Origins of the Boxers edit
Name edit
The term "Boxer". Chinese writers who were hostile to the Boxers referred to them as "boxer (or boxing) bandit" (quanfei 拳匪), whereas non-hostile writings called them "Boxers United in Righteousness" (Yihequan 义和拳) or the more formal "Militia United in Righteousness" (Yihetuan 义和团).[1] In these appellations, "Yihe" is often rendered as "Righteous and Harmonious" or "Righteous Harmony," but as both Chinese and some Westerners understood it at the time, this term referred to people who united together for the sake of righteousness.[2]
Precursors edit
The Big Sword Society, one of the precursors of the Boxers movement, emerged in southwest Shandong, a low-lying region prone to natural disasters, with a high population density but little gentry presence.[3] It was also infamous for being a center of "endemic banditry".[4]
Long tradition of sectarian activities and martial arts, though not necessarily related.
- Spirit Boxers (神拳)
- Guan county Boxers
- Patriarch's Assembly (祖師會)
- Plum-Flower Boxers (梅花拳)
- Big Sword Society (大刀會)
- Yi-he Boxers (義和拳)
Causes edit
- Big Sword Society in southwest Shandong (1895)
- Juye Incident (Nov. 1897)
- Liyuantun/Guan County events (October 1898)
- Pingyuan events, including Battle at Senluo Temple (Oct.-Nov. 1899)
- Killing of British missionary (Dec. 1899)
Notes edit
- ^ Cohen 1997, p. 16
- ^ Esherick 1987, p. 154; Cohen 1997, p. 303, note 5.
- ^ 1987, p. 13.
- ^ 1987, pp. 18, 19–23.