His tory in ThreeKeys

Briana KatherHistorical Monograph

History 5 August 8, 2010

Boxer Rebellion

• This movement was an anti-colonialist and anti-Christian movement by the “Righteous Harmony Society.”

• This “Righteous Harmony Society,” was known as the Boxers. This group was a marital arts group called the Yihe Quan.

• The uprising took place between 1898 and 1901.

• They were responding to the imperialist expansion involving European opium traders, political invasion, economic manipulation, and missionary evangelism.

• After many years of defeat, unequal treaties, and many other factors, the people of China had enough.

• The growth and spread of the Boxer Rebellion came about with flood and land grabs.

• Another aspect and a large one that upset the Chinese was the Christian missionaries who came to China in big groups.

• The rebellion then began to rapidly spread.

Spreading the Boxer Movement

• The spirit possession was the most important factor that led to the spreading of the movement and shaped it’s social and political character.

• The Boxer’s easy-to-master possession ritual was served to uncouple the Boxer movement from its distinctive social setting in which it was first in.

• This position ritual put individuals in direct communication with their gods.

• This same feature that helped spread the Boxer movement, also contributed to its total disappearance the summer of that year.

• Another factor that helped spread the movement was the drought that settled in Northern China.

• Next was the factor of the stance of authorities in 1899 to 1900.

• The last factor that played a major role in the significant spreading of the movement was the movement itself.

• When the Boxers reached their highest numbers, geographical spread, and activity, it became easier to expand.

Spirit Possession

• Spirit possession was very important in the Boxers life.

• Spirit possession is the process by which a god descends and enters the body of a Boxer. The spirit literally attaches.

• The coming of the spirit can come in different ways. The person wanting to be possessed may face southeast, recite a charm, perform the koutou, burn incense, or engage in a combination of any of these actions.

• The god needs to be “requested” or “invited” into the body.

• After the spirit enters the body, the Boxer enters an altered state of consciousness, which causes their behavior to change.

• The behavioral and physical change was called the shangfa, which means “entering into the magic.”

• These spirit possession rituals were performs in open areas where all could see.

Boxer Magic

• The Boxers used magic to control their immediate environment. They wanted to do this so that their surroundings were less dangerous and more predictable.

• They also had magical skills in combat situations.

• Before going into battle they would chant rhymed incantations. It was also said that the men and the horses were more than ten feet tall and there were so many swords it was impossible to resist them.

• The top two commanders of the Boxers were said to have exceptional magical powers. These powers included, being able to make themselves invisible and be in two places at once.

• The Red Lanterns, the female auxiliaries of the Boxers also had magic powers.

• The women were able to protect the Boxers during combat, their souls left their body and engaged in the battle.

Sources

• http://kapetank.files.wordpress.com/2009/02/foreign_armies_in_beijing_during_boxer_rebellion.jpg• https://jspivey.wikispaces.com/file/view/boxer-rebellion.jpg/96193016/boxer-rebellion.jpg• http://www.getreligion.org/wp-content/photos/harvesting_souls_of_india.jpg• http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1411/1267271442_efc016ce8f_m.jpg• http://sun.menloschool.org/~sportman/mwh/chapter2

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