The Origins of the Boxer Uprising

A detailed Summary of The Origins of the Boxer Uprising


The Origins of the Boxer Uprising was published in 1987 by University of California Press. Since the 1960s, the Qing archives in both Beijing and Taiwan have been opened to scholars. Additional sources such as Jiao-wu jiao-an dang (Archives on Missionary Cases) and documents from Shandong have been made public. The author, Joseph W. Esherick, was intent on using the new resources available to disprove previous notions about the Boxer Uprising.

Esherick stated in the preface of the book that he intended on disproving the ideas of Victor Purcell. Purcell's The Boxer Uprising: A Background Study, published in 1963, was the "last serious treatment" on the subject of the origins of the Boxers until Esherick's time. The major problem in Purcell's book was that Purcell believed there to be an "alleged Boxer shift from an anti-dynastic to a pro-dynastic stance." (pg xvi) Esherick sought to prove that from the very beginning the Boxers were a loyalist movement, and there never was an anti-dynastic phase.

The author's sources came from both parts of the world, places such as Shandong University, the Fir


While the primary focus of the book is to explain the events and social mentality of the period 1898-1899, the eve of the uprising, there is an undercurrent of emotions from the author. From reading the book, there is a sense of dislike of the missionaries in China and the Chinese who converted solely because of the protection that the church would provide. Also, it seems like the main purpose of the book is to disprove the idea put forth by Purcell's book.

st Historical Archives in Beijing, the Palace Museum in Taiwan, the East Asian Library of the Hoover Institution, the Stanford University Library, the University of California Library, Harvard University Library and others. Esherick also included oral history told by the people of Shandong and other focal points of Boxer activities. A key factor for some of the sources is that they weren't available to the scholars until that time. Esherick restate that fact repeatedly throughout the book.

In his book, Esherick's descriptions of the missionaries in China were all but flattering. He gave examples of the missionaries' disruptive activities and how they interfered with normal

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Approximate Word count = 772
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: History

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