...them. They were also responsible for the deaths of tens of thousands of Chinese Christians. The Boxer Rebellion was an uprising of the Righteous Harmony Society against the West in northern China between 1898 and 1901. The Boxers began as an anti-foreign, anti-imperialist peasant based movement. It is also said to be a religious revolution against national corruption in the form of foreign missionaries, soldiers, and diplomats, as well as native Christians. Reforms were implemented after the crisis in 1900, which laid the foundation for the end of the Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the Chinese Republic. In this article, we see that the author demonstrates that this event can be split into that of true history and myth. History in three keys is a work written about the point of view of its author, but not always portrayed in a factual sense. Cohen’s view in the article follows the categories of event, experience, and myth. Historical retelling is in constant tension with two other more influential ways of knowing the past - experience and myth. History retells itself through the accounts of historians with those of participants and witnesses; and sets these perspectives against the range of popular myths that were fashioned about the Boxers. One part tells the Boxer rebellion as recreated by historians. The next explores the feelings and behavior of the direct participants in the Boxer experience who understood what was actually happening to them at the time unlike historians....
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...Amy Landers HIST 313: History of China II: Ch’ing Critique on The Boxer Uprising, 1900 (pg. 387-406) In the introduction the chapter starts out with The Coup d’état of 1898, which put power back into the hands of the Manchus and with this the Empress Dowager wasn’t going to make any more exceptions to foreign powers. In February 1899 she took a hardline against the foreigners starting with the Italians who demanded the cession of the Sanmen Bay in Chekiang. The Empress ordered the governor of Chekiang to fight enemy landings without hesitation; her hard line view of refusing to deal with foreigners was made clear when the Italians backed down in October. On November 21, 1899 Dowager instructed the provincial authorities to entertain no more fantasies of peace and so began a fervent antiforeign movement, which would turn very bloody. The Chinese people had dealt with half a century of foreign humiliation due to forced opening of trade after the loss in the opium wars, which resulted in unequal treaties and the Treaties of Tientsin in 1858 and with loss in the Sino-Japanese war. One of the factors for the uprising the text talks about is the Antipathy Toward Christianity. The Chinese people were ingrained with the teachings of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. Christianity was greatly resented due to the fact that The Treaties of Tientsin in 1858 “allowed free propagation in the interior and with the Conventions of Peking in 1860, which granted the missionaries the...
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...When investigating the Boxer rebellion it was revealed that, for the Chinese, the old political adage that ‘despite the best-laid plans, not all desires are realised’ is proven true. In the 19th century, many Chinese peasants were starving and anguished due to recurring drought, and famine. This turned out to be the main motive for the uprising of the Boxer Rebellion. Multiple forms of local corruption also meant that the peasants were paying far more tax than they could manage. Different forms of natural disasters within China were gradually becoming more common. This started to affect the Chinese economy and the lives of numerous peasants, farmers and fishermen (Brodie, 2008).Several peasants believed that the actions of humans and the Heavens were connected, and...
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...The Boxer rebellion is one of the most famous wars in Chinese history. It took place in the 1900s, when China had lost several wars against foreign countries and Japan, they threatened the Qing dynasty to sign several unfair treaties, such as extraterritorial rights and immunities from the Qing dynasty’s law. China was just like nonexistent country because foreign countries were each ruling different parts of China. At the fall of the Qing dynasty, a long drought followed by several floods and aggression by foreign countries [History.com Staff. 2009]. People were suffering from hunger, unfair rights and poverty. As a result, there was hatred and xenophobic reactions among the Chinese. Qing Empress Dowager Cixi declared a war on 8 nations. [History.com...
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...historical events the Boxer Rebellion has been studied, and numerous historians have determined varied events that can be successfully chosen as the cause of the peasant uprising in China in the late 19th and early 20th century. Some historians believe the Boxer Rebellion was caused by environmental factors, while other lean towards causes that do not reflect those factors. After substantial research and thought, the historical controversy can be answered by evidence that the rebellion was generated from the result of the drought in the Northern plains of Chinese territory. To determine this conclusion two qualified authors of this topic had been chosen to research, which include...
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...3) So, though their goals may differ, the historian and the filmmaker must both make this important choice. This is easily observable within the mythologization of the Boxer Rebellion of 1900 and how a history colored by these interpretations reflects itself in Nicholas Ray’s 1963 film 55 Days at Peking. Though its inclusions, omissions, and areas of focus, the film contributes to history in and of itself by allowing us to analyze the viewpoint it encompasses. Because the film is presented from the perspective of the Great Powers, we first observe the point of view and portrayal of the Boxers to create a complete picture of events. Their experiences are almost completely ignored, for the only interactions the characters have with the Boxers apart from trying to repel their assault is at the beginning when a Boxer is torturing an Englishman for reasons never articulated. (Ray 2-3:00) The Boxer shamelessly attempts to extort Charlton Heston’s character and resorts to violence when this attempt is unsuccessful. The implications of such needless greed and cruelty are clear, (that the Boxers delight in violence against foreigners for its own sake) but their motivations are alluded to elsewhere in the film. When the British foreign minister attempts to negotiate with the Empress Dowager, she remarks that the Boxer response is an understandable one to the foreign occupation of...
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...Boxer Rebellion: Seeds of Revolution For many years, the Christian people have tried to spread their religion to different people as well as different parts of the world. In the late 1890s, a group of missionaries went to China in hope to gain more Christian followers. Man Chinese people had not welcomed those foreigners, but shunned what they had brought with them. Foreign influences were not accepted by the majority as, in the past, foreigners had only brought destruction and chaos. Missionaries gradually gained their Chinese followers, but, nevertheless, there was danger stirring amidst them. The I Ho Ch'uan (The Righteous and Harmonious Fists) also known as “Boxers” had started their rebellion against their foreign enemies. Many of these people were in poverty, but felt they could make a change in their country, thus studying a new form of fighting. These Boxers were fighting against foreigners and Christian Chinese to remove the foreign influence. In June 1900, missionaries and Chinese Rebels were throwing their lives on the line for what they believed...
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...How significant was national resentment of foreign interference in bringing about the collapse of the Qing dynasty 1911-1912? I believe that national resentment was extremely significant in bringing about the collapse of the Qing dynasty. Despite this however I believe that it was not the only factor in the fall of the dynasty. I believe that other reason such as the failure to reform, and the unequal treaties were also vital reasons for the failure of the Qing dynasty. I believe that the fall of the Qing dynasty started with ‘the unequal treaties.’ It's hard to get by when the country you need goods from does not really need to trade goods with you. This is what happened with Great Britain and the Qing Dynasty. There was a high demand for China's tea in Great Britain but a low demand for Britain's goods in China. Great Britain was in debt with China and they had to do something to get out. As a result, they turned to selling silver to make the imbalance better. China couldn’t care less about Great Britain's silver so Great Britain was still behinds in payments. When selling silver did not work they began selling opium. China's people became quickly addicted to the drug and traded silver, originally from Great Britain to get opium. Opium was illegal and China wanted the trade of opium to stop. China tried to make new restrictions against foreign merchants and ships and Great Britain did not like this idea and fought back resulting in the Opium War. Of course Britain came out...
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...dynasty in 1911-12 and the role played by nationalism and foreign interference in bringing about its collapse. Answers may refer to the failure of the Boxer Rising in 1900 and the subsequent development of a new nationalist movement devoted to the overthrow of the dynasty. In 1905 Sun Yat-sen formed the Revolutionary Alliance based in Tokyo which was strongly supported by students who had trained overseas. The Alliance carried out small and unsuccessful actions against the government over the next few years. In 1911 there was a backlash against the raising of foreign loans to pay for the nationalisation of trunk lines which led to the Wuchan uprising and the start of the revolution. Sun Yat-sen was elected President of the Chinese Republic but resigned in favour of Yuan Shikai in 1912. * failure of the Boxer Rising in 1900 yes The unequal treaties and the dependence in the wake of the boxer revolution are both factors responsible for the fall of the dynasty due to foreign interference. The war with Japan was followed by a series of treaties with the European powers and the USA. They obtained concessions from the Chinese government and China was often forced to pay indemnities to the western powers in exchange for loans. The efforts of reform that had been put in place in the wake of the boxer rebellion begin to stall out in 1908 when Guangxu and Cixi die within hours of each other. The result of this is that a little boy called Puyi came to the...
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...How accurate is it to say that the spread of revolutionary beliefs was the main reason for the fall of the Qing dynasty 1911-12? This essay will be looking at how much of a contribution the spread of revolutionary beliefs in China had in the fall of the Qing Dynasty. In order to determine the importance of this I will therefore also be looking at other factors such as, foreign interference, double tenth and the inability to change. I believe it is partially accurate to say that the spread of revolutionary beliefs was important in the downfall of the Qing Dynasty; however it wasn’t necessarily the most important factor. This can be determined from the effects of Sun Yatsen’s anti-government movement in China. Initially, the extreme need for revolution and reform stemmed from Cixi’s need and desire for conservatism. Her oblivious attitude towards the failure of the government angered many people and essentially gave reformers the ammunition to spread their own beliefs. As previously mentioned, Sun Yatsen was one of the people who felt strongly about changing the way things worked in China. He was particularly open minded and due to his education abroad had adopted a Westernized style of thinking. Thus, Yatsen attempted to modernise and regenerate China by removing foreign control and reasserting their unique character and greatness by forming the revolutionary alliance in 1905. Within this, his greatest belief was that the only way in which China would be able to modernise was...
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...– THE BOXER REBELLION INTRODUCTION The Boxer Uprising and Rebellion in 1901 further weakened an already destabilised Qing Government and was a key component in governmental change. After the first Opium war with Great Britain from 1839- 1842, China was coming under an increase in pressure from various foreign powers. Following the war, foreigners were given the rights to control trade, collect customs money and run the courts in dozens of Chinese cities, called ‘Treaty Ports’. China had suffered the violation of the powers, although once it was suddenly made clear that the country was defenceless against modern military organisation and weapons, this encroachment was flung into a scramble for concessions. This scramble intensified the already present Chinese hatred of the foreigner. Hong Kong was given to the British in 1842, Indochina was taken by the French in 1884, and Taiwan was taken by Japan in 1894 following their war success over China. Germany and Russia also started to gain influence throughout China (Salem Press, 1992). The Qing government, also known as the Ch’ing government, was heavily manipulated by the West. This led to the distrust and lack of support by the Chinese public – severely weakening the government. The Boxer Uprising and Rebellion during 1901 was a pivotal point in the eventual destruction and downfall of the Qing by Sun Yat-Sen and the formal abdication of the last emperor Puyi in 1912 (Szczepanski, 2013). CONTEXT OF THE REBELLION Throughout...
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...The Lambing Flat Riots were a wave of anti-Chinese demonstrations that happened in the Australian goldfields in Central New South Wales during 1860-1861. Source A reveals that the largest group of non-Europeans to travel to and settle in Australia where the Chinese people as they wanted to search for gold. In New South Wales, 60 percent of miners were Chinese immigrants. Many miners, both European and Chinese, had moved to the goldfield of Lambing Flat when gold had been found there in 1860. This emphasises how dominant the Chinese population was in the Australian goldfields. It also shows how the rising Chinese population angered the Europeans. Source B is an artwork made in 1862 a year after the depicted scene happened. It shows a Chinese...
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...The Republic of China has had lot of reforms in its development in the last several decades. The nation boasts very unique and varied forms of reforms throughout its practices which are quite different from whatever other countries have followed in the past. Being a country holding nearly 20% of the population, they could not have managed to be one of the fastest growing and healthily developing countries of the world. Having said that, it is easy to believe that the reforms that China has been implementing have been greatly useful in the development at every stage. The economy of China was based on a centrally planned system in the recent past. But with the reforms, China managed to move from an economy that was centrally planned to an economy that is driven by the market. Such a reform was distinctive because it transformed the economic eco-system from a government-centric economy to a more privatized economy. People started entering into the market competing among others, hence bringing about a great change in privatization. China also took up a reform which was completely focused in creating and generating a value that was surplus. The main reason for such a reform was that they could help in financing the transformation and modernization of China. China has also been immensely successful in not only making reform policies but also breaking them down in a way so that people and other institutions can adapt and follow it. Such an ease in their policy was brought about by...
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...The Boxer Uprising (1898-1901), also known as ‘Yi Ho Tuan’ Movement, was a major peasant uprising marked by anti-Manchu and anti-foreign sentiments. In the period after the Opium Wars, the nature of Sino-Western relations had changed, leading to a scramble for concessions. This had exposed the inefficacy of the Manchus. Simultaneously, it had intensified the socio-economic crisis already prevalent in the 19th century. This essay attempts to analyze the causes, nature and impact of the Boxer Movement. Causes 1. A study of the traditional Chinese society and economy is imperative to trace the origins of the Uprising. The Chinese society was strictly compartmentalized by the principles of Confucianism. The society was highly stratified and had a rigid and inflexible hierarchical structure. A unique combination of power, wealth and knowledge defined the gentry or the elite class. The peasantry was the ‘exploited’ class, the taxpayers, who despite the theoretical emphasis on ‘career open to merit’ could rarely attain gentry status. The growing tax burden and exploitation caused discontent among them and though they remained placid, the simmering of discontent was always there. However, peasant uprisings, though a frequent occurrence, were spontaneous and scattered and so easy to suppress. The growing unrest culminated into agitation, and found expression in the Boxer Movement. 2. A series of natural calamities in the late 19th century intensified the discontent...
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...The song "Step out of the car" by The Boxer Rebellion relates to the theme of rebellion dramatized by Jack's resistance to Ralph's assertion of power. Jack experiences suppression of his ideas and desires, but since Ralph holds the position of chief, Jack feels that Ralph does not "recognize thought in another" (Golding 78) which creates "a thin line between love and hate" (The Boxer Rebellion 13-15). This line is comparable to the time in a person's life when they adhere to rules to when they rebel, indicating hate. The symbolism of the thin line represents the abating clash between civilization and savagery as the rebellion favors Jack, but that barrier exists as long as the Ralph and his symbols of democracy survive. In reality, rebellion manifest in teenagers as they develop the skill of reasoning and confidence towards acting against their parents, and although "it's [a] war" (The Boxer Rebellion 7) they may not win, teenagers act this way because they want to test their position in the...
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