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National Humiliations - Peking
The Boxers & Invasion by Eight Allied Nations In the Hollywood entertainment area, there existed the movie entitled "Fifty Five Days In Peking" starring by Charlton Heston. Recently, Jack Chan's new movie "Shanghai Knights", in the trite style of exhibiting the skills of martial arts as well as prototyping Chinese woman's fall in love with a White man [also see 1922 film "The Toll of the Sea" by Anna May Wong], would crookedly assign a contingent of boxers as assassins of the British royal house under the Big Ben. Jack Chan, in the name of patriotism, had only served the interests of Hollywood by villifying the boxers. More ludicrous would be Huayi Brothers's 45 million US dollars shot of "The Legend of Sai Jinhua [Choi Gum Fa]" to praise the slut as a show of "patriotic act". Quite a few people had recently re-examined the Boxers' Movement of 1900 and the subsequent invasion by 'Eight Allied Nations'. A noteworthy scholar would be Bei Ming of 'Radio Free Asia'. The main spirits of this kind of research would be to point out that United States had acted fairly before, during and after the crackdowns on the Boxers. Further, the United States, in 1908, had acted as the most altruistic of all in voluntarily refunding the overcharged 'war compensations' from damages caused by the Boxers, in the form of scholarships for supporting talented Chinese' overseas studies in America. Bei Ming, in description of boxers' arson of the adjacent Imperial Library and the British Legation, unscrupulously commented that the British prized Chinese classics books more than the Chinese the same way as today's foreigners giving more love to tens of thousands of baby girls whom the Chinese government sell to the west for an adoption fee of US$5,000 to $20,000. (Increasing interest in Chinese baby girls had encouraged a new form of human smuggling business in China, with a Chinese news report of an interception of a truck carrying 28 baby girls wrapped up in cloth. Note that in US, revenue services would offer as much as $10k as annual adoption tax exemption. The impact on the growth of Asian baby girls was never assessed, and some advocates acknowledged that China had only begun its overseas adoption plan from 1994, thus yielding no statistics for research yet. However, in 1990, I personally met a Dunlap family in the mid-West and encountered a Korean girl who, apparently used as a "baby wife", was said to be engaged with their boy. More abhorrent example would be related to Woody Allen etc who treated adopted Korean girl as a concubine. The obsession with baby girls could be exemplified by the long list of missing girls advertized on Internal Revenue Services Publication 17.) Per Ding Zhongjiang, Zhou Ziqi, a graduate of Beijing's "Tong Wen Guan"" interpreter school and later a Manchu Qing emissary to US, had been responsible for negotiating with US in regards to refunding the 12,000,000 US dollars. It was never a spontaneous act of the US in the refund. (Japan, out of boxer indemnity, established an annual sole-quota scholarship for Chinese on the precondition that recipient swore allegiance to Hirohito. In late 1920s, Hu Qiuyuan yielded the Japanese Imperial Scholarship in preference for a Hubei Provincial scholarship for attending Waseda University. Later in 1932, Mussolini offered to pay Italian advisers with money from overcharged boxer-related war damages in exchange of China's purchasing Italian airplanes in the amount of several million of US dollars.) US government, often cited as a 'friend' of Manchu China, actually pushed anti-China agenda one step further: after acquiring Hawaii in summer of 1898 and Philippines in Dec 1898, US applied "Chinese Exclusion Act" to Chinese on the two islands, and further, President Theodore Roosevelt signed in law to have Chinese Exclusion Act" applied throughout US-controlled islands and territories over the world. (Also see century-long American hypocrisy towards China & American manipulations of Chinese politics [e.g., Stilwell's instigating General Bai Chongxi, Stuart's instigating Li Zongren, and McArthur's instigating General Sun Liren].) 
Empress Dowager Cixi placed puppet Emperor Guangxu under the house arrest after the crackdown on 'Hundred Day Reformation'. Manchu "zhong tang" Rong-lu instigated Yang Chongyi in petitioning for Empress Dowager Cixi's return to politics and government. Though Emperor Guangxu was deprived of his rights, Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu did attend the daily imperial sessions together still. Cixi intended to replace Emperor Guangxu with a Manchu prince called Fu-juan (the great grandson of Emperor Daoguang and the son of King Ruijun-wang Zai-yi). Zai-yi asked Chongqigong, some ministers (da xueshi" Xu Tong and "shang shu" Qi-Xiu) and his wife to maneuver about erecting a new emperor. Qi-Xiu went to see Rong-lu (zhong tang" or prime minister) for assisting Zai-yi in the erection of the new emperor, and Qi-Xiu hinted at the consequence of the rise of dethroned Emperor Guangxu should Cixi pass away. Rong-lu declined the Qi-Xiu's request and refused to see Qi-xiu and Chongqigong again. Qi-xiu etc submitted a petition to Empress Dowager Cixi in regards to erecting a new emperor. Cixi asked her ministers whether she could change the emperor via citation of Ming Emperor Jingtai-di's return of throne to his brother. Xu Tong concurred by saying that Emperor Guangxu could be downgraded to Duke Hunde-gong (duke who lost virtues) via citation of Jurchens' downgrade of Song emperor. Sun Jianai, "da xueshi" and "junji dachen", objected to the sudden change, claiming that it might disturn trouble in southeastern China. Cixi got enraged, saying the change of emperor was her familial matter, nothing to do with Han ethnic ministers.
Cixi spread a rumor about Emperor Guangxu getting seriously ill.
Foreign embassies expressed their opposition to Cixi's intention to dethrone Emperor Guangxu.
When the news spread that Emperor Guangxu was ill, foreign embassies jointly went to see Yi-kuang for inquiring about the emperor's health. The British minister-envoy sent a French doctor to see Guangxu, and French doctor's health report enraged Cixi. Further enraging Cixi would be the asylum of Kang You-wei granted by Britain and the asylum of Liang Qi-chao granted by Japan.
At the advice of Rong-lu, Cixi decided to change the throne via two steps and asked Emperor Guangxu decree that Prince Fu-juan be conferred the title of crown prince ("da a ge" or elder brother) for inheriting the line of Qing Emperor Tongzhi (Qing Muzong, r. 1862-1874). (Emperor Guangxu, before enthronement at 1875, had agreed to erect his to-be-born son as heir of Emperor Tongzhi should he bear a son.) Prince Fu-juan was assigned Palace Hongde-dian inside of the Forbidden City. In Shanghai, Jing Yuanshan and Cai Yuanbei submitted a letter with 2000 signatures against the crown prince erection. King Ruijun-wang and Empress Dowager Cixi held a celebration party, with invitations extended to the wives of minister-envoys, but foreign embassies did not show any appreciation. Cixi was recorded to have thrown her jade tea pot to the floor when a Manchu official sent in a letter claiming that British intended to send in forces to help return power to Emperor Guangxi. Empress Dowager Cixi hence secretly supported the Boxers in their attacks on the foreigners and embassies in and around Beijing, leading to the 1900 invasion by 'Eight Allied Nations'. Origin of the Boxer Movement Boxers, i.e., Yihe-quan (righteous and harmonious fists) in Chinese, also named Meihua-quan [plum blossom fist], originated in Shandong (Shantung) in 1898 as a secret society. The names before Yihe-quan would be 'yi shi dang' (party of righteous warriors) and 'da dao hui' (big blade society) of 1897. Governor Li Bingheng was deprived of his post when 'da dao hui' killed two German missionaries in Oct 1897. Succeeding governor (Yu-xian) would rename Yihe-quan to Yihe-tuan. Foreign embassies protested the atrocious acts of the boxers. Cai Dongfan claimed that Yihe-quan was an off-shoot of the White Lotus Society; Ding Zhongjiang claimed it was an off-shoot of the ancient 'Ba Gua Jiao' (i.e., milfoil divination religion of trigrams). In 1899, famine erupted over northern China. Boxers first propogated the idea of 'destroying foreigners' (i.e., Mie Yang) by utilizing the masses' anti-foreign fermentation as a result of foreign invasions and exploitations as well as the bullying from Christian converts or broker-dealers associated with foreign merchants or Christian/Catholic churches. (It was recorded that priests, for sake of expanding membership, had offered 'Thanksgiving-day' kind of free meals and fringe benefits to street rascals, and those rascal-turned Christian converts were often resented by peasants.) Boxers termed foreigners as 'da mao zi' (big hairy son) and termed the Chinese Christian followers as 'Er Mao Zi' (secondary hairy son). For sake of obtaining Manchu support, Boxers proclaimed the idea of 'sustaining Manchu Dynasty' (i.e., Fu Qing). Boxers claimed that they had the protection of divine spirits, practiced an animistic magic of rituals and spells, and believed they were impervious to bullets and firearms. Boxers grew in strength in Shandong with the acquiesce of Governor Li Bingheng and Governor Yu-xian, consecutively. The male boxers practiced a karate-kind of fist arts (shadow boxing) called Jinzhongzhao (golden bell protection), and the women practiced the art of Hongdengzhao (red lantern shining). Governor Yu-xian, a desciple of King Ruijun-wang Zai-yi, praised the skills of the boxers to Zai-yi and suggested that the boxers could be sent to the Forbidden City to protect the new crown prince. Zai-yi recommended the boxers to Cixi, and when Cixi expressed doubts about boxers' divine powers, Zai-yi suggested that Governor-general Yu-lu for Zhili (Beijing) Prov and Governor Yu-xian for Shandong Prov send in some boxers to the capital for demonstration. Yu-lu and Yu-xian approved of the establishment of Tuan-lian-ju (i.e., 'boxer training centers'), with the flag carrying the three characters of 'Yi (righteous) He (harmonious) Tuan (civilian brigade)'. Empress Dowager was also credited with reviving the Beijing Opera which based most of the dramas on ancient divine stories like "Feng Shen Bang" (List of Conferred Gods) etc. Empress Dowager, with the surname of Yehe-Nala-shi, liked to be called "Lao Fu Ye" (i.e., the Elderly Buddha Ancestress). Impressed by the superman capabilities of characters in Peking Opera, Empress Dowager hence believed that anti-foreign sentiment among the boxers could be utilized and that this secret society, with its divine spirits, could be the vanguard in expelling the Europeans (nicknamed the 'foreign devils'). 'Yi He Tuan' swooned to 100,000 in membership, with such masters as Wang Decheng, Cao Futian and Zhang Decheng, in the order of brothers as depicted by the novel "Water Margin". A street woman would be made into the chieftan in charge of women's Hongdengzhao branch. Boxers' movement spread to neighboring provinces of Shandong-Hebei-Shanxi, burning churches and killing Christians everywhere. Boxer chieftans, in the name of boxing training, took over Hongdengzhao women as their concubines without regard for laws. Boxers took over various monasteries as their camps and forced every household into erecting boxing altars. Tianjin boxers gradually spread out. Several times, Rong-lu failed to disuade Cixi from being intoxicated by the magic of the boxers. Cixi ordered that King Ruijun-wang and Qi-xiu be in charge of the foreign affairs office (i.e., "zongli yamen") and that King Zhuang-wang Zai-xun and Gang-yi be in charge of leading the boxers for an oncoming fight with foreigners. Boxers flocked to the capital thereafter. Boxers Entering Peking The Capital In Oct of 1899, Rong-lu dispatched Yuan Shi-kai's "wuwei you jun" (i.e., 'martial defending rightside army') to Shandong for restoring order. Yuan Shi-kai was assigned the post of backup governor-general in Nov and took over the post of governor-general in Feb of 1900. Around this timeframe, Anglican missionary S. M. Brooks was slain by 'Big Blade Society' in Shandong. Yuan Shi-kai's crackdown on the boxers caused the mobsters flee to Hebei and Shanxi provinces. Foreign embassied sent letters to Manchu foreign affairs' office demanding the suppression of the Boxers and threatening with invasion should Manchu court fail to quell boxers within two months. Around the capital, imperial guarding forces were composed of four columns (equiv to brigades) led by Song Qing, Nie Shicheng, Ma Yuekun and Dong Fuxiang, respectively. (Dong Fuxiang, previously a Gansu Province bandit, was pacified by General Zuo Zongtang, was later assigned the post of a general in Gansu, and was relocated to Jizhou, near Beijing the capital.) At the order of King Ruijun-wang, Dong Fuxiang led his Gansu bandit-converted army to City-gate Zhengyang-men of the capital and surrounded foreign embassies in the Dongjiaominxiang area. Boxers and soldiers, together, destroyed the railroads, cut the telephone lines, and burnt down foreign residences. By mid-April of 1900, boxers of Lai-shui county burnt down the Baoding Railroad. At Laishui County, some villager, hating the Christians, would invite the boxers for an attack at the church. Church followers contacted the county magistrate for protection. Magistrate Zhu Fei reported to the province but was asked not to crack down on the boxers. When some priest contacted foreign consul for assistance, Manchu provincial army, under a deputy general Yang Futong, was sent to Laishui. Before Yang Futong (Yang Sitong?) arrived, boxers already sacked the church, killed all Christians and burnt the building. Yang Futong fought with the boxers and later died in the hands of the boxers. Governor-general Yu-lu for Zhili Prov then dispatched "da xueshi" (grand scholar) Gang-yi and "fu yi" Zhao Shuqiao for Shuntian-fu Prefecture (Zhuozhou area) on a pacification mission. Gang-yi and Zhao Shuqiao would collude with the boxers and then petition with Cixi for using the boxers against the foreigners. Chief Eunuch Li Lianying also praised the boxers in front of Cixi. By May of 1900, large crowds of Boxers entered Peking, and foreigners retreated into legations. Thousands of homes in the embassy area were burnt. It was claimed that Boxers, in Peking, killed over 300 converts. Foreign embassies sent urgent messages to the foreign affairs' office, but King Ruijun-wang ignored them all. navyandmarine.org/ondeck/1900boxerrebellionmarines.htm stated that "on 30 May (solar calendar) ... Chinese authorities allowed the Americans, British, French, Italians, Japanese, and Russians to augment their embassy guard forces. The next day, 337 men arrived from foreign naval ships anchored off Taku (Dagu). Included in the contingent were 50 U.S. Marines, led by Captains John Myers and Newt Hall. Over the next few days ...foreign ministers called for additional reinforcements." Seymour's Forcing His Way To Peking By this time, Eight Allied Nations decided to intervene for protecting their embassies and staff as well as the missionaries and the Christian followers. Allied forces, under British General Xi-mo-er (Sir Edward Hobart Seymour [1840-1929]), reached the Dagu-kou Battery. Governor-general Yu-lu for Zhili reported to King Ruijun-wang about the allied attacks. At Dugu-kou (Taku), "ti du" or general Luo Rongguang was defeated by Eight Allied Nations and he fled to Tianjin. navyandmarine.org/ondeck/1900boxerrebellionmarines.htm further stated "at Taku, Vice Adm. Sir Edward H. Seymour formed an international rescue force of 2,056 troops, including 112 U.S. Marines, to move inland by train on 10-11 June (solar calendar). However, the relief column met heavy resistance from the Boxers northwest of Tientsin (Tianjin)." From Dagukou to Tianjin and Beijing, boxers, including those expelled from Shandong by Yuan Shiu-kai, were everywhere. In Tianjin, boxers looted the Zizhulin Extraterritory. On May 8th, boxers burnt down the railroads at Yangchun Village. Governor-general Yu-lu dispatched two battalions of Nie Shicheng's "wu-wei (martial defence) zuo (leftside) jun (army)" to Zhuozhou area. When Nie Shicheng tried to protect the railroad, boxers attacked Nie Shicheng and injured over a dozen soldiers. Nie Shicheng cracked down on boxers. Cixi asked Rong-lu write to Nie Shicheng for sake of stopping Nie from fighting the boxers. Nie Shicheng stubbornly insisted on quelling the boxer mobsters and stationed his army at Yangchun village for defence against the boxers. On one occasion, Nie Shicheng personally shot a boxer chief who climbed on top of telephone pole to instruct the destruction of railroad in Lutai area, chased the fallen boxer chief on horseback, attacked the boxer chief with the blade, and decapitated the boxer chief. Nie Shicheng army killed several hundred boxers and became feuds with each other. On May 14th, British General Xi-mo-er (Seymour) departed for Beijing with 2000 men as forerunner column. On May 15th (solar calendar June 11), Seymour's train could not go on as a result of boxers' sabotage. General Seymour retreated after a firce fight with Nie Shicheng's army. Cixi mistook this victory as boxers' contribution. Boxers continued attacking the embassies, but they failed to take over those buildings. Manchu court sent over praises about the boxer attacks. On May 15th of 1900 (June 11th solar calendar), Dong Fuxiang's Gansu Prov soldiers killed a Japanese embassy secretary (Shanshan Bin in Chinese) near City-gate Yongding-men and dismembered him. On May 20th, Boxers burnt down Zhengyang-men city-gate. Empress Dowager Cixi Declaring War On Twelve Nations On May 20th, Empress Dowager Cixi, at Yiluan-dian Palace, convened an imperial meeting attended by full house of ministers. During the meeting, Emperor Guangxu rebuked the ministers for failing to quell boxers' rebellion. Liu Yongheng from the Imperial Library kneed forward to report that he met General Dong Fuxiang en route and that Dong requested for imperial decree to quell the boxers. King Ruijun-wang (Zai-yi) shouted at Liu Yongheng, "Good ! This is the No. 1 approach to lose the heart of the people." Yuan Chang shouted to the front that boxers' witch-craft could not be relied upon. Empress Dowager rebuked Yuan Chang that boxers' heart could be used even though their witch-craft might be useless. The meeting ended with no result as to crackdown or support as to the boxers, and Cixi decreed that Na-tong and Xu Jingcheng be dispatched to the embassies for stopping dispatchment of Western forces to their rescue. After the meeting, Zeng Guanghan, Zhang Hengjia, Yun Yuding and Zhu Zumou stayed on to express opposition to Cixi's reliance on boxers and Dong Fuxiang's army for countering the foreigners. Cixi got so enraged that she stared at the ministers even after Rong-lu mediated over the matter. King Ruijun-wang asked Qi-xiu forge an embassy corps' letter which demanded that i) Cixi return the regency to Emperor Guangxu; ii) Eight Allied Nations bring in 10,000 soldiers to the capital for restoring the order. Historian Tang Degang and historian Fan Wenlan both stated that it was Luo Jiajie's son who sent in a report to Rong-lu about imperialist powers' intent to return power to Emperor Guangxu. Tang Degang stated that Luo Jiajie, a Manchu official in charge of grain supply in Shanghai, had obtained a report from a Chinese clerk who worked for a British newspaper in Shanghai, "Bei Hua Jie Bao" (i.e., North China Express). The newspaper's editorial on June 19th 1900 mentioned that allied powers intended to topple the empress dowager. On May 20th, Nie Shicheng was ordered to attack Tianjin's extraterritories; Nie Shicheng fought a heated war for eight straight days. On May 21st (solar calendar June 17), Dagukou Battery fell. On May 21th of 1900, Empress Dowager Cixi convened another imperial meeting for deciding whether to declare a war on Twelve Nations, and the meeting was attended by Manchu "junji dachen" Shi-duo, Rong-lu, Gang-yi, Wang Wenzhao, Qi-xiu and Zhao Shuqiao. Liu Yongheng and Zai-yi had another dispute in regards to declaration of war. Rong-lu objected to the war declaration, stating that none of the wars in the past were initiated by China and that a war with twelve nations could mean a self-destruction. Cixi rebuked Rong-lu. Qi-xiu submitted a war declaration to Cixi for review. Few hours later, Cixi called on various kings, princes and brothers, all "junji dachen" (ministers in charge of military affairs), ministry level "shang shu" (secretaries) and "qiu qing", internal affairs minister, banner army generals, plus Emperor Guangxu, to a meeting in Qinzheng-dian Palace for a final decision. Cixi read parts of the forged foreign embassy corps' letter (omitting the fourth clause in regards to return of power to Emperor Guangxu) and said to the audience that the foreign embassy corps' letter was an intervention in Manchu internal affairs, that the invasion by Eight Allied Nations was an insult to Manchu China, and that she intended to declare war on eight nations. Emperor Guangxu, when asked of his opinions, first stated that boxers had better stop attacking embassies and Manchu government should escort foreigners to Tainjin; after Cixi showed madness, he backed down saying Cixi should make a decision on this kind of matter. Various dukes and kings, under the pressure of King Ruijun-wang, dared not express opposition. Manchu ministers, Xu Yongyi (military ministry), Li-Shan (household ministry), Xu Jingcheng (leftside "shi lang" from Bureaucrat Ministry), Lian Yuan (xue shi" from "nei ge" or inner cabinet) and Yuan Chang (qing" from Taichangshi department) expressed worries about fighting eight nations. Yuan Chang stated that embassy corps letter might not be authentic. King Ruijun-wang rebuked Yuan Chang as a traitor. Cixi made a decision for war, and said to her ministers that they should not blame her for causing Manchu dynastic demise should the war be lost. Cixi asked Xu Yongyi, Li-shan and Lian Yuan to relay a message to various minister-envoys stating that should their countries plan to fight China, they should leave for Tianjin. Xu Yongyi and Yuan Chang, together, submitted another request for avoiding the declaration of war. Li-shan claimed relaying message to embassies should not be his job, and Empere Guangxu rediculed him by pointing out that Li-shan had received foreign minister-envoys at Yi-he-yuan Garden one year ago. Cixi asked Rong-lu send army to have the three ministers protected from a distance. On May 22nd, Cixi convened a meeting for war preparations. Zai-yi proposed to attack the embassies, and Cixi concurred. Lian Yuan opposed this idea. Zai-lian asked Cixi to have Lian Yuan executed, and King Zhuangqin-wang (Zai-xun) rescued Lian Yuan. Wang Wenshao also opposed the attack on embassies. Cixi ridiculed Wang Wenshao by daring him to promise that he could stop foreign armies from invading Peking. Emperor Guangxu took Xu Jingcheng's hands into his hands and cried. The next day, at noon, Cixi decided to issue war declaration. Cixi asked Xu Jingcheng to send a message to various minister-envoys stating that they should leave China within 24 hours and that Manchu could dispatch armies for protecting their safety of passage. Emperor Guangxu took Xu Jingcheng's hands and asked for further discussions. Cixi shouted at Emperor Guangxu for releasing the hands. Lian Yuan kneed down and stated that Manchu should declare war on France alone for French propogating alien religions, but not the other countries. On May 22th (solar calendar June 18), Seymour's soliders met resistance from Dong Fuxiang's Gansu army at Langfang, near Tianjin. Seymour defeated Gan-jun with a casualty of 54 men. On May 23rd (June 20 solar calendar), the same day, Boxers killed the German minister-envoy (Baron von Ketleler [i.e., Ke-lin-de]) who was on his way to the foreign affairs' office (i.e., "zong shu") from his embassy. (Ding Zhongjiang stated that he was shot by Manchu "shen-ji-ying" soldiers under Zai-lan.) Baron Ketleler learnt Chinese while being a youth, was assigned an interpreter job at Canton's consulate, received a medal from German emperor for protecting German citizens in 1888, worked as minister-envoy to Mexico in 1896, and transferred to China thereafter. On May 23rd, early morning, Cixi convened at Yiluan-dian Palace. Rong-lu, with tears, pleaded with Cixi for avoiding the attack on embassies. After morning tea at the suggestion of eunuch Li Lianying, Cixi explained why she wanted to declare war on eight nations, mentioning that she had been restraining herself for 40 years. Zhao Shuqiao, upgraded to the title of "shang shu" for justice ministry, suggested that an imperial decree be dispatched to inner provinces to have all foreigners executed for sake of preventing them from acting as spies. Li-shan, Xu Jingcheng, Yuan Chang, with tears, again pleaded with Cixi for recalling the war decision. On May 25th, Cixi ordered that Lian Wenchong from the military affairs' office draft the war declaration, and that war declaration was officially issued. After the war delaration, Cixi fetched 100,000 taels of silver for funds to be used by the boxers in attacking Tianjin extraterritories and Beijing embassies. Governor for Shanxi Prov, Yu-xian, who had relocated there from Shandong, would order all foreigners and missioneries to be arrested and executed. Yu-xian had 15 foreign men, 20 foreign women and 11 of their children stripped of their clothes and executed in front of his governor's office. Speculation put the total death toll at over 250 foreigners in Shanxi. In the foreign embassy district, foreigners flocked to British embassy for protection. Earlier, 337 sailors (or 430 sailors and marines per http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq86-1.htm, including fifty-six Americans from USS Oregon and USS Newark), with the approval of Manchu government, had arrived in the embassy as guards on solar calendar May 31st & June 4th [sc]. British embassy was renowned for its large capacity, solid walls with a depth of eight Chinese feet and a height of 20 Chinese feet (3 Chinese feet=3.281 British feet), and the adjacency to the Imperial Library (Han Lin Yuan" which the foreigners looked to as a safety shield. Embassy officials paid high prize for a messenger to be sent to Tianjin for relief. http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq86-1.htm stated that boxers begant to attack embassies on June 9th [sc], and "Great Britain's Sir Claude MacDonald, requested a sizable relief force just before the telegraph lines were cut". Soon, Italian embassy, Austrian embassy, Belgian embassy, Dutch embassy, Portuguese embassy and Russian embassy were all burnt. Customs' Office, churches, and priests' residencies were attacked and destroyed. He-de, a taxes and duty officer in charge of the customs' office, would pay messengers 100-500 taels to have relief request letters sent to Tianjin's extraterritory. http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq86-1.htm stated that "over 2,100 men ... from Great Britain, Germany, Russia, France, the United States, Japan, Italy, and Austria... departed the city of Tientsin on 10 June, under the command of British Admiral Sir Edward Seymour. However, strong Boxer and Imperial Chinese opposition forced Seymour to return his battered column to Tientsin on 22 June." On June 17th [sc], allied invasion forces sacked Dagukou Battery on the coastline. On basis of solar calendar, about one month ahead of lunar calendar, Manchu government declared war on the foreign countries, i.e., on June 21st, and boxers and Dong Fuxiang's army began to lay siege of embassies. (Alternative records showed that siege of the Legations began one day before the war declaration.) On June 22nd (Solar calendar), Manchu Qing army destroyed civilian residencies to the southeast of British embassy. On June 23rd (Solar calendar), Dong Fuxiang's army set fire on the trees of the adjacent Imperial Library which housed Ming Dynasty's encyclopedia "Yong Le Da Dian" and Qing Dynasty's encyclopedia "Si Ku Quan Shu". Various witness account, by Gilbert Reid, Monsieur Pichon, Lizzer Martin, Putnam Weale, Lewis C. Arlington, William Lewisohn, Lancelot Giles, and Mary E. Andrews, stated that Manchu soldiers jumped into the Imperial Library, sprayed kerosene onto the trees by the Embassy wall, and lit the fire. British minister-envoy Claude M. McDonald ordered his sailors go inside of the library to rescue the books from the fire and moreover telephoned Manchu foreign affairs office of the arson. British customs officer, Putnam Wale, recorded in his diary the next day that some of the foreigners secretly hid away the classics books. However, records also showed that both the Westerners and Manchu soldiers had used classics books for stuffing their trenches and positions. Cixi also ordered that Zai-xun and Gang-yi be in charge of boxers. Cixi, personally, also had boxers' altar set up in her bedroom and recited boxers' scripts 70 times per day. (Eunuch Lian Lianying would shout, 'Another foreign devil is killed' whenever Cixi finished her daily recital of scripts.) Crown Prince Fu-juan dared to bully Emperor Guangxu by calling the derogatory name of 'Er Mao Zi'. After Cixi ordered 20 whips of Fu-juan for the rudeness to the emperor, King Ruijun-wang (Zai-yi) led a column of boxers to the palace to bully Emperor Guangxu, too. Cixi was outraged, rebuked Zai-yi, and ordered Rong-lu to have those intruding boxers executed at Dong'an-men city-gate. Zai-xun, who was a feud of Li-shan for favor of a 'woman entertainer' as well as Li-shan's refusal in lending funds, would accuse Li-shan of collusion with foreigners and church. (Later, Li-shan, Xu Jingcheng and Yuan Chang were all arrested and executed as 'traitors'.) Various governors also wired in to express their oppositions, including Governor Yuan Shi-kai of Shandong Prov (who quelled the boxers in Shandong already), Governor-general Li Hongzhang for Liang-guang (Guangdong and Guangxi), Governor-general Zhang Zhidong, and Governor-general Liu Kunyi for Liang-jiang (Jiangsu and Jiangxi). Li Bingheng, who was former governor-general for Sichuan prov, also wired in objection. These regional governors generals ignored Empress Dowager's instructions and protected foreigners in their domains. Manchu government wired over rebuking statements to the four governor-generals and requested for supplying soldiers and funds. Liu Kunyi, after consulting with the rest of Southeastern governor-generals, reached an agreement with the foreign consuls of eight nations to have neutrality declared in Southeast China. The commander of the allied forces, British General Xi-mo-er (Seymour), agreed to the neutrality in Southeastern China after he had suffered earlier setback at Yangchun, Langfang and elsewhere from June 10th [sc] to June 22nd [sc]. Nie Shicheng Fighting Eight Allied Powers To Death On May 25th (solar calendar June 21), Seymour fought with Nie Shicheng at Beicang, and occupied Beicang with a casualty of 150 men. On May 26th (solar calendar June 22), Seymour, with another 140 casualties, took over Xiguwu from Nie Shicheng. Seymour, after a defeat in Langfang near Tianjin, was said to have retreated back to Tianjin on June 22nd [sc]. On May 27th (solar calendar June 23), reinforcements from Dagukou combined forces with Seymour. Seymour was deprived of his commander post by allied forces. With British and Russians entangled over control of leadership, Germany pretended itself to be a dialectical solution. Later in August, German Emperor proposed to have Alfred Graf von Waldersee [Wa-de-xi 1832-1904] travel to China to be the new commander. By May 28th [June 24th sc], allied forces reached the outskirts of Tianjin, and Nie Shicheng's army retreated to the outskirts of Tianjin. On one night, Nie Shicheng ordered a full crack-down on boxers before engaging in further fights with foreign invasion forces. Nie Shicheng's army destroyed over one thousand boxers on that night. The next day, when Nie was fighting allied forces, boxers raided Nie Shicheng's residence and abducted Nie Shicheng's family members. When Nie Shicheng led his forces in search of his family members, boxers claimed that Nie Shicheng had rebelled. Manchu soldiers at the hind line shooted at Nie Shicheng's army. On June 4th [lc], General Ma Yuekun and General Song Qing came to Nie Shicheng's relief. The two generals fought another ten days in Tianjin area. On June 13th [July 9th sc], Governor-general Yu-lu recalled Nie Shicheng to his office; Nie Shicheng entered the governor-general office via a side door; Yu-lu displayed a wire from Peking stating that Nie Shicheng killed 'patriotic' boxers and Nie Shicheng be executed; Nie Shicheng kneed down to accept the execution order; Yu-lu comforted Nie Shicheng in saying that he could petition for mercy should Nie Shicheng have a victory over the foreign forces. Nie Shicheng then left for Balitai area, southside of Tianjin, to fight allied forces, with empty stomach for whole morning and still wearing officer's civil clothes, while the boxers harassed Nie Shicheng's hind position. Allied forces, checking out the position of Nie Shicheng (who already was shot in the face) with telescope, bombarded Nie Shicheng to death, with intestines exposed to the ground. Nie Shicheng's subordinate officers, generals like Zhou Yueru and Yao Liangcai and captains like Xu Zhaode and Song Desheng, all died in this battle. (Cai Dongfan stated Seymour allowed Nie Shicheng's soldiers come to fetch Nie's body and furthermore drove off the boxers who intended to slice Nie Shicheng's body.) After the boxer rebellion crackdown, Nie Shicheng was later restored reputation by Yuan Shi-kai who was to take over the post of governor-general for Zhili Prov. Battle of Tientsin On June 15th [July 11th sc], Ma Yuekun attacked Laolongdou Train Station of Tianjin for sake of cutting off the supply of the allied forces. Allied forces drove off Ma Yuekun after a casualty of 150 men. Allied forces got a new reinforcement of 4000 men. General Ma Yuekun, while fighting allied invasion forces, had to engage with boxers on a second front. Boxers accused Ma Yuekun of wearing traitor-style (i.e., imported) straw-hats and pressured governor-general into ordering that Ma Yuekun's army threw away the straw-hats. During a rain-storm, Ma's army was defeated by Seymour. General Song Qing relayed a message to have General Ma Yuekun retreat to Beicang. On June 18th [July 14th sc], Japanese army intruded into Tianjin after three days' fierce fighting, and Luo Yong-guang committed suicide. On July 17th [sc], allied invasion forces sacked Tianjin with a combined forces of about 20,000 men. Tianjin warfare, lasting through June 17th (solar cal) to July 17th (solar cal), extracted about 2000 casualties from allied invasion forces. In Tianjin, Russian, French and German soldiers committed atrocities. On June 23rd lunar calendar [July 19th sc], allied forces convened in Tianjin and then marched on Beijing along the two banks of the Canal. Among the allied forces, Russians numbered 10,000, Japanese 9,000, British 6,000, French 2,600, American 2,500, German 4,000, Austrian 150, and Italian 150. In Tianjin, allied forces compromised by agreeing to German General Alfred Graf von Waldersee [Wa-de-xi] as the new commander-in-chief. French abstained from its objections, while Russians and British compromised by giving up leadership over each other. (German reinforcements of 7000 Germans would arrive in China three days after taking over Peking in mid-Aug [sc], by which time Alfred Graf von Waldersee still failed to depart Germany yet.) navyandmarine.org/ondeck/1900boxerrebellionmarines.htm stated that "a larger second expedition, including the U.S. Army’s 9th Infantry Regiment, had rescued the Seymour expedition and secured Tientsin as a logistical base for a move on Peking. Further reinforcements, including the Army’s 14th Regiment, then arrived. On 5 August (solar calendar), a multinational force of over 14,000 troops began moving up the Pei Ho River." http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq86-1.htm stated that "The allied powers worked to assemble a stronger force, and on 5 August 1900, it departed Tientsin with 20,000 men, including 2,000 Americans (over 500 of these were U.S. Navy Sailors and Marines). After fighting two major battles against huge Chinese forces, the relief force reached the foreign legations at Peking on 14 August". In Peking, one month earlier, a truce had ensued between Manchu and foreign legations, lasting from July 15th (solar calendar) to July 28th (solar calendar). Cixi rebuked General Dong Fuxiang for offending Rong-lu on the matter of borrowing Germany-made cannons for attacks on British embassy. Dong Fuxiang had only so-called 'tu pao' or 'raw cannons' at his disposal. Rong-lu secretly instructed a cannon officer to bombard the empty yard at the back of the British embassy. Cixi secretly ordered Rong-lu to prepare gifts for the embassies and relayed a message to King Ruijun-wang to console the minister-envoys. Rong-lu had been sending fruits, vegetables and ammunitions to the embassy whenever there was a ceasefire. Cixi also decreed that senior Manchu official, Li Hongzhang, be conferred the post of governor-general for Zhili for sake of peace talks with eight allied nations. King Ruijun-wang, hearing of Cixi's change of attitude, instructed Li Bingheng in spreading vilification in front of Cixi that Xu Jingcheng and Yuan Chang had revised Cixi's decrees. Xu Jingcheng and Yuan Chang, who had sent in three petitions to Cixi for stopping attacks on embassy as well as cracking down on boxers, would be ordered executed as traitors. (Cai Dongfan carried a full third petition by the two gentlemen in chapter 94 of his book, Qing Shi Yan-yi and commented that it was the best admonition article ever in Chinese history.) Moreover, King Ruijun-wang and Zai-lan ordered that Manchu official Li-shan and Han ethnic officials (Xu Yongyi and Lian Yuan) be executed for sympathy with foreigners. North of Tianjin, allied forces encountered Li Bingheng's Manchu soldiers at Beicang and Yangchun. Japanese took charge in taking over Beicang. Allied forces then attacked Yangchun with three columns and took over it within half a day. Governor-general Yu-lu committed suicide. Li Bingheng committed suicide at Hexiwu after losing the fight. Eight Allied Powers Attacking Peking On July 2nd [lc], allied army generals convened at Yangchun and decided to rest for mere one day in the hope of taking over Beijing before Manchu relief came to the capital. On July 17th [lc], allied forces sacked Zhangjiawan. On July 18th [lc] (i.e., Aug 13th [sc]), allied forces passed Tongzhou. By the evening, Japanese attacked Chaoyangmen gate; and Russians attacked Dongzhimen [Dongbianmen?] City Gate. Manchu General Dong Fuxiang resisted the allied forces (Japanese) on July 19th at Guangqu-men City-gate. (Dong Fuxiang had led his army in attacking British embassy for well over a month and he had earlier requested with Rong-lu for lending him Manchu cannons for bombarding the embassy. Rong-lu refused to lend the cannons. Dong Fuxiang requested for help with Cixi, but Cixi rebuked Dong Fuxiang as a bandit-turned servant.) On basis of solar calendar, allied forces launched a general attack at Beijing on early morning of August 14th. While Japanese attacked Chaoyangmen gate and Russians attacked Dongzhimen City Gate, Americans attacked Dongbianmen and penetrated the lower-height citywall at around 11:00 am, per http://www.secretchina.com/news/articles/4/8/14/70203.html. (Dongbianmen city wall was about 10 meteres tall, while Chaoyangmen and Dongzhimen were 20 meters tall.) navyandmarine.org claimed that "the 14th Infantry Regiment broke through to lift the siege. Later, 21 of the Marine defenders, including Daly, were awarded the Medal of Honor." Around noon, on Aug 14th [sc], British arrived at Peking and penetrated Guangqumen gate at about 2:00 pm. Russian and Japanese armies penetrated into inner city wall as well by 9:00 pm. For the whoel day, Russian and Japanese incurred a loss of about 100 soldiers trying to crack the city gates. By daybreak of July 20th (i.e., Aug 15th [sc]), the allied forces entered the city-gates of Guangqu-men, Chaoyang-men and Dongbian-men for inner city and forbidden city. Dong Fuxiang fled from the Zhuangyi-men city-gate. At 7:30 am, Americans mounted four cannons against inner city and forbidden city on top of Qianmen citywall. Empress Dowager Cixi held several 5 ministerial meetings with no consequence. By early morning of July 21st [lc] (i.e., Aug 15th [sc]), Empress Dowager Cixi, with 1000 entourage, fled towards the Xizhimen City Gate to the west after she was disuaded from committing suicide. Empress Dowager Cixi, before fleeing the Forbidden City, ordered that Emperor Guangxu's favourite concubine, Zhen-fei, be pushed into a well for her bad influence over the emperor. After strenuous trek, Ci-xi arrived at Xi'an of Shenxi Province where she would stay till Oct 6th 1901. Allied forces, after breaching the Tian'anmen [heavenly peace] City Gate, would encounter fierce resistance from Manchu garrison troops at the second gate of the forbidden city. By dead of night, Manchu troops retreated inside of Wu-men City Gate and defended Mt Jingshan and Hou-men [hind gate] areas. By early morning of July 21st (i.e., Aug 16th [sc]), fire power of the allied forces destroyed the Hind City Gate. Hearing of the defeat at forbidden city, General Yan-mao [from Jilin of Manchuria] abandoned Anding-men City Gate, hence losing all nine gates to the allied forces. Manchu forces and boxers continued the fightings with the allied forces lan by lane for one whole day. Gradually, Manchu troops were pushed to the north and west. Americans continued to attack South City Gates of the forbidden city. French and Japanese went to rescue the missionaries and converts. British occupied the Heaven Temple. By the night of Aug 15th [sc], majority of Peking fell into the allied forces. Three Days open ransacking and pillaging ensued. Fire and arson went on for three days, destroying the destricts to the south of Dian-men Bridge, Xi-si to Xi-dan area, and Chaoyang-men Rostrum, and Qian-men Rostrum. Imperial Library, where the books were treasured by the British more than by the Chinese as writer Bei-ming stated, would be looted by the allied forces. Japanese were said to have looted 3 million taels of silver from Manchu "household ministry". (Don't propogate thee myth that Japanese soldiers had fared the best in 1900 in military desciple as a constrast with the barbarity exhibited during the 15 year war of 1931 to 1945.) Allied Forces burnt down all houses with boxer altar, shot Chinese wherever spotted, raped women and imposed incest among family members, ransacked palaces and buildings, and burnt down treasures that could not be transported out of China. Manchu coffer incurred a total loss of 60 million taels of silver. (Stupid Empress Ci-xi never made contingent plan of evacuation as Emperor Xian-feng did during the Second Opium War.) Residencies of Manchu kings were ransacked by French, Japanese and allied forces as well, including 2 million taels from King Li-wang, 3 million tale worth of treasures from Li-shan, and 0.3 million taels of silver from Bao-jun residency. Chinese losses were estimated to be around 100 million taels of silver and more. War Not Over With The Fall Of Peking Ransacking and pillaging never stopped till the evacuation the second year. Both legation officers and allied forces participated in the "massacre contest" [as Japanese did during Nanking Rape]. 
http://www.secretchina.com/news/articles/4/8/14/70203.html pointed out i) that allied forces killed 1700 "boxers" at King Zhuang-wang Residency; ii) that French had driven a crowd of Chinese into an alley where they shot to kill for 15 continuous minutes; and iii) that allied forces massacred the Chinese who were hired to bury the dead bodies. (Should not be a surprise at all to find such evil human nature among the allied forces, and current wars in Iraq, Afghanistan and Africa are no lesser cruel.)
In Peking, allied forces swelled to a total of 100,000 as a result of German reinforcements. German Emperor [Kaizer] Wilhelm II and Alfred Graf von Waldersee, in order to loot China further, declared that war was not over with the fall of Peking. On Aug 19th 1900 [sc], Alfred Graf von Waldersee departed Berlin, on Sept 18th [sc], arrived in HK, and on Oct 17th [sc], Alfred Graf von Waldersee entered Peking with a grand ceremony by the allied force. Days earlier, while in Tianjin, Alfred Graf von Waldersee refused to see Manchu minister Li Hongzhang for truce talks. 
German Commander Alfred Graf von Waldersee, who was said by Chinese lackey to have restrained German army's pillage as a result of sleeping with a 'distinguished prostitute' called Sai Jinhua [Choi Gum Fa], organized sweeping campaigns throughout the Peking outskirts, reaching as far as Shanhaiguan Pass and Qinhuangdao in the northeast, Baoding & Zhengding areas, and Shanxi Province border areas to the west.
On Sept 30th 1900 [sc], Alfred Graf von Waldersee led allied forces, mostly from his 20000 German soldiers, to Shanhaiguan Pass and Qinhuangdao for sake of frustrating Russian's ambition as well as securing the coastal city as logistics center.
Near Shanhaiguan Pass, Germans and Japanese were shot into photos in their executions of Chinese "boxers".
In Tianjin, on Oct 12th [sc], Alfred Graf von Waldersee mobilized French, British and Italian armies for a campaign against Baoding to the south, and occupied Baoding 10 days later.
Alfred Graf von Waldersee ordered ransacking throughout Baoding city, with pillaging extended to Zhengding, Wanxian, Yongqing, Laishui and Yizhou counties.
To the north, Alfred Graf von Waldersee organized Austrian and Italian armies in campaigning against Zhangjiakou, pillaging Zhangjiakou and through the counties of Changping, Huailai, Yan'qing, and Xuanhua for over 20 days.
To the west, Alfred Graf von Waldersee mounted a campaign against Shanxi Prov in Jan-April [sc] of 1901.
With French participating, Alfred Graf von Waldersee attacked Guangchang, Wutai, Niangziguan and took over the two passes of Niangziguan and Guguan.
Meanwhile, Russians dispatched six columns of cavalry through Manchuria. Alfred Graf von Waldersee, after weighing Russian ambition for Manchuria, objected to water-melon partitioning as well as called off Kaiser Wilhelm II's original plan for securing coastal Yantai as German sphere of influence. German commander Alfred Graf von Waldersee was said to have quit the idea of conquering China after measuring the size of Chinese males going through a city gate to derive a conclusion that still too many physically-fit Chinese were available to cause trouble for the invasion forces. Chinese lackies and traitors, who know no shame in eulogizing Chinese women's export to the West and US, still cited prostitute Sai Jinhua [Choi Gum Fa] as a show of "patriotism". (In today's China, hordes of shameless prostitutes, at least 6 million strong as China had acknowledged to World Health Organization, had bought visas to America with apparent acquiesce of American consulate officials and continued their shameless dealings, as evidenced by their massage advertizings in major metropolitan newspapers in US. Asia Week carried a report on scam immgration operations to bring in Chinese women who would "do anything and say anything to stay in the United States". What is ludicrous will be the following: http://www.beijingportal.com.cn/7838/2004/12/10/1820@2417055.htm reported that Chinese film maker, Huayi Brothers, planned to shoot "The Legend of Sai Jinhua" at a cost of 45 million US dollars.) Li Hongzhang relied upon the Russians in exerting pressure on the Germans. On the night of April 17th [sc], Alfred Graf von Waldersee and prostitute Sai Jinhua were said to have jumped out of their bed when fire broke out in Yiluandian Palace inside of the Forbidden City. Alfred Graf von Waldersee's attache tactician died inside of asbestos-made mosquito tent during the fire per Cai Dongfan. Alternatively speaking, the Germans ransacked the palace and set it on fire to cover up the notoriety. In May [sc], Alfred Graf von Waldersee reported to Germany for a termination of "allied force command center" as well as evacuation of "German Relief Expedition Force". Alfred Graf von Waldersee left Peking on June 3rd [sc] and later died in Honover three years later. Boxers' turmoils, concluded by the 'Xin Chou Treaty' or the 'Boxer Protocol of 1901' on Sept 7th of 1901 (solar calendar) with 11 (not 8) countries, would cause China a loss of 450,000,000 taels of silver which was to accrue to 982,000,000 taels with interests included throughout the installments for 39 years. (In 1943, 'Boxer Protocol' was nullified after a total payment of 670 million taels of silver.) The damages to China's spirits were unsurpassed in history, and the Chineses people had to endure 39 years of hardship and disasters, only to sustain another round of sufferings during the 1937-1945 Japanese Invasion. Details of boxers movements and allied invasions will be covered in the section boxers.htm 'Boxer Protocol of 1901' also spelled out the terms i) allowing foreign military forces to be stationed in the capital and coastal area; ii) prosecuting government officials for their role in the boxer rebellion; iii) suspending arms imports into the country for two years; iv) dismantling battery at Dagukou and fortifications along Tianjin-Peking line; v) suspending examinations for implicated ministries for five years; vi) dispatching special emissary to Japan and Germany for condoling the deaths of legation personnel; vii) rebuilding foreigners' tombs; viii) decreeing that no anti-foreign acts or speech be allowed. The figure of 450,000,000 taels of silver was imposed on China by the allied powers to mean an insult: every one single Chinese, as a member of the 450,000,000 population, must pay one tael or ounce of silver. TO BE CONTINUED ! Written by Ah Xiang |
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ECON 101:  US Interest Rate Down =  China Exchange Rate Up !
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Huanghuagang Magazine 
Republican China in Blog Format 
![At the time [when China fell under the alien rule],](http://imperialchina.org/0442201b51e71777df540167-resized.jpg)
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![Though, Anna Wang [Anneliese Martens], in her memoirs, expressed jealousy over Gong Peng by stating that the Anglo-American reporters had flattered the Chinese communists and the communist movement as a result of being entranced with the goldfish-eye'ed personal assistant of Zhou Enlai](GongPeng.jpg)
