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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
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 1
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 2
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.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 3
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.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 4
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.
This article is available at 5 reading levels at https://newsela.com. 5