China Before the Invasion of the
Eight-Power Allied Forces
The Entering of
Envoys and Legation Guards into Beijing
First Setbacks of
the Allied Forces
and the Capture of Tianjin
The Capture of
Beijing by the
Eight-Power Allied Forces
The War Before Negotiations and the Signing of the
Protocol of 1901
China Under the Protocol of 1901

At the end of the 19th century, there were more than 1,300 churches of different sizes in Shandong Province, which were very powerful. There were constant occurrences of criminal cases in which the churches forcibly took property and injured or killed people. As the local governments dared not interfere in these matters, angry peasants took hoes and broad swords in their own hands and, calling themselves the Boxers, took revenge on evildoing missionaries and converts. The Boxers posted notices, accusing the churches of "causing disastrous disorder in China, wasting national wealth, demolishing temples, destroying Buddhist statutes and occupying civilian graveyards, which had evoked resentment and hatred among all the people." They explained their slogan saying, "justice is benevolence and harmony is propriety," which meant they acted in accordance with moral standards set by the ancestors. Like previous peasants rebellions in Chinese history, the Boxers also employed superstitious means, such inviting spirits to enter the human body, drawing magic characters and reciting incantations, and claiming themselves to be invulnerable to death or injury by spears, swords or bullets. Soon tens of thousands peasants and people from all walks of life, who were patriotic and respectful of Haven and ancestors, got together. The Boxer Uprising quickly spread to north and northeast China and involved approximately 1 million people. In some villages and towns, conflicts that occurred were often characterized by the burning down of churches, the dislodging of missionaries and the killing of Chinese Christians.