What Was the Boxer Rebellion?

Chinese Boxers fight U.S. Marines in Beijing, 1900. Image from the public domain

The Boxer Rebellion was an uprising in China that took place from 1899 to 1901. The Boxers are

known in Chinese as the "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists." They were ordinary

villagers who reacted violently against the increasing influence of foreign Christian missionaries

and diplomats in China. Their movement is also known as the Boxer Uprising or the Yihetuan

Movement.

By ThoughtCo.com, adapted by Newsela staff on 10.18.17

Word Count 625

Level 1030L

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During the 19th century, Europeans and Americans imposed themselves on the people of China

more and more. They sent missionaries to spread Christianity throughout the country, which

angered many who saw this as a loss of Chinese culture. The Chinese people had considered

themselves to be the center of the entire civilized world. In the eyes of many Chinese, rude and

uncivilized foreigners had arrived and begun pushing Chinese people around. Furthermore, the

Chinese government seemed unable to stop them.

The Opium Wars and foreign influence

The Chinese government had badly lost two wars against Britain, called the Opium Wars. After its

defeat, China was forced to keep importing an addictive drug called opium for the benefit of

British trade. It was also forced to open certain ports for trade with foreign countries and give up

control of some of its territories. Even Japan was able to defeat the Chinese army and make its

own impositions.

The ordinary people of China decided to organize a resistance. They formed a movement based

on martial arts that also included many magical elements. One of these was the belief that the

Boxers could make their bodies resist knives and bullets.

The origins of name given to rebellious villagers

The word "boxer" is definitely not Chinese, as it was actually the British who gave this name to the

rebellious villagers. It was chosen because the British did not have a better word for martial artist,

so they chose the one they thought was closest.

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At first, the Boxers also targeted the Chinese government, which was run by the Qing dynasty.

The Qing were actually not part of the same ethnic group as most of China. Because of this, the

Boxers saw them as foreigners who needed to be pushed out. Most people in China belong to the

Han ethnic group, while the Qing were Manchu, an ethnic minority.

The government sided with the Boxers

The Empress Dowager Cixi was the head of the Qing dynasty. She and other Qing officials were

initially unsure how to react to the Boxers. The Qing were caught between the threatening

western foreigners on the one hand, and, on the other, an enraged Han Chinese population. The

Qing dynasty eventually decided that the foreigners were the bigger threat. The Qing and the

Boxers came to an understanding, and the Chinese government sent soldiers to support the

Boxers.

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Boxers, Qing army defeated

The Boxers killed more than 230 foreign men, women and children in China. Thousands of

Chinese who had converted to Christianity were also killed by the Boxers. A group of countries

put together an army of 20,000 soldiers and sent them against the Boxers and the Qing. The

soldiers were sent by Japan, Britain, Germany, Russia, France, Austria, the United States and

Italy. These foreign troops marched on Beijing, the capital of China, and defeated the Qing army

and the Boxers. Empress Cixi escaped and was able to survive, but the Boxer Rebellion marked

the beginning of the end for the Qing. Within 10 or 11 years, the dynasty would fall. They were the

last dynasty to rule China.

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