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The Nature and Characteristics of the Boxer Movement—A Morphological Study1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 December 2009

Jerome Ch‘ên
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Extract

The Boxer Movement is traditionally treated by Chinese and foreigners alike as a political or military phenomenon. In this study, however, it features as an episode in social history. Moreover, our interest lies in a static picture rather than in the dynamic development of the movement. Questions of political wisdom or foolhardiness are not our main concern. This, of course, does not mean that we shall not take political factors into consideration, but that we shall regard them only as data in the mathematical sense. To us, the movement is neither sublime nor ridiculous. It is a religious uprising—the most important religious uprising in the world as a whole to take place in the present century. Neither Mafia in Europe nor the Tong Hak in Korea, for instance, can be compared with it in either scale or influence.

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Articles
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Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , June 1960 , pp. 287 - 308
Copyright
Copyright © School of Oriental and African Studies 1960

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References

2 See Hobsbawm, E. J.'s stimulating work, Primitive rebels, Manchester University Press, 1959.Google Scholar

1 All five are records of events in Peking.

2 Nai-hsüan, Lao (IHT, IV, 433 ff.)Google Scholar related the uprising of the I-ho-ch‘üan and other heretical sects in north Kiangsu, Shantung, and Honan during the Chia-ch‘ing reign (actually from 1808 to 1815) which was, however, different from that of 1898, in the lack of anti-foreign feeling. It is therefore not being considered here.

1 ‘People only recognize the Emperor, but not his local officials. This makes the discharge of the officials' duties extremely difficult’ (IHT, I, 399).Google Scholar ‘By giving improper protection to foreigners and Christians, local officials merely provoke people's anger’ (IHT, I, 365).Google Scholar ‘Followers of the Catholic Church bully honest and good people and take public property by force. Officials are unable to reason with them and the ordinary people have nowhere to appeal for justice. Thus many people begin to learn boxing for their defence’ (IHT, I, 444).Google Scholar

2 Readers may object to my description of the ‘Romance’ and the ‘Water margin’ as ‘weird’. I refer, of course, merely to the chapters on the Yellow Turbans, Chu-kê Liang's magic powers, and Kung-sun Shêng's () supernatural ability.

3 See, for instance, Tsung-i, T‘ao, Nan-tsung cho-kêng lu (1366), p. 376 (1959 ed.).Google Scholar There are nine diagrams to show that these three religions have a common origin.

4 Reliable studies on these subjects are still lacking. A Ying Wan Ch‘ing hsiao-shuo shih (history of the late Ch‘ing novel), 1955, for instance, has not devoted a single page to weird novels. But he does say that the late Ch‘ing was the golden period of the Chinese novel (p. 1). Lu Hsün , Chung-kuo hsiao-shuo shih lüeh (a brief history of the Chinese novel), on the other hand, mentions a few titles such as San hsia wu i (1879)Google Scholar, Hsiao wu i (1889)Google Scholar, ‘Prefect P‘êng's cases’ (1891)Google Scholar, and so on. The only list of weird novels which I have seen can be found in Sun K‘ai-ti , Chung-kuo t‘ung-su hsiao-shuo shu-mu (a list of PoPular Chinese novels), 1957, which gives 44 titles of weird and 31 of heroic sagas (chs. 5 and 6). It is by no means complete, none the less it supports our point here.

Local operas (ti-fang ksi ) are again an unexplored field in both the art and social history of China. True, there are anecdotal histories about them, but they do not serve our purpose here. However, we are safe in saying that most local operas are adapted from popular novels like the ‘Romance of the three kingdoms’ and the ‘Water margin’. This also applies to other forms of entertainment such as the pang-tzŭ and ta-ku , not to mention the story-tellers in tea-shops.

The popularity of the weird novels as a major factor in the Boxer Rising is indicated in the following passages. ‘The gods from whom they (the Boxers) sought help could only be found in absurd novels’ (IHT, II, 75).Google Scholar ‘They (the Boxers) have been confused by heresies and novels’ (ibid., II, 433). ‘People are so ignorant and their minds have been poisoned by novels and operas’ (ibid., III, 463). And three groups of people were charged with responsibility for the Boxer catastrophe by the newspaper Chung-wai-jih-pao, on 15 07 1900.Google Scholar They were the ‘savages’, the ‘novel readers’, and the ‘isolationists’ (ibid., IV, 181). Wu Yung also mentions the fact that the Boxers spoke and acted like opera actors (ibid., III, 389). Other evidence and lists of the gods worshipped by the Boxers can be found below (vide infra, pp. 298–9).Google Scholar

The point made here is not at all original; nor is it intended to obscure the anti-foreign feeling of the movement. However, to overlook or even to under-estimate the influence of these novels, operas, story-telling, and ta-ku will certainly lead to misunderstanding of the origin and nature of the movement.

1 Chi-kung, a demigod, is the hero of three novels published early in the Ch‘ing dynasty. K‘ai-ti, Sun, op. cit., 174.Google Scholar

1 IHT, II, 188.Google Scholar

2 ibid., II, 148; IV, 149; IV, 151, 152.

3 These from the land of Sinim, 4.Google Scholar

4 The foreign trade in China, 105.Google Scholar

5 Indiscreet letters from Peking, 85.Google Scholar

6 IHT, IV, 125.Google Scholar

1 ibid., I, 346, 360, and IV, 159, 451. Chu was the name of the Imperial family of the Ming; and the name Pên-ming means ‘originally Ming’. Another report says that Chu Hung-têng's colleague was a Buddhist monk—so was Pên-ming—whose secular name was Yang (ibid., IV, 448). Chu was arrested by Yuan Shih-k‘ai early in 1899 (ibid., I, 346, and Shih-k‘ai, Yüan, Yang-skau-yüan teou-i chi-yaoGoogle Scholar [a collection of important memorials of the Yang-shou-yüan], ch. 2, p. 3a).

An interesting point may be added here. Religious rebels of the Ch‘ing dynasty gave their allegiance to the Ming dynasty, not only because it was a Han-Chinese dynasty, but also because its founder was a Manichaean. Hence the name of the dynasty was Ming ‘bright’.

2 The persecution of the White Lotus will be discussed later. The early alliance among these sects is reported at several places in the IHT (see I, 47, 237; IV, 443).

3 In the order of their importance in 1900.

4 Early self-sufficiency is reported in IHT, II, 183Google Scholar, and, later, the reliance on other people supplying wheat cakes is reported in IHT, I, 470Google Scholar, and II, pp. 24–6.

5 KT, 171.Google Scholar

1 IHT, II, 8, 161.Google Scholar

2 ‘When the foreigners are wiped out, rain will fall and visitations disappear’ (IHT, II, 8).Google Scholar A public notice in Taiyuan, July, says: ‘The Catholic Church of Jesus deceives our gods, destroys our belief in the saints, and disobeys the precepts of Buddha, consequently we are now having a famine and other disasters’ (ibid., I, 510).

3 The public notice quoted in the previous footnote continues: ‘Rain does not and will not fall and very soon there will be fighting and killing. If you do not pass on this message from Buddha, you will not be able to escape unnatural death. If, on the other hand, you copy this once and give it to another man, your family will be safe. If you can copy this ten times and give the copies to others, your whole village will be safe. … If you use kerosene, you will be punished by the gods. … The recipe to nullify the effects of poison: dry plums 7, Eucommia ulmoides 0.5 taels, reed-ears 5, and green lentils 49’.

Another public notice, Tientsin, 11–12 June, says: ‘All chimneys must be sealed with red paper. Cooking is not allowed, and all inhabitants must abstain from eating meat. They must also provide five wheat cakes, a bowl of cold water, and 100 copper coins for a ceremony at midnight. They must kowtow nine times towards the south-east corner. When black clouds gather and wind blows, each of them must at once have a bite of the cake and a drink of the water. He will then be protected against disasters. Furthermore, he will find that from that moment onwards he will always have a plentiful supply of wheat cakes and cold water and he will forever have enough money to spend’ (ibid., II, 11).

1 I-ho-t‘uan tang-an shih-liao (government archives concerning the I-ho-t‘uan, compiled by the National Archives Office, 1959, vol. 1, p. 14). The memorial was dated 30 June 1898. For references to Yü-hsien, see IHT, II, 7, 397.Google Scholar

2 IHT, II, 183Google Scholar; IV, 148. See also ibid., I, 90.

3 ibid., I, 492, and IV, 453; KT, 157.Google Scholar

4 IHT, IV, 448, 452.Google Scholar

5 ibid., I, 139, 238–40, 354.

6 ibid., II, 7; IV, 445.

7 ibid., I, 52, 90, and also 250, 270.

8 ibid., I, 194; KT, 24.Google Scholar

9 KT, 24Google Scholar; IHT, I, 90.Google Scholar

1 IHT, I, 305.Google Scholar

2 KT, 16.Google Scholar This is deduced from the fact that the names of villages appeared on the banners.

3 IHT, I, 238Google Scholar; II, 183.

4 ibid., I, 270, 468; KT, 85.Google Scholar

5 IHT, I, 249, 270Google Scholar; III, 374.

6 KT, 85Google Scholar; IHT, II, 143.Google Scholar For references to the boxing ground, see IHT, I, 240, 251.Google Scholar The head t‘an in Tientsin was in the San-i Miao (Sau-i Temple) where conferences were held under the leadership of a Chang Tê-ch‘êng . Other municipal leaders were also mentioned, but they did not seem to have exercised any actual control. See IHT, II, 142.Google Scholar

7 IHT, I, 444, 271.Google Scholar

1 ibid., II, 183; I, 271.

2 ibid., I, 271.

3 ibid., II, 142–3, 183. The former says that three days after their entry into Tientsin, the Boxers began to demand food and money from the inhabitants.

4 ibid., I, 470; II, 142.

5 ibid., I, 307–8.

6 ibid., I, 244, 346; II, 9. There was also a Sha-kuo-chao ( ‘Cauldron Lanterns’) which provided food for the Boxers from magic cauldrons which did not need food for cooking. See also IHT, I, 470Google Scholar; II, 142.

7 Some say that she was a boatman's daughter and others say that she was a prostitute (IHT, I, 272, 487).Google Scholar She was reported to have tremendous healing power (ibid., II, 36).

1 IHT, I, 12, 156, 238, 240, 304, 354, 456, 468Google Scholar; II, 8, 18–19, 183; III, 373; KT, 18.Google Scholar

2 IHT, III, 373Google Scholar, and also I, 238.

3 ibid., II, 8.

4 IHT, I, 241–3Google Scholar; II, 8; II, 486. The number of words of the secret incantation was reported to be 16, 18, 19, or several score.

5 IHT, II, 145Google Scholar; IV, 152; and I, 238, respectively.

1 KT, 22–4Google Scholar; IHT, I, 354Google Scholar; IV, 148–52.

2 KT, 22–4.Google Scholar

1 ibid., 13.

2 IHT, IV, 148, 150, 151.Google Scholar

3 ibid., IV, 150–1, 152.

1 KT, 24, 102.Google Scholar The photographic reproduction of a similar charm can be found in I-ho-t‘uan tang-an shih-liao, vol. 1.Google Scholar

2 ‘The sun rises in the east …’ (vide supra, p. 299)Google Scholar was definitely used in Shantung.

3 vide supra, p. 294.Google Scholar

4 ‘It is, of course, quite probable that the translator, in his efforts to give a suitable rendition [sic] to this interesting bit of literature, resorted unconsciously to the sonorous phrases of the Old Testament and the Apocalypse. Yet there must have been, in the original of the document, considerable resemblance to the language in which those portions of the Bible had been translated into Chinese. In view of the important part which “street preaching” and the distribution of tracts played in the missionary efforts to spread the Gospel, the language of Christianity was, and is, familiar to thousands of non-Christian Chinese; therefore, it is more reasonable to attribute the resemblance to plagiarism than to explain it away as a mere coincidence’ (Steiger, , China and the Occident, 144–5).Google Scholar

I hope the documents which I have translated above do not bear witness for Mr. Steiger. The originals certainly do not.

5 IHT, I, 239; II, 11.Google Scholar

6 ibid., II, 11; KT, 12.Google Scholar

7 IHT, II, 12, 183, 190; I, 219.Google Scholar

8 ibid., I, 15–17, 20, 491; II, 8, 24, 244.

9 ibid., I. 12, 156, 345–6, 354; II, 9, 183.

1 ibid., I, 238–9, 240, 251, 271, 480; KT, 12.Google Scholar See also North China Herald, 17 03 1900.Google Scholar

2 IHT, I, 271.Google Scholar

3 ibid., I, 238, 470; II, 183. Also KT, 257.Google Scholar

4 IHT, I, 346; II, 9.Google Scholar

5 ibid., I, 470; II, 488.

6 ibid., I, 244; II, 488.

7 ibid., II, 36–7.

8 ibid., II, 163.

9 ibid., I, 346; II, 9. For instance, when they failed to take the North Cathedral in Peking, they blamed some indecent women who appeared on the Cathedral towers (IHT, II, 189–94)Google Scholar; and when they could not restrict the fire that destroyed a large part of Peking, they singled out a woman as the culprit, for she had thrown some dirty water out in her courtyard during that night (IHT, II, 12–13, 187).Google Scholar Earlier, in Tientsin, they explained that their failure to block foreign gun-barrels was due to women sitting on them (IHT, II, 14–16, 151–3).Google Scholar

10 ibid., I, 136, 346, 486; II, 149.

11 ibid., I, 194; KT, 24.Google Scholar

12 vide supra, p. 301.Google Scholar

13 IHT, II, 148, 182.Google Scholar

14 ibid., II, 24, 148; KT, 24.

1 When a Boxer leader could not resurrect a Boxer killed in action, soldiers spat at him (IHT, I, 149)Google Scholar; and also KT, 111.Google Scholar

2 IHT, I, 304, 491, 241.Google Scholar See also Tan, Chester, The Boxer catastrophe, 1955, 51–2.Google Scholar

3 IHT, I, 237Google Scholar; IV, 444.

4 ibid., I, 248; IV, 159.

5 ibid., II, 28.

6 KT, 12, 25.Google Scholar

7 The Ch‘üan-huo-chi by Li Ti reports nation-wide support of the Boxers' cause by burning down churches and attacking Christians in the eighteen provinces (IHT, IV, 551).Google Scholar About Chihli, see ibid., II, 7; III, 376; IV, 12. About Shansi, see ibid., I, 493 ff. About Manchuria, see KT quoting from the Peking Gazette of 3 July 1900, p. 28.

8 ‘Rich people established altars in their homes for self-protection’ (IHT, I, 91).Google Scholar

9 ibid., I, 274. The Boxers did not have to pay for what they had eaten. They also looted from the people (ibid., I, 279).

10 ibid., I, 347; II, 7.

11 ibid., II, 7.

12 ibid., I, 13.

13 ibid., I, 13.

1 ibid., I, 12.

2 ibid., IV, section 1.

3 ibid., IV, 128, 132.

4 ibid., I, 14–16.

5 ibid., I, 12, 50.

6 ibid., IV, 427; KT, 16.Google Scholar

7 IHT, I, 91.Google Scholar

8 This observation is attributed to Chao Shu-ch‘iao, a staunch supporter of the Boxer movement (IHT, I, 47).Google Scholar

9 ibid., II, 7; KT, 15.Google Scholar

10 KT, 26.Google Scholar

11 ibid., 27, 89, 154, 263.

12 IHT, I, 305.Google Scholar

13 ibid., I, 271.

1 KT, 15.Google Scholar This was related by a Peking Boxer leader.

2 IHT, I, 290, 307.Google Scholar

3 ibid., I, 497; II, 15; KT, 12.Google Scholar About the staring eyes which were the result of taking foreign medicine, see IHT, I, 471, 475.Google Scholar

4 IHT, II, 13Google Scholar; III, 388. Also KT, 25.Google Scholar

5 A few out of many references are: IHT, I, 108, 115, 122.Google Scholar

6 ibid., I, 16.

7 Shih-k‘ai, Yüan, op. cit., eh. 2, pp. 1a–5aGoogle Scholar; Tan, Chester, op. cit., 49–50Google Scholar; IHT, I, 304–5Google Scholar; and Weale, Putnam, op. cit., 8–9.Google Scholar

8 Hung-chang, Li, Li-wên-chung-Jcung-ch‘üan-shu , telegrams, ch. 22, pp. 6a–bGoogle Scholar; Hsüan-huai, Shêng, Yü-chai-ts‘un-kao-ch‘u-pien , ch. 40, pp. 1a–bGoogle Scholar; and Shih-k‘ai, Yüan, op. cit., eh. 5, pp. 10–11b.Google Scholar

9 Yü-lu committed suicide after the fall of Tientsin on 5 August (IHT, I, 20)Google Scholar; and Yü-hsien was cashiered on 7 November 1900 (IHT, IV, 69).Google Scholar

10 Ch‘ing-shih-kao , Defence, ch. 3, pp. 1b–2aGoogle Scholar; the Times, 4 07 1900Google Scholar; Jung-an-ti-tzü-chi , ch. 2, p. 17aGoogle Scholar; Kung-chih, Wên, San-shih-nien-chung-kuo-chün-shih-shih , vol. 1, sect. 1, p. 38.Google Scholar

11 IHT, I, 263–4Google Scholar; and Chien-nung, Li, Chung-kuo-chin-pai-nien-chêng-chih-shih , p. 207.Google Scholar

1 IHT, II, 10; IV, 15.Google Scholar

2 Death of Shih-ch‘êng, Nieh, Ch‘ing-shih-kaoGoogle Scholar, ch. 473, and Hsüan-huai, Shêng, op. cit., eh. 37, pp. 17b–18aGoogle Scholar; end of Ma Yü-k‘un (Sung Ch‘ing's troops), IHT, I, 19–20Google Scholar; defeat of Fu-hsiang, Tung, IHT, I, 23Google Scholar; and defeat of Jung-lu, Kung-chih, Wên, op. cit., vol. 1, sect. 1, p. 39.Google Scholar

3 KT, 31, 93.Google Scholar This happened on the night of 12 August.

4 In all the Chinese accounts, only Hua Hsüeh-lan reported this in his diary. It started in September and continued until January 1901 (KT, 129–37).Google Scholar Supporting evidence can be found in W. S. Ament's letter (A.B.C.F.M. Letters, North China Mission, 1900–10, no. 63 quoted in Steiger, , op. cit., p. 169).Google Scholar The incident of a chapel being brickbatted related by Ament happened long before Hua's report.