The Boxers rebellion: The religion war

陳桐浩

The Boxer Rebellion In the 1900s was an important anti-foreign movement and a landmark in Chinese history. In the West， it is often portrayed as a struggle between the forces of progress， civilization and those of ignorance， cruelty， superstition， and exclusion. In 20th-century China， there was an entirely different view， with some scholars defining the Boxer Rebellion as a struggle between foreign imperialism and Chinese anti-imperialist patriotism. What strikes me when I study the history of the Boxer rebellion， especially the height of its struggle with its enemies， Chinese， and Foreign Christians， in the spring and summer of 1900， is that both sides understood the struggle and its surroundings in a religious sense. At the same time， I noticed that both sides thought they represented some real， benevolent supernatural force -god or God and the other was an incompetent or evil fake God. Even though most historians believe the Boxer Rebellion started as a defense against foreign enemies， I believed the conflict could be understood more fully and accurately in religious wars. I'm going to explain it from three aspects： religion to explain drought; Religion as an explanation of war; The clash of religions and cultures.

At the height of the Boxer Rebellion in the spring and summer of 1900， severe drought swept much of the North China Plain. The peasants were anxious， and the foreign missionaries， especially those living in the remote rural areas of North China. However， they did not feel the same way as the Chinese peasants， were equally faced with drought， hunger， and the uncertainty of life and death， and were just as eager to hope and pray for Rain. But what the missionaries feared most was not starvation but the hungry Chinese. Letters and diaries were written by American Missionary Susan Rowena Bird in Taigu， Shanxi Province， weeks before her death （June 25） show this anxiety， and also speak of the Situation of the Chinese： "This is the most difficult period， famine threatens people， and the dry， hot weather makes everyone look tired. The boxers threatened to rob and kill missionaries and parishioners and destroy the country. The country is rife with the most vicious rumors and threats. People did nothing but talk about how to kill foreigners and parishioners. We felt that the end was not far away for all of us."The situation is getting more and more dangerous. If it doesn't Rain， all kinds of violence are possible." The situation was much the same in Baoding， where Mrs. F. E. Simcox， an American Presbyterian missionary， wrote in mid-April： "Rain is badly needed right now. Ignorant people blame the foreigners for this drought and say they have offended heaven." In a letter dated June 2， Bishop Pitkin， an American Missionary， said the situation in the region was becoming increasingly dangerous for both religious and Catholic missionaries. In urgent tones， he prayed： "The land is dry as powder -- dust is rising -- God give us showers. That will bring peace... We live from hand to mouth. Pray for us！ Pray for Rain （Cohen 1）." According to Miner， the killing of all 15 Protestant missionaries in Baoding on June 30 and July 1 occurred just as the Rain began to fall in the area， which， in the boxers' view， justified their attacks on the foreigners （Luella Miner 1）.In Christian philosophy， God is omniscient. If he wanted his people to live， he would have saved them from danger. If he wanted the missionaries to continue their work， he would provide for their minimal material needs. As Byrd wrote， "If It had been God's will， he would have sent rain to save men." If Christians face any difficulties， it is a trial and tribulation given by God. The Chinese， on the other hand， also regard Rain and/or drought as determined by heaven or "god." In fact， Christians consider themselves servants of God because they go to China to preach and save the Chinese people in accordance with God's will. The boxers also saw themselves as representatives of God， from whom they drew their power. The missionaries regarded the Boxer Movement as an evil force with an unfakable capacity for evil， while the Boxers also regarded the missionaries， even all foreigners and Chinese Christians， as the source of evil in China and the culprits that directly caused the wrath of heaven. The Boxers' explanation of the drought was based entirely on a religious understanding of reality. It also showed participants specific ways to appease the anger of the gods. Such Revelations have been in circulation since at least the beginning of 1900. The following passage was widely circulated during the Boxer Rebellion： "When foreign religions invaded China， The Buddha was oppressed， and the sages were shamed. Buddha Wuchang no longer respects heaven， and earth's anger to stop the Rain， eight million god soldiers under heaven， in addition to all foreign religion to send Rain." Many of the Boxers' poems link the Christian invasion with the drought and the wrath of heaven. The following passage is one of the most popular of the year： "Worship， confidence in heaven. Do not believe in God; forget the ancestors. If a man is unfaithful， a woman commits adultery. Ghost children are all born to their mothers... There was no rain， and the earth was parched. It was the church that stopped the sky. God is angry， and immortals are angry. Let's go down the mountain and pass on the word."4EB57032-7108-4B3E-A7B5-EF6A5457E58E

Throughout history， people have tended to blame the supernatural for uncontrollable disasters. It was seen as divine punishment， and generally， Chinese people like to criticize to local officials. But in 1900， when China was facing increasing foreign pressures and crises in its foreign relations， it was not surprising that the causes of drought had shifted from domestic to foreign religion. The Chinese， tormented by hunger， in their panic and anxiety， saw hatred and attacks on Christianity as an outlet for all misfortune and suffering.

Wars have always been closely related to The history of Christianity， such as the Crusades in the Middle Ages， the division of the Roman Church between East and West， and so on. The wars that Christians engage in and wage are considered holy wars in their eyes， and they are fighting for God's will and justice. The Boxers， for their part， also believed that they had divine powers that gave them spells against The Christians. Thus， "the magic competition between the two gods began." Because Christians claim their god-given power， the Boxers needed their own magic to fight the Christians. The boxers with some special spells against Christians， in order to increase people's convincing， they sacrifice a lot of spirits， both Taoism and Buddhism， and even some little folk gods， as long as they think they can play a role， as in Worship， even from some of the charms， salvo operator， playing table hemostatic operators think spells and invulnerability， All the guns were dead.

The most famous and proudest of boxers is called "Jinzhongzhao and god fist，" one of its notable features is borrowed from the southwest Shandong broadsword association JinZhongZhao martial arts and the concept of "invulnerability." The most attractive part of Shen Quan lies in the "descent of the spirit，" which is a simple ceremony for everyone to participate in. Not everyone can participate in the sword club; there is an incense fee to join. But god boxing does not require this aspect; anyone can participate. In addition， JINGZHONGZHAO martial arts is a kind of hard qigong， requiring a long time of practice. But "god fist" is different. They are not achieved through practice， but on the basis of a variety of boxing， through the "seance" to complete （Esherick 1）.For Christians， the boxer magic was attributed to Satan. All of the Boxers' magic - religious teachings - were attacked by Christians. Of course， the boxer claim of invulnerability is most frequently attacked. "These invulnerable Boxers don't seem to like the smell of foreign gunpowder，" quipped one missionary after reporting that American troops had broken up a group of 30-40 boxers in Beijing on June 14. The American missionary critic Arthur Smith put it more generally， saying that most Chinese consider the boxers' miracles to be "concrete and convincing evidence of the boxers' supernatural powers... Christians tend to refer to those as a direct result of Satan." As a result， when the Boxers failed， they didn't blame their opponents' advanced weapons but their more effective magic power. Same with the Boxers， missionaries， and Christians， when threatened， often attributed the change of battle and their escape to the power of God. "Sarah Goodrich said of those trapped in the Embassy quarter： "Many times our prayers have been magically answered. At least twice， the wind changed direction just as the house was about to catch fire." One preacher concluded： "The most lasting impression of that summer was the omnipresence of God. The end is god's will （Cohen 2）." For both sides， the fighting in the summer of 1900 was not a traditional military conflict. At its core， it is a competition for spells. Furthermore， they wanted to compete with the foreigners and the parishioners to see who could gain the upper hand.4EB57032-7108-4B3E-A7B5-EF6A5457E58E

The spread of Christian culture in China in the 1900s was undoubtedly an unprecedented cultural invasion for China. In The history of China， Taoism and Ruism once influenced some Chinese dynasties and people， but no religion or belief really became the main belief in this land， especially Christianity from foreign lands. CFPS 2014 surveyed a sample of 13，857 families， and 31，665 individuals show only 2.5% of the population in china believed in Christian. That's why so many Chinese， driven by drought and rejection of foreign cultures， joined the Boxer Rebellion to fight against Christianity sweeping China. In Christian doctrine， God is the only ruler of the world， and Christians can't worship anything else Besides God， in contrast to Chinese belief in heaven and earth， ancestors， and various local religions. Since ancient times， The core concept of "heaven and earth" and ancestors have constructed a theoretical system and ideological method integrating world outlook， outlook on life， and values. From this， a series of local religions such as Taoism evolved.

There is a Chinese saying： "Pray to Buddha when you are in trouble." This sentence reflects that such belief without unity and detailed dogma leads to Chinese superstition and blind following. This also explains why boxers claimed to have a large number of Super Magic to fight against Christians. The magic that the Boxers used were the previously mentioned spells from Taoism in China， and the Jingzhongzhao from Buddhism to fight against the Christian God.

This picture from unknown Arthur supported how Chinese people and local religions hate western religions; the picture describes The hatred of "pig，" "cry" （homonym of The Lord and the Religion， that is， the Western religion of Christianity， etc.）， and The Christian propaganda， eager to burn them out. There are couplets on both sides： pig spirit evil call from the ocean. Cheat heaven and earth， destroy ancestors， thousand arrows， thousand knives hard to compensate. In modern China， Christianity and the perceived invasion of Chinese culture are the core reasons why Christianity has not been popular in China until now. Zeng Shiqiang， a master of Traditional Chinese studies， said in his speech： "The Christian God is omnipotent and god， while the Chinese god is heaven and ancestor， and the two cannot be fused. （ZENG）" Christian missionaries apparently didn't see it or even didn't care. They for the spread of Christianity， is a bold， even rough behavior， they do not make any changes， to fight for religious communication， strongly believe that God is the root of all of the west， Chinese religion and faith will not be admitted， Christianity does not accept any god except Jesus， in short： Their spread is a kind of cultural invasion， and they attempt to replace the faith of the Chinese people with Christianity.4EB57032-7108-4B3E-A7B5-EF6A5457E58E

Boxer Rebellion was a religious war between Chinese Taoism and Western Christianity. The significant events closely related to the cultural problems of modern China and the introduction of economic， political， and religious power from the West were the Taiping Rebellion and the Boxer Rebellion. If we want to look for religious wars in Chinese history， these two periods can be described as religious wars. The Taiping Rebellion can be said to be a war between Christianity and Confucianism. The Boxer Rebellion was a war between Taoism and Christianity. Of course， the causes of the Taiping Rebellion and the Boxer rebellion were mainly political. The Taiping Rebellion was to fill up the ranks， and the Boxer rebellion was to destroy Christianity. However， the slogan said that the Taiping Rebellion was under the will of God， and the slogan of the Boxers was also to exclude foreign religions and under the will of the Gods of China's Taoism. For example， the religious war in the West also has political and economic reasons in its background， but still its religious war. Until now， foreign religions such as Christianity under communist rule have been controlled by the Chinese government. "In China， all religions have equal status and coexist in tranquillity. Religious disputes are unknown in China. Religious believers and non-believers respect each other， are united and have a harmonious relationship. This shows， on the one hand， the influence of traditional Chinese compatibility and tolerance， and， on the other， the fact that since the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949， the Chinese government has formulated and carried out the policy of freedom of religious belief and established a politico-religious relationship that conforms to China's national conditions （Information Office of the State Council Of the People's Republic of China）." Of course， we can't fully understand the boxers' fight against Christians in the 1900s as an expression of religious faith， which means it's the only way to understand the Boxer Rebellion， for there is also no reason to suspect that some boxers are motivated by genuine patriotism or starving caused by the big drought in certain circumstances. The same goes for the Christian side. The fact that war was understood as a religious decision did not prevent the missionaries from understanding it also as a clash between civilization and barbarism， progress and reaction. In conclusion， although anti-imperialist and patriotic factors played a significant role in the Boxers Rebellion， we must put religious issues more central to understand this conflict.4EB57032-7108-4B3E-A7B5-EF6A5457E58E

Works Cited

Cohen， Paul A. History in Three Keys： The Boxers as Event， Experience， and Myth. Columbia University Press， 1997. Accessed 4 December 2021.

Esherick， Joseph. The Origins of the Boxer Uprising. University of California Press， 1987. Accessed 4 December 2021.

Information Office of the State Council Of the People's Republic of China. “Freedom of Religious Belief in China.” Freedom of Religious Belief in China， 1997， https：//www.mfa.gov.cn/ce/cegv//eng/bjzl/t168753.htm. Accessed 8 December 2021.

Luella Miner， Luella. “Last Rites for the Pao-ting-fu Martyrs.” The Advance， 1901.

UNknow. “Strike ghost burn books.” 1900， https：//commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File：Strike_ghost_burn_books.jpg.

W， Kilburn B. “Chinese idol.” 1901， https：//www.loc.gov/resource/stereo.1s19624/.

ZENG， SHIQIANG. “Why is It that Buddhism can be taught in China but Christianity was banned for 400 years.” http：//www.yidianzixun.com/article/0SZH9q9h/amp.4EB57032-7108-4B3E-A7B5-EF6A5457E58E