An excellent look at the Boxer Rebellion - the graphics, photos and paintings are particularly evocative. I'm looking forward to Part 2! It is nice to see this period of history from more perspectives. I designed a game on this subject focused on the Summer of 1900 called Keep Up The Fire! back in 2011 - as it happens, a 2nd edition of the game is currently in production for anyone that might be interested in simulating the events depicted in this video.
Thanks John! For people curious about this, here is the link to the game: www.kickstarter.com/projects/1040417273/keep-up-the-fire-deluxe-edition?ref=d2fmug&token=5ecc08ab
When I was a university student 30 years ago, I was so frustrated trying to learn about Chinese history through Western historians: I am so glad to be able to finally learn all this and hear the actual Chinese pronunciation of the people and places through this excellent channel.
British: Never thought I'd die fighting side by side with an American, an Australian, a New Zealander, a German, an Italian, a Frenchman, an Austro-Hungarian, an Indian, a Russian, a Japanese, a Spaniard, a Dutchman, a Belgian and a Chinese Christian. American, Australian and New Zealander: What about as friends? German: wie wäre es als freunder? Italian: e come amici? Frenchman: et en tant qu'amis ? Austro-hungarian: mi lenne ha barátként? Indian: दोस्तों के रूप में क्या? Russian: как насчет друзей? Japanese: 友達としてはどうですか？ Spaniard: ¿ Y cómo amigos? Dutchman and Belgian: hoe zit het als vrienden? Chinese christian: 作為朋友呢？ British: Aye, I can do that.
An excellent summary of events. Also, your concise pronunciation and clearly researched details make this one of the best videos I have come across on RUclips on the subject. I look forward to the second installment.
my thoughts exactly. this was the best (and seemingly most unbiased) version coming my way in many decades. it was shortly mentioned in my history books at school, watched the 1963 Hollywood film much later as a young teen so this video was a much needed addition
The Boxer’s belief that they would be bulletproof mirrors what the ghost dancers at Wounded Knee believed. Things did not end well for them to say the least.
In comparison, didn’t a lot of native americans still use guns when fighting The White Man when they can get their hands on some? With the boxers, unfortunately, they’ve gone full xenophobic and anti-technology.
The juramentados were so deadly because the.38 long Colt had insufficient stopping power, wisely the British had adopted from the start a more powerful calibre for their Adams first and then Webley revolvers'
This has quickly become my favorite channel. Great video - can’t wait to pivot to the Yuan-Ming. Tons of material to pick from. Have you ever thought about a short video explaining Emperor’s reign or posthumous names? Another idea could be the Ming/Qing tombs.
Wow I’m very impressed by the improvement of the visual storytelling! It’s a great way for me to grasp the complexity of those event from a foreign point of view. Great work! I look forward to part 2 :)
You did an excellent job on this film about the Boxer Rebellion. Your production was really sharp and the use of 55 Days in Peking was a great added touch. It’s really puzzling that a production hasn’t been done on this topic in the past 60 years, especially what could be done now with the aid of CGI. But then Hollywood is too busy making stupid comic book movies which are pointless.
But now, with all this PC b*****t, we couldn't produce such a movie, for the actual chinese gvt the boxers were " heroes", when in reality were only a (big) bunch of thugs employed by a reactionary band of corrupt (strangers, because Qin dynasty was Manchou not chinese) mandarins/nobles. Imagine the uproar about making a movie about a colonial war
@@History_of_China I can only assume touching these topics would "bear the danger" of awakening sympathies in the west for the chinese people and their political decisions.
While that may be a fairly accurate, if extremely brief explanation, it's great getting some details. There aren't many good easily accessible resources on this part of history since its glossed over and ignores in the west, while the PRC uses it as propaganda and heavily edit it to further communist goals. Growing up I knew some christian missionaries and aid workers who lived in china and hong Kong in the 60s, 70s, and 80s and the PRC used the boxer rebellion as propaganda to excuse their persecution of Christians and muslims.
@@hiyukelavie2396 1 To vilify Western missionaries and conceal the historical facts that the official pampered the mobs to massacre foreign nationals. 2. Concealing the international treaties between the Qing Dynasty and the West, concealing all the contract-breaches of China, and disguising China as a victim of colonial aggression. 3. put the poverty and misfortune of the bottom blame on the economic trade of the West. 4 Exaggerate the punishment measures of the peacekeeping troops of the eight countries, portraying them as robbers, but deliberately concealing the police, judicial, public health, urban construction and other achievements established by the UN troops in China
This was without a doubt the best, most thorough, and detailed, telling of the "Boxer Rebellion" I've ever had the great pleasure of watching. Thank you very much. (BTW. It may be of interest to your subscribers, that at least one branch of the "Society of the Righteous and Harmoneous Fist", was still active, and teaching CMA, in Colorado as late as 1980. All the best, a new sub. Laoshr #60 Ching Yi Kung Fu Association
These videos really help to educate me on a whole section of history I had never known much about, great work! I am curious about the what movie footage you used in this and other videos.
This was fascinating, thanks! I took Chinese & Russian History as a Senior in high school, and did an oral report about the Empress-Dowager. It was great to see this, and I kinda knew what you're talking about!
The video misses a point: The Empress Dowager cixi had been trying to dethrone The Emperor Guangxu after she had taken him from power and put him under house arrest. She wanted to make Prince Duan's son the Crown prince . This made Prince Duan a political hot spot in the court for a while, but the Western powers had never recognized the Crown prince and supported the Emperor Guangxu 's rule, which made Prince Duan hate foreigners so much that he immediately formed an alliance with the anti-foreign and conservative ministers in the imperial court, boasting to the Empress Dowager Cixi how powerful the Boxers are.(Cixi did not believe in the Boxers at first, and was always hesitating whether to destroy or support them.) He even forged a fake declaration “from foreign ambassadors” to deceive Cixi saying that foreigners wanted to overthrow her rule, which made Cixi furious and lost her accurate judgment of the situation. After one member of the Boxers killed the German ambassador on the street of Beijing, the Empress Dowager Cixi declared war on the 11 countries and sent the Boxer regiment to besiege the embassy area...
History of China What’s hilarious is that although that film glorifies the struggle from the westerners a tad too much, the Exit Stage moment they gave Cixi was too good for her compared to the real person, way too self aware it made her. Admitting that she was responsible in the dynasty being finished? Heaven fucking forbid.
History of China What’s hilarious is that although that film glorifies the struggle from the westerners a tad too much, the Exit Stage moment they gave Cixi was too good for her compared to the real person, way too self aware it made her. Admitting that she was responsible in the dynasty being finished? Heaven fucking forbid.
My great grandfather was there, and I have no access to him or any journal, so I try to find out as much as I can on my own. Thank you for you excellent work!
I like to summarize the big background on the rise of Boxers. 1. The first 2 Opium Wars and series of unequal treaties became the basis for the rise of the biggest rebellion (and foreigner hating) in Qing dynasty or even Chinese history: The Taiping Rebellion. 2. The Taiping Rebellion believed the its leader Hong Xiuquang was the Brother of Jesus Christ thus they tried to enlist Christian foreigners to help to no avail. 3. It was ultimately crushed by Qing forces with some foreign help. The result made the local Han populace more angry at foreigners 4. nationalistic, xenophobic religious sects sprang up all over the place after the rebellion to take advantage of this anger and spread propaganda against the Qing and Foreigners 5. Foreign countries carving up China with their extraterritorial laws, racism, ill treatments against local Chinese helped made these anti-foreigner propaganda drives much more believable 6. the defeat of Qing against Japan in 1895 and the subsequent unequal Treaty of Shimonoseki coalesced many sects into a loosely coalition called The Boxers or Fist of Yihe. Targeted assassinations against foreigners began. Missionaries were targeted because they were easy targets, they promoted a new faith that was alien, they were supported by foreign nations that had attacked Qing China in the past and current have unequal treaties, and were subjects of many horrible stories (some true, many were not). 7. Western colonial powers used these assassinations to grab more territorial influences in China (began with Kaiser Wilhelm II then with other colonial nations) thus began a vicious cycle that culminated into the Boxer Rebellion
You are basically a victim of Chinese dirty history education... basically consistent with the syllabus of modern middle school of Chinese history textbooks. Although it is closer to the historical facts than during the Cultural Revolution, the historical concept is essentially wrong
I watched this video as soon as it was uploaded, so this comment is after 2 months since I watched it first time. Anyways you're channel is very underrated and the Boxer rebellion is very interesting
I always find it interesting that the 8 National alliance is the only example in history where so many large and competing powers decided to unite together to attack a single enemy. There has never been anything like it before or after. I guess there was so much of the China pie available that the great powers thought it was more profitable to temporarily bury their rivalries and attack an easy foe.
It was very exceptional in size and number of countries, but there were other historical instances. All european armies attacked France after the French Revolution, trying to squash it as soon as possible, fearing the end of Monarchy as a system (French Revolutionary Wars). Something similar happened to Russia after their October Revolution too. It remains a baffling historical fact that these three countries were able to retain their sovereignty.
Well mainly because China was rich in resources and 'exotic goods', and everyone saw what happened during the First Opium War and realised that the Qing Dynasty was so weak, and obviously Empress Dowager Cixi was an idiot.
Boxers chopped Christian missionary for becoming pieces. It was babaric for westerners. It was same as Christian crusaders waged war with Muslims ruler of Jerusalem in 16th 1095 to 1492. In fact ruling Manchu clan was not Chinese. Boxers did not need to be so loyal. They should not sacrifice for non Chinese Machus. In the end, their master local Manchu governor deserted and killed them. It was worse than killed by enemy 8 nations allience.
@@eugeneng7064 Although the Manchu have now been fully assimilated, during the Qing dynasty there was still a clear separation between the Han and the Manchu. For example, Beijing was separated between the Han Chinese City and the Manchu City, as was every other large city in China at the time. Intermarriage was also rare, and many Manchu couldn't read Chinese.
Looking forward to this one. Just finished your 2 part series on Cixi. If this series is even just half as good as that one then it'll be well worth a watch.
It's staggering how an Empire so massive and with such abundant resources can be so badly crippled by incompetence and stagnation in the leadership to the point that far smaller threats can tear it apart like a bloated carcass.
"incompetence" is that what you call the forced Opium epidemic? How long would USA or EU survive today if they were forced to import and sell cheap FENTANYL to everyone, including children, without ANY restrictions? Western Empires used superior military technology to force China into allowing unrestricted import/sale of Opium. It devastated the country, not just in the millions who died but the collpase of industries and large scale failure of agriculture as addicts simply failed to work. It even crippled the military. Western soldiers wrote about the easy victories of the Opium Wars how after taking forts they would find litter of recently smoked opium pipes. The worst economic impact is that Western Empires forced China to "BUY" the Opium with Silver which rapidly eat away the National Treasury, which led to a failure to fund infrastructure, government and military maintenance.
That's what happens when you segregate your people into a hierarchy and choose to modernize slowly (read: preserve your power). There were Qing officials who knew they needed to modernize, but were removed from power because it was inconvenient
@@sisyphusvasilias3943 I call incompetence what the Empress Dowager did, squandering the naval budget on her Summer Palace, deposing her nephew who favored modernization, and what the other late Qing Emperors before her and court officials did, how they executed one of their most talented that negotiated with the British Admiral on site, how they took bribes and schemed against each other for position rather than the betterment of the country, how they favored nepotism and sycophants over efficiency and honesty. Yes, the Opium accelerated the decline, but mass corruption of midlevel officials tasked with containing it and the backlash against modernization were also heavily to blame.
@@sisyphusvasilias3943 The empire had serious issues long before the Western powers ever showed up. It can be said that the corruption and incompetence gave the Western powers the capability to cause trouble in the first place.
This was the China that respected "human rights." The China that was enslaved by the global powers. Since the CCP has been in charge, "human rights" China has been a thing of the past. This is why the liberal-led House of Representatives has today condemned the CCP and "looks forward to the day when the Chinese Communist Party no longer exists." A labor force of 1 billion that is privatized overnight would be a wet dream for Western big businesses. Both the Boxers and the CCP were heroic in the way they dealt with imperialism. This is why the Boxers were hated then in the West, and why the CCP is hated today. "The Boxer is a patriot. He loves his country better than he does the countries of other people. I wish him success."--Mark Twain
Do another community post announcing the release of this video and maybe some polls on what recent videos was our favorite and when you are having trouble coming up with video topics just do polls. Polls and community polls help pull viewers and potential new subscribers so make sure to find an excuse to do one as much as possible. Want to show everyone your pet? Do a community post! Want to ask what the fan favorite Qing Emperor is? Do a poll! I look forward to the day when you grow to 100k subscribers. =)
I did not know the name "Boxer Rebellion" was so literal irt them being boxers. It just makes me think "One-Punch Rebellion" like Saitama or something.
I did not know this history thanks soooo much , I enjoyed learning it. I saw some movie clips , what is the movie called? Will be viewing more of your materiel soon.. greeting from 🇬🇧
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Extracts are from the film 55 Days at Peking (1963), which, although historically inaccurate, is a very enjoyable piece of old school cinema. Thanks for following :)
@@icequeen9417 Lol the movie 55 Days at Peking itself isn't 100% accurate as it displays some events that didn't happen. The pictures though are good material to illustrate some real events which I explain in my video
A well made video, informative and interesting, indiscernible from a television documentary. In fact, many documentary makers could learn by watching this.
Although this was a kind of uprise against imperialism,the boxers have killed many innocent Christians and missionaries.Well,a historical tragedy I would like to say.
Arguebally they killed far more innocent chinese and innocent westerners then they did foreign imperialists. Hell, they killed more _local_ imperialists then they did foreign imperialists.
@Some Weeb the second half wasnt Michael better, what with the Great Leap Forward and Maos madness. They followed that up with 50 years and counting of pragmatic bullying, coercion, stealing everything that isnt nailed down, turning central Asia, southeast asia, and parts of africa into a colonial empire, and flaunting international law on a scale that rivals that of the US and USSR/Russia without any signs of losing steam through the 21st century
@@jon82489 Can't deny that some missionaries came to China with the specific purpose you mentioned,but still a lot of them just came to this land to spread benevolence of the Lord.See,many missionaries helped found local schools and hospitals,they also atopted orphans.
@@ukka9306 also killed and raped many indigenous children for example Canada. I don't deny that there are historical accounts of religion helping people but it's the organizations that need to be dismantled like the catholic church
The writer Lao She (penname for Shu Qingchun) was a Beijinger and he was about a year old when this happened. His father was a humble soldier (Manchu Eight-Banners system) and his mom was widowed after this war.
I've recently discovered your channel and I must say your videos are both amusing and informative. The video editing and your narration are easy to understand and pleasant to listen to. Could you do a video introduction on China's dynasties?
I would think any moral person would disagree with the butchery of 32 000 people. Just because they were Chinese Christian converts, they were killed. And in quite brutal ways.
Very good video, but what on Earth were they thinking? Did they really believe they could win a war against the greatest powers of the age? But an even crazier thing is the support they received from the Qing governement. By doing this Cixi digged her own grave, and buried the dynasty in it. Next time you could make a video about the Chinese Rites controversy between the Qing dynasty and the Catholic Church, or about the Four Chinese Classical Novels.
A lot of Boxers were probably brought up with folkloric tales of heroic figures, and quite unaware of modern warfare, while the conservative officials were delusional about the actual military power of China. Cixi also wanted revenge for the Second Opium War events of 1860, which motivated her choices. I've already talked about the Chinese Rites controversy in my Christianity in China series and Emperor Kangxi videos, so I probably won't make a video on it. I don't exclude making a video about Chinese classics though
@@History_of_China I would like especially a video on the "Dream of the Red Chamber". Some Chinese classical novels have been translated in Italian, but generally in abriged versions, and often they're not even translated from Chinese but from another European translation.
It depends. Cinematographically, it is very enjoyable. The music is fantastic, and although the major Qing figures (Cixi, Ronglu, Zaiyi) are played by western actors, which looks a bit awkward, the acting itself is very good. Historically, though, it is not perfect. There are no huge mistakes, but some important events are missing and others invented. Overall, I do recommend it if you keep in mind that it's more for the cinema than the history ;)
@@History_of_China I would love to see a Netflix or Amazon production type of show from the boxer rebellion, not only of 55 days ay Peking; more of entire movement, since 1899 til 1901...
As a Chinese person I gotta say, after reading actual historical sources, the movie “55 Days In Peking” is still worth watching, despite it primarily being on the westerners’ point of view. What’s really hilarious is that the film gave Cixi an Exit Stage with WAY more self-awareness than the real crone ever had about her role in fucking China up even further.
An excellent look at the Boxer Rebellion - the graphics, photos and paintings are particularly evocative. I'm looking forward to Part 2! It is nice to see this period of history from more perspectives. I designed a game on this subject focused on the Summer of 1900 called Keep Up The Fire! back in 2011 - as it happens, a 2nd edition of the game is currently in production for anyone that might be interested in simulating the events depicted in this video.
Thanks John! For people curious about this, here is the link to the game: www.kickstarter.com/projects/1040417273/keep-up-the-fire-deluxe-edition?ref=d2fmug&token=5ecc08ab
Yi90ma
It was good to hear a balanced account the clarified the Boxer's motivation.
You do not know the gospel at all
Expanded Hong Kong to its current boundaries
The narrator is not only a scholar but perhaps also a musician, for he speaks with impeccable English and perfect Mandarin. 👍
Actually started in America with "fake news
Yea that’s great but he said “half a thousand”. So he loses points for that.
When I was a university student 30 years ago, I was so frustrated trying to learn about Chinese history through Western historians: I am so glad to be able to finally learn all this and hear the actual Chinese pronunciation of the people and places through this excellent channel.
try learning history from commies lol
Thanks so much! First time I've ever seen such a complete account of the Boxer Rebellion. Thanks!
Glad you enjoyed it :)
@@History_of_Chinau
British: Never thought I'd die fighting side by side with an American, an Australian, a New Zealander, a German, an Italian, a Frenchman, an Austro-Hungarian, an Indian, a Russian, a Japanese, a Spaniard, a Dutchman, a Belgian and a Chinese Christian.
American, Australian and New Zealander: What about as friends?
German: wie wäre es als freunder?
Italian: e come amici?
Frenchman: et en tant qu'amis ?
Austro-hungarian: mi lenne ha barátként?
Indian: दोस्तों के रूप में क्या?
Russian: как насчет друзей?
Japanese: 友達としてはどうですか？
Spaniard: ¿ Y cómo amigos?
Dutchman and Belgian: hoe zit het als vrienden?
Chinese christian: 作為朋友呢？
British: Aye, I can do that.
spreekt gij vele talen, jonge?
The german translation is wrong, its freund/e depending on the context. "Wie wäre es als freund"
你的中汗语很好👌
President Xi in 2023: Do that again I will kill you in United Nations 🇺🇳 UN.
An excellent summary of events. Also, your concise pronunciation and clearly researched details make this one of the best videos I have come across on RUclips on the subject. I look forward to the second installment.
I agree ..
my thoughts exactly. this was the best (and seemingly most unbiased) version coming my way in many decades. it was shortly mentioned in my history books at school, watched the 1963 Hollywood film much later as a young teen so this video was a much needed addition
The Boxer’s belief that they would be bulletproof mirrors what the ghost dancers at Wounded Knee believed. Things did not end well for them to say the least.
They got their daily dose of reality.
Should have taken fighting advice from the Juramentados.
In comparison, didn’t a lot of native americans still use guns when fighting The White Man when they can get their hands on some? With the boxers, unfortunately, they’ve gone full xenophobic and anti-technology.
The juramentados were so deadly because the.38 long Colt had insufficient stopping power, wisely the British had adopted from the start a more powerful calibre for their Adams first and then Webley revolvers'
Non vaccine religious..when history tells the idiots piling bones...IQ is the planets most precious commodity 😁
Man you’re so productive! Looking forward to watching this this afternoon
This has quickly become my favorite channel. Great video - can’t wait to pivot to the Yuan-Ming. Tons of material to pick from. Have you ever thought about a short video explaining Emperor’s reign or posthumous names? Another idea could be the Ming/Qing tombs.
Thank you so much! I could make videos on such subjects, though I cannot guarantee when
Wow I’m very impressed by the improvement of the visual storytelling! It’s a great way for me to grasp the complexity of those event from a foreign point of view. Great work! I look forward to part 2 :)
You did an excellent job on this film about the Boxer Rebellion. Your production was really sharp and the use of 55 Days in Peking was a great added touch. It’s really puzzling that a production hasn’t been done on this topic in the past 60 years, especially what could be done now with the aid of CGI. But then Hollywood is too busy making stupid comic book movies which are pointless.
Thank you so much! I too feel like so many subjects of China's 19th century history would make splendid films
But now, with all this PC b*****t, we couldn't produce such a movie, for the actual chinese gvt the boxers were " heroes", when in reality were only a (big) bunch of thugs employed by a reactionary band of corrupt (strangers, because Qin dynasty was Manchou not chinese) mandarins/nobles.
Imagine the uproar about making a movie about a colonial war
@@History_of_China I can only assume touching these topics would "bear the danger" of awakening sympathies in the west for the chinese people and their political decisions.
100% correct .only negative news /events about China are allowed in the western media .the positive stuff are all swept under the carpet
Well done on the great presentation. I look forward to part 2 and future vids from your channel
Thanks for following! Part 2 should be up in a few hours :)
Congratulazioni per il nuovo video. Non vedo l'ora di guardarlo con la signora.
Using to help with my A Level teaching.Top notch. Thank you,
Thanks so much for condensing all this into video format!
Good job. My dad was in China 1945-46 USMC. I got a British Relief of Peking medal to a sailor as well.
the boxer rebellion ended in 1901 wtf dym
@@crimson_scum7129😂😂😂
Fantastic telling of this fascinating conflict! Great work!
Thanks!
I refuse to believe you are not a Chinese because your pronunciation of Chinese names are perfectly flawless:) Great video as always!
Cheers! I am not though ;)
@@History_of_China My hat's off to you good sir! Your boxer rebellion video got me hooked and now I'm anxiously waiting for part2 XD
Actually sounds ridiculous...
actually i had to read the chinese name to know who he was referring to. 🤣 that engdarin was a bit huh?
different nationalities has different perspective
I've always been taught that this war basically went "the chinese got steamrolled by 'The West' the end"
good to see it covered as actual history
While that may be a fairly accurate, if extremely brief explanation, it's great getting some details. There aren't many good easily accessible resources on this part of history since its glossed over and ignores in the west, while the PRC uses it as propaganda and heavily edit it to further communist goals. Growing up I knew some christian missionaries and aid workers who lived in china and hong Kong in the 60s, 70s, and 80s and the PRC used the boxer rebellion as propaganda to excuse their persecution of Christians and muslims.
@@arthas640 Can you point out to me the parts about the Boxer Rebellion that was heavily edited by the PRoC?
@@hiyukelavie2396 1 To vilify Western missionaries and conceal the historical facts that the official pampered the mobs to massacre foreign nationals.
2. Concealing the international treaties between the Qing Dynasty and the West, concealing all the contract-breaches of China, and disguising China as a victim of colonial aggression.
3. put the poverty and misfortune of the bottom blame on the economic trade of the West.
4 Exaggerate the punishment measures of the peacekeeping troops of the eight countries, portraying them as robbers, but deliberately concealing the police, judicial, public health, urban construction and other achievements established by the UN troops in China
Same
Wonderful use of clips from “55 Days In Peking” !!
This was without a doubt the best, most thorough, and detailed, telling of the "Boxer Rebellion" I've ever had the great pleasure of watching. Thank you very much. (BTW. It may be of interest to your subscribers, that at least one branch of the "Society of the Righteous and Harmoneous Fist", was still active, and teaching CMA, in Colorado as late as 1980.
All the best, a new sub.
Laoshr #60
Ching Yi Kung Fu Association
These videos really help to educate me on a whole section of history I had never known much about, great work! I am curious about the what movie footage you used in this and other videos.
This was fascinating, thanks! I took Chinese & Russian History as a Senior in high school, and did an oral report about the Empress-Dowager. It was great to see this, and I kinda knew what you're talking about!
Thank you! I'm happy you enjoyed it :)
The video misses a point:
The Empress Dowager cixi had been trying to dethrone The Emperor Guangxu after she had taken him from power and put him under house arrest. She wanted to make Prince Duan's son the Crown prince
. This made Prince Duan a political hot spot in the court for a while, but the Western powers had never recognized the Crown prince and supported the Emperor Guangxu 's rule, which made Prince Duan hate foreigners so much that he immediately formed an alliance with the anti-foreign and conservative ministers in the imperial court, boasting to the Empress Dowager Cixi how powerful the Boxers are.(Cixi did not believe in the Boxers at first, and was always hesitating whether to destroy or support them.) He even forged a fake declaration “from foreign ambassadors” to deceive Cixi saying that foreigners wanted to overthrow her rule, which made Cixi furious and lost her accurate judgment of the situation. After one member of the Boxers killed the German ambassador on the street of Beijing, the Empress Dowager Cixi declared war on the 11 countries and sent the Boxer regiment to besiege the embassy area...
You got it. This is very important.
Video misses this.
At least he included so much information and enough for me to be pro
Despite this miss, it is superbly made.
The Boxers were crims
I am a huge fan of Chinese history and have been reading a lot about the Boxer Rebellion along with the opium wars. Great work!
Thanks!
The pronunciation of Chinese names, places and words seem to be authentic. That gives greater credibility to this post. Thank you. :)
I'm glad you enjoyed it!
Extremely interesting and very informative
Loved the inclusion of "55 days at Peking" such good timing
Cheers :)
History of China What’s hilarious is that although that film glorifies the struggle from the westerners a tad too much, the Exit Stage moment they gave Cixi was too good for her compared to the real person, way too self aware it made her. Admitting that she was responsible in the dynasty being finished? Heaven fucking forbid.
History of China What’s hilarious is that although that film glorifies the struggle from the westerners a tad too much, the Exit Stage moment they gave Cixi was too good for her compared to the real person, way too self aware it made her. Admitting that she was responsible in the dynasty being finished? Heaven fucking forbid.
Very informative. Thanks a lot!
Thank You!. Your presentations are wonderful.
Glad you enjoy my work :)
i feel like the history of china is massively unknown the west and i want to thank you for putting out quality videos on the topic!
My great grandfather was there, and I have no access to him or any journal, so I try to find out as much as I can on my own. Thank you for you excellent work!
Awesome! I'm glad my video can help :)
Economic investigator Frank G Melbourne Australia is following this informative content cheers Frank
"The year was 1900
Tis worth remembering
All the men who lived through
55 days at Peking"
Amazing videos on Chinese History. Keep it up
I like to summarize the big background on the rise of Boxers.
1. The first 2 Opium Wars and series of unequal treaties became the basis for the rise of the biggest rebellion (and foreigner hating) in Qing dynasty or even Chinese history: The Taiping Rebellion.
2. The Taiping Rebellion believed the its leader Hong Xiuquang was the Brother of Jesus Christ thus they tried to enlist Christian foreigners to help to no avail.
3. It was ultimately crushed by Qing forces with some foreign help. The result made the local Han populace more angry at foreigners
4. nationalistic, xenophobic religious sects sprang up all over the place after the rebellion to take advantage of this anger and spread propaganda against the Qing and Foreigners
5. Foreign countries carving up China with their extraterritorial laws, racism, ill treatments against local Chinese helped made these anti-foreigner propaganda drives much more believable
6. the defeat of Qing against Japan in 1895 and the subsequent unequal Treaty of Shimonoseki coalesced many sects into a loosely coalition called The Boxers or Fist of Yihe. Targeted assassinations against foreigners began. Missionaries were targeted because they were easy targets, they promoted a new faith that was alien, they were supported by foreign nations that had attacked Qing China in the past and current have unequal treaties, and were subjects of many horrible stories (some true, many were not).
7. Western colonial powers used these assassinations to grab more territorial influences in China (began with Kaiser Wilhelm II then with other colonial nations) thus began a vicious cycle that culminated into the Boxer Rebellion
You are basically a victim of Chinese dirty history education... basically consistent with the syllabus of modern middle school of Chinese history textbooks. Although it is closer to the historical facts than during the Cultural Revolution, the historical concept is essentially wrong
Man they really pissed off the international powers.
learned about this all the way back in 2016 or 2017 and it piqued my interest thanks very much for the video
Glad you liked it!
I watched this video as soon as it was uploaded, so this comment is after 2 months since I watched it first time. Anyways you're channel is very underrated and the Boxer rebellion is very interesting
The most ambitious crossover in history
i hope next time you would do a video about the spring and autumn period and the rise of the qin dynasty
I always find it interesting that the 8 National alliance is the only example in history where so many large and competing powers decided to unite together to attack a single enemy. There has never been anything like it before or after. I guess there was so much of the China pie available that the great powers thought it was more profitable to temporarily bury their rivalries and attack an easy foe.
It was very exceptional in size and number of countries, but there were other historical instances. All european armies attacked France after the French Revolution, trying to squash it as soon as possible, fearing the end of Monarchy as a system (French Revolutionary Wars). Something similar happened to Russia after their October Revolution too. It remains a baffling historical fact that these three countries were able to retain their sovereignty.
Well mainly because China was rich in resources and 'exotic goods', and everyone saw what happened during the First Opium War and realised that the Qing Dynasty was so weak, and obviously Empress Dowager Cixi was an idiot.
Boxers chopped Christian missionary for becoming pieces. It was babaric for westerners. It was same as Christian crusaders waged war with Muslims ruler of Jerusalem in 16th 1095 to 1492. In fact ruling Manchu clan was not Chinese. Boxers did not need to be so loyal. They should not sacrifice for non Chinese Machus.
In the end, their master local Manchu governor deserted and killed them. It was worse than killed by enemy 8 nations allience.
@@nanrauntown1396 the Manchu are not Han but are Chinese
@@eugeneng7064 Although the Manchu have now been fully assimilated, during the Qing dynasty there was still a clear separation between the Han and the Manchu. For example, Beijing was separated between the Han Chinese City and the Manchu City, as was every other large city in China at the time. Intermarriage was also rare, and many Manchu couldn't read Chinese.
Excellent! I look forward to the next...
Part 2 is linked in the description :)
Looking forward to this one. Just finished your 2 part series on Cixi. If this series is even just half as good as that one then it'll be well worth a watch.
In the future, putting dates on the screen when describing an event would be nice.
ABSOLUTELY FANTASTIC DOC❤ NEW SUB
Esherick's book ✓
more than 5 minutes ✓
55 days in Peking ✓
Civ V music ✓
yup, it's quality video time
Best crossover though
11:44 the song just make this part 100% better
The comparison with the ghost dancers is spot on, they had similar beliefs..........keep on.........wiley coyote
Interesting video History of China!
Cheers!
It's staggering how an Empire so massive and with such abundant resources can be so badly crippled by incompetence and stagnation in the leadership to the point that far smaller threats can tear it apart like a bloated carcass.
China Korea and Japans old ruling Leaders is toppled by Modernization the thing they didn't expect to happen when they choose to isolate or laid back.
"incompetence" is that what you call the forced Opium epidemic?
How long would USA or EU survive today if they were forced to import and sell cheap FENTANYL to everyone, including children, without ANY restrictions?
Western Empires used superior military technology to force China into allowing unrestricted import/sale of Opium. It devastated the country, not just in the millions who died but the collpase of industries and large scale failure of agriculture as addicts simply failed to work. It even crippled the military. Western soldiers wrote about the easy victories of the Opium Wars how after taking forts they would find litter of recently smoked opium pipes.
The worst economic impact is that Western Empires forced China to "BUY" the Opium with Silver which rapidly eat away the National Treasury, which led to a failure to fund infrastructure, government and military maintenance.
That's what happens when you segregate your people into a hierarchy and choose to modernize slowly (read: preserve your power). There were Qing officials who knew they needed to modernize, but were removed from power because it was inconvenient
@@sisyphusvasilias3943 I call incompetence what the Empress Dowager did, squandering the naval budget on her Summer Palace, deposing her nephew who favored modernization, and what the other late Qing Emperors before her and court officials did, how they executed one of their most talented that negotiated with the British Admiral on site, how they took bribes and schemed against each other for position rather than the betterment of the country, how they favored nepotism and sycophants over efficiency and honesty. Yes, the Opium accelerated the decline, but mass corruption of midlevel officials tasked with containing it and the backlash against modernization were also heavily to blame.
@@sisyphusvasilias3943 The empire had serious issues long before the Western powers ever showed up. It can be said that the corruption and incompetence gave the Western powers the capability to cause trouble in the first place.
A Muslim Shaolin Kung fu master by the name of Wáng Zi-Ping fought in this
This was the China that respected "human rights." The China that was enslaved by the global powers. Since the CCP has been in charge, "human rights" China has been a thing of the past. This is why the liberal-led House of Representatives has today condemned the CCP and "looks forward to the day when the Chinese Communist Party no longer exists." A labor force of 1 billion that is privatized overnight would be a wet dream for Western big businesses. Both the Boxers and the CCP were heroic in the way they dealt with imperialism. This is why the Boxers were hated then in the West, and why the CCP is hated today.
"The Boxer is a patriot. He loves his country better than he does the countries of other people. I wish him success."--Mark Twain
Do another community post announcing the release of this video and maybe some polls on what recent videos was our favorite and when you are having trouble coming up with video topics just do polls. Polls and community polls help pull viewers and potential new subscribers so make sure to find an excuse to do one as much as possible. Want to show everyone your pet? Do a community post! Want to ask what the fan favorite Qing Emperor is? Do a poll! I look forward to the day when you grow to 100k subscribers. =)
I appreciate the input. Thanks for your encouragement :)
Love your channel!
Thank you!
cant wait for part 2
Gripping stuff, can't wait until the next part.
Thanks for following :)
@@History_of_China The pleasure is all mine. :-)
I love your unbiased take on these events. Great work all around.
Thank you!
My dad and I watched the movie of 55 Days At Peking, a great and powerful movie. It was actually very much accurate and also Hollywood version.
55 days in Peking is a movie worth watching
I did not know the name "Boxer Rebellion" was so literal irt them being boxers. It just makes me think "One-Punch Rebellion" like Saitama or something.
That was the time when Pearl Buck's The Good Earth was written. And the 55 days in Peking
Hope you can do a series about Ming Emperors
I did not know this history thanks soooo much , I enjoyed learning it. I saw some movie clips , what is the movie called?
Will be viewing more of your materiel soon.. greeting from 🇬🇧
I'm glad you enjoyed it! Extracts are from the film 55 Days at Peking (1963), which, although historically inaccurate, is a very enjoyable piece of old school cinema.
Thanks for following :)
@@History_of_China why didnt you mention it if its not accurate I just wasted my time watching what I thought to be interesting history 😐
@@icequeen9417 Lol the movie 55 Days at Peking itself isn't 100% accurate as it displays some events that didn't happen. The pictures though are good material to illustrate some real events which I explain in my video
A well made video, informative and interesting, indiscernible from a television documentary. In fact, many documentary makers could learn by watching this.
Although this was a kind of uprise against imperialism,the boxers have killed many innocent Christians and missionaries.Well,a historical tragedy I would like to say.
Arguebally they killed far more innocent chinese and innocent westerners then they did foreign imperialists. Hell, they killed more _local_ imperialists then they did foreign imperialists.
@Some Weeb the second half wasnt Michael better, what with the Great Leap Forward and Maos madness. They followed that up with 50 years and counting of pragmatic bullying, coercion, stealing everything that isnt nailed down, turning central Asia, southeast asia, and parts of africa into a colonial empire, and flaunting international law on a scale that rivals that of the US and USSR/Russia without any signs of losing steam through the 21st century
Because Christian missionaries were used to spread western imperialism and are revisionists so they were seen as a threat.
@@jon82489
Can't deny that some missionaries came to China with the specific purpose you mentioned,but still a lot of them just came to this land to spread benevolence of the Lord.See,many missionaries helped found local schools and hospitals,they also atopted orphans.
@@ukka9306 also killed and raped many indigenous children for example Canada. I don't deny that there are historical accounts of religion helping people but it's the organizations that need to be dismantled like the catholic church
謝謝大廚
Great episode
Very interesting
Cool video. China has such a long and interesting history.
So weird to think that Chairman Mao was alive when this was going on
Interesting thought!
Yep though at 7 years old he was still just Highchairman Mao.
I remembered 7 year olds don’t really sit in high chairs. Pardon the bad joke.
Really?
@@sampuatisamuel9785 yep, he was a 7 yo boy back then
The writer Lao She (penname for Shu Qingchun) was a Beijinger and he was about a year old when this happened. His father was a humble soldier (Manchu Eight-Banners system) and his mom was widowed after this war.
They thought they were real life anime characters
Australian troops were there, too.
I've recently discovered your channel and I must say your videos are both amusing and informative. The video editing and your narration are easy to understand and pleasant to listen to. Could you do a video introduction on China's dynasties?
Thank you so much! I'm glad you enjoy my work. Do you mean a video briefly talking about each dynasty ?
@@History_of_China Yes
so good. well done. congratulations
Thank you so much!
Fascinating. Thank you.
Glad you enjoyed!
Given the proclivities of Christian colonial powers, one is challenged to disagree with the Boxers.
I would think any moral person would disagree with the butchery of 32 000 people. Just because they were Chinese Christian converts, they were killed. And in quite brutal ways.
@@jimreily7538 they were spreading imperialism
Thus us really helpful......
Thanks for this.
Glad you like it :)
you should do a biography on sun wen or chiang kai-shek
yea do one on Sun Yat-sen
Noted, I'll make one, although not sure when
Avengers: Endgame is the most ambitious crossover ev-
The alliance should have been named the "Thundercock Coalition"
Very good video, but what on Earth were they thinking? Did they really believe they could win a war against the greatest powers of the age? But an even crazier thing is the support they received from the Qing governement. By doing this Cixi digged her own grave, and buried the dynasty in it.
Next time you could make a video about the Chinese Rites controversy between the Qing dynasty and the Catholic Church, or about the Four Chinese Classical Novels.
A lot of Boxers were probably brought up with folkloric tales of heroic figures, and quite unaware of modern warfare, while the conservative officials were delusional about the actual military power of China. Cixi also wanted revenge for the Second Opium War events of 1860, which motivated her choices.
I've already talked about the Chinese Rites controversy in my Christianity in China series and Emperor Kangxi videos, so I probably won't make a video on it. I don't exclude making a video about Chinese classics though
@@History_of_China I would like especially a video on the "Dream of the Red Chamber". Some Chinese classical novels have been translated in Italian, but generally in abriged versions, and often they're not even translated from Chinese but from another European translation.
Pride. Their Pride killed them
Righteous and harmonious fists
Is the Xinhai Revolution next?
Next video will be Emperor Puyi. I'll obviously talk about it in it :)
First chance you get read the book 📖 Uncut jade it’s an excellent read it’s been around for many years, but an excellent read.
Hey man when you will do emperor puyi documentary
It's my next video!
Thank you for this video! Is 55 days in Peking a good movie to watch?
well it certainly does
It depends. Cinematographically, it is very enjoyable. The music is fantastic, and although the major Qing figures (Cixi, Ronglu, Zaiyi) are played by western actors, which looks a bit awkward, the acting itself is very good. Historically, though, it is not perfect. There are no huge mistakes, but some important events are missing and others invented. Overall, I do recommend it if you keep in mind that it's more for the cinema than the history ;)
@@History_of_China I would love to see a Netflix or Amazon production type of show from the boxer rebellion, not only of 55 days ay Peking; more of entire movement, since 1899 til 1901...
Do a Long March series
Great job!
Cheers!
The sweet feeling that passes through my body when I hear the words "murdered missionaries"
awesome, thanks so much
Thank you!
Well said, very informative, as the this listener, did not know of the murder of the Japanese official
I like the way the American soldiers uniforms in 1900 were strictly "no-frills." They look like farmers.
I don’t think so…
will you ever do song dynasty?
For sure. When is another question though, as I'll probably do the Yuan/Ming after the Qing series
Are you going to cover the earlier dynasties at some point?
Absolutely! Going back in time after my next project (Emperor Puyi)
As a Chinese person I gotta say, after reading actual historical sources, the movie “55 Days In Peking” is still worth watching, despite it primarily being on the westerners’ point of view.
What’s really hilarious is that the film gave Cixi an Exit Stage with WAY more self-awareness than the real crone ever had about her role in fucking China up even further.
Kids would be much more interested in this if they called it the Kung Fu rebellion.
Did I see Charlton Heston and David Niven in these scenes? Must have been stills from some movie.
Correct! I took clips from the 1963 film "55 Days at Peking" :)
@@History_of_China Yes, now I remember. I saw part of that movie long ago.
Very good vid. Keep up 😀
Thanks!