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Yen-Kuang Kuo
Hist 519—the Boxers part
Some Recent Chinese Scholars’ Opinions on the Boxer Rebellion
This brief description of some Chinese scholars’ views on the Boxer Rebellion in
the late 19th and early 20th centuries is not a summary of a comprehensive examination of
recent discussions of the Boxer Rebellion. Neither is it a discussion of representative
opinions, based on a wide-scale examination, on the Boxer Rebellion in recent Chinese
publications. Instead, the articles and scholars discussed here are randomly chosen,
mostly from Chinese academic journals published in the past few years; the scale is
narrow and limited. This description simply reflects a fact that the current views of
Chinese scholars on the Boxer Rebellion are not confined within a single, unified and
representative voice.
The recent views of Chinese scholars and intellectuals on the Boxer Rebellion
vary considerably. While some may hold a relatively conservative view, others tend to be
more critical of the Boxer Rebellion. In an article from 2006 entitled “Modernization and
History Textbook,” Yuan Weishi, then a professor of Sun Yat-Sen University,
Guangzhou, China, criticizes the selective interpretation of history in Chinese history
textbooks taught in high schools. Yuan describes the Boxer Rebellion as “antihumanism” and “anti-civilization” when he mentions the boxers as an example to
illustrate the improper treatment of history to minimize or even neglect the negative
conduct of the Chinese side in the high school history textbooks.1 Yuan’s comments
generated critique and disagreement among Chinese scholars. Zhang Haipeng, a member
Weishi Yuan, “Modernization and History Textbook,” Yuxing Jiaoyu Wang,
http://www.ht88.com/article/article_5039_1.html (accessed on 21 March 2011). Originally published in
China Youth Daily January 11, 2006. (袁伟时 《现代化与历史教科书》中国青年报 2006 年 1 月 11 日)
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of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (中国社会科学院) and the President of the
Chinese Association of the Boxer Rebellion Studies (中国义和团研究会会长), criticizes
Yuan for his description of the Boxer Rebellion as anti-humanism and anti-civilization,
and states that anti-imperialism and anti-feudalism are the theme of modern Chinese
history in which the Boxer Rebellion embodies the anti-imperialism of Chinese people in
modern Chinese history.2 In response to Zhang’s critique, Yuan reasserted his arguments
regarding the anti-humanism and the anti-modern civilization aspects of the Boxer
Rebellion, and further pointed out that rather than a struggle against feudalism as Zhang
claims, the Boxer Rebellion was indeed the embodiment of the evil of the authoritarian
regime, and the tool of the conservative ruling class.3 Zhang, in the 110th anniversary of
the international symposium on the Boxer Rebellion (义和团运动 110 周年国际学术讨
论会) held in Shandong University, reasserts his claims that the Boxer Rebellion is a
patriotic movement against foreign imperialism in modern Chinese history.4
While some scholars may share a similar view of that of Zhang on the Boxer
Rebellion, some may be more skeptical about the idea that the Boxer Rebellion brought
something positive to the process of the country’s development. The following scholars
look from different perspectives into the issue of the Boxer Rebellion. Wang Xianming, a
Haipeng Zhang, “Anti-imperialism and Anti-feudalism Are the Themes of Modern Chinese History,”
http://jds.cass.cn/Article/20060301104216.asp (accessed on 21 March 2011)
Originally published in China Youth Daily March 1, 2006 (张海鹏 《反帝反封建是近代中国历史的主
题》 中国青年报 2006 年 3 月 1 日)
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Weishi Yuan, “Unmasking the Boxers and the Myths of Anti-imperialism and Anti-feudalism,” Yazhou
Zhoukan (Asia Weekly)
http://www.yzzk.com/cfm/Content_Archive.cfm?Channel=br&Path=3625624052/15br1a.cfm (accessed on
21 March 2011). Originally published in Yazhou Zhoukan vol. 20, no. 15 (April 2006) (袁偉時 《揭開
義和團及反帝反封建真面目》 亞洲週刊 二十卷十五期 2006 年 4 月)
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“The 110th Anniversary of the International symposium on the Boxer Rebellion Held in Shandong
University” (义和团运动 110 周年国际讨论会在山大举行)
http://www.view.sdu.edu.cn/news/news/sdyw/2010-10-21/1287648891.html (accessed on 21 March 2011)
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professor of NanKai University, argues that the Boxer movement marked the historical
transition of Chinese popular resistance from traditional nationalism to a movement for
modern nationalism. Before and including the Boxer movement, the 19th century
traditional Chinese nationalism movements were characterized by their anti-foreignism.
Modern Chinese nationalism movements, however, differed in their pursuit for national
sovereignty.5 In “Analysis of the Reasons for the Rapid Development of the Boxer
Movement in Shanxi,” Wang Ping states that the reasons for the rapid development of the
Boxer movement in Shanxi province include the intensification of the imperial invasion,
anti-Christianity, natural disasters, the local tradition of the peasant rebellion, and the
support of the local officials.6 In other words, the Boxer movement was the result of the
synthesis of effects. Another scholar, Liu Hong, conducts her discussion from the
perspective of the social psychology of the motives of the superstitious practices by the
Boxers. She argues that the superstitious practices by the Boxers were motivated by their
need to establish the self-confidence (by practicing magic arts that produced
psychological suggestions and hypnosis) against the advanced armed forces of the
foreigners, to gain popular support, and to justify their failures for self-defence.7 Her
attempts to analyze the social psyche embedded in the Boxers’ superstitious practices,
therefore, prevent the simple classification of the Boxers’ magic practices as superstition.
Xianming Wang, “The Boxers and the Epoch Transformation of Nationalism Movements Based on the
Comparative Analysis of Modern Popular Resistance Movements,” History Teaching, No.2 (2011) (王先明
《义和团与民族主义运动的时代转型一一立足于近代民众抗争运动的比较分析》 历史教学 2011 年
第 2 期)
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Ping Wang, “Analysis of the Reasons for the Rapid Development of the Boxer Movement in Shanxi,”
Journal of the Nanchang Institute of Education, vol.25, no. 1 (2010) (王平 《浅析山西义和团运动迅速发
展的原因》 南昌教育学院学报 第 25 卷第 1 期 (2010 年)
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Hong Liu, “An Analysis of the Intentions of the Superstitious Practices by Boxers,” Journal of Hebei
Normal University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition) vol. 33, no. 1 (Jan. 2010) (刘宏 《义和团迷
信的行为动机分析》 河北师范大学学报 (哲学社会科学版) 第 33 卷第 1 期 (2010 年 1 月)
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Finally, there is a call for a rational approach to understanding the Boxer
movement. Cheng Yongkui states that due to political interference, scholars of Chinese
history in the past could not be exempt from the influence of political ideology and
approached the issue of the Boxer movement from the perspectives of “anti-imperialism”
or “class struggle.” He calls for a rational assessment on the Boxer movement, and
attempts his examination of the Boxer Movement from the perspective of modernization.
Under the social and political background of the late 19th century in Chinese society,
Chinese modernization was to learn the advanced technologies and values from the
western civilization. From this perspective, the Boxer Movement went beyond the antiimperialism and had turned into an anti-western civilization movement. Cheng points out
that imperialism was linked to western civilization in the Boxer Movement. The author
argues that it was an important fight against imperialism; however, anti-imperialism does
not suggest anti-western civilization. The Boxers failed to recognize the difference
between these two, and inevitably went beyond the line in its fighting against
imperialism.8
Though randomly chosen, and of a narrow and limited scale, the above articles
suggest a relatively multi-perspective approach to the Boxer Rebellion. Chinese scholars’
opinions on the Boxer Rebellion vary; however, they have stepped beyond the arguments
encapsulated in the “trinity” of “patriotism,” “anti-imperialism,” and “anti-feudalism.”
Yongkui Cheng, “Assessments on the Boxer Movement from the Perspective of Modernization,” Journal
of Xiangtan Normal University (Social Science Edition) vol. 31, no. 4 (July 2009) (程永奎 《近代化视野
下的义和团运动评估》 湘潭师范学院学报 (社会科学版) 第 31 卷第 4 期 (20009 年 7 月)
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