, 1900.
Then all of these countries basically got together and crushed the "rebellion."
http://www.history.com/topics/boxer-rebellion
DeleteThanks for the post Emily! This cleared up a lot of stuff as I started studying for our DBQ for Friday. I had been hoping that somebody posted about this!
ReplyDeleteSomething I was starting to do after seeing your post about the Boxer Rebellion was put this into context with the US foreign policy, namely, the Open Door Policy. Here's the website that I used:
http://www.gilderlehrman.org/history-by-era/empire-building/essays/open-door-policy-and-boxer-war-us-and-china
For those that want the couple sentence summary though of what this essay says though...
At this point, China was unable to prevent imperialism from spreading as all the massive powers rushed to claim territory. John Hay looked for advice on what the US should do about this by going to William Rockhill, a famous diplomat. From this, Rockhill and a partner Hippisley drafted the "Open Door" notes to not discriminate the trade of other countries and not interfere with the Customs Service collection of tariffs. Pretty much, this only served American needs so most other countries ignored it or evaded the subject as to not completely upset the Americans. Since the US didn't interfere for China's benefit, the next few months were not marked with significant reforms in China. The Chinese empress then decided to stir unrest in this "act of imperialism" (as the Chinese saw it) to channel an anti-foreign movement. This is where the Boxer Rebellion comes into play. Then the US joined European powers to quell the rebellion just to prove their loyalty to this union from the Open Door notes.
I hope this very basic summary helps tie the reaction from the Open Door policy to the Boxer Rebellion. Thanks again for the post Emily!