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Empress Cixi Impact On The Boxer Rebellion

Date : 25/10/2013

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Imane

Uploaded by : Imane
Uploaded on : 25/10/2013
Subject : History

Was Empress Cixi was the most significant factor influencing the events of the Boxer Rebellion.

The boxer rebellion otherwise known as the boxer rising (1900-1). The Boxer Movement was both anti-dynastic and anti-foreign. Not only did the Boxers hate and fear the foreigners, they also blamed the Qing dynasty for its weakness and inefficiency. As a result, the slogan of the Boxer Movement at the beginning was overthrow the Ching and exterminate the foreigners. There are many factors that influenced the events of the Boxer rebellion and it could be argued that Empress Cixi was the most significant of these factors. However in this essay I will be evaluating the other surrounding factors such as Anti-foreign ideas and activities in society such as growing aggressive attitude to the Western powers and missionaries and finally Economic hardship and natural disaster. In one way you could argue that Empress Cixi was the most significant factor for several reasons. Firstly The Empress Dowager hated foreigners as she remembered how she had been forced to leave the capital when Anglo-French forces invaded Peking in 1860. Also after 1895, there was the 'Scramble for Concession' that threatened to partition China. This posed a threat to the stability of imperialist china and therefore this angered Cixi and made her offer her support to the boxer rebels. Also after the Hundred Day Reform of 1898, K`ang Yu-wei and Liang Chi chao were helped to escape by the British and the Japanese. therefore when the Empress tried to select a new emperor to replace Kuanghsu, foreign ministers checked her from doing so. By 1898 the Empress Cixi had decided to attack foreign imperialism. For example, Italy`s request for a concession was flatly turned down and even though she tried to turned down other foreign powers they were able to still gain concessions. Therefore as Empress Cixi otherwise known as Empress Dowager was a prominent figure who managed to influence the 100 days her strong opposition towards western occupiers meant there was a driving force behind the rebels and the rebellions they wanted to put in place. Another factor influencing the events of the boxer rebellion was the anti foreign ideas and activities in society. China had a strong anti-foreign tradition and foreigners were considered outsiders and barbaric. After 1860, Western missionaries were given the right to preach Christianity throughout China and to rent or buy land for the construction of churches. The unwanted presence of these foreigners aroused Chinese anger. This was because the missionaries promoted a western way of thinking and also carried out social welfare projects which infuriated the Chinese as it contradicted their Confucian principles. Also the missionaries were given special rights that even some gentry were not entitled to which further caused more resentment among the Chinese and fueled the boxer rebellion. The boxers believed that the missionaries were using money and housing to convince and bribe the Chinese to turn their back on Confucian ways of living and religion. This was seen as tactful and unfair as due to the bad economic climate of china at that time people were forced to turn to missionaries for help and support. Thus this caused animosity among the Chinese themselves as these Chinese Christians bullied the local people and committed crimes. In the eyes of local Chinese people, the Western church protected these crimes. Also it was rumored that missionaries raped Chinese women and took out children`s hearts and eyes in the church. Therefore a small number of Chinese nationalists were reprehensible of national humiliations that China suffered. Western missionaries were unwelcomed since they came to China together with greedy merchants and aggressive foreign officials. The missionaries and impact of foreign and western ideas and principles could be considered as a stronger factor than cixi because it could be argued that although Cixi supported the boxer rebellion and encouraged it the missionaries gave the boxer rebels an opposition and something to fight against. Finally another factor was the economic hardship and natural disaster. By 1900, the value of China`s imports was four times that of her exports. Which caused two big effects. Firstly China`s industries were destroyed by the influx of cheap foreign goods like cotton clothes, which were sold much cheaper. Subsequently, unemployment was excessive in society. The people suffered economically. Secondly, as the Qing dynasty was poor as a result of foreign economic exploitation it was forced to increase taxes, which therefore made the economic conditions of the people even worse. This is exemplified when The traditional Grand Canal in North China lost its function of transport after railways had been built. Consequently, many workers, innkeepers and boatmen, who were left unemployed, rushed into Shantung. It was in Shantung that the Boxers originated This incensed the rebels as they believed that their country was being misused by western powers simply by claiming parts of China as they pleased and abusing their economy. Although this may seem like quite a small factor in influencing the events of the boxer rebellion the economic failure goes hand in hand with Cixis support. Cixi herself hated how the country's economy was being exploited and the mass poverty that dominated China. Therefore this encouraged her to support the boxer rebels even more. To conclude it is clear that without the support of Empress Cixi it would have been difficult for the boxer rebellion to proceed as she provided the rebels with the funds for training and military weapons. However even though the Chinese Christians and western missionaries were their biggest enemy and target Empress Cixi is still the most significant factor in influencing the events of the boxer rebellion as after the 100 days she managed to gain back the support of Manchu conservatives and Chinese officials to help the boxer rebels.

This resource was uploaded by: Imane