HIS102Y1 Study Guide - Big Swords Society, Boxer Rebellion, Yuan Shikai
Document Summary
The boxers were, or at least had begun as, a chinese secret society . the. Society seems to have had roots going back as far as the late eighteenth century. Originally, it was a society opposed to the manchu dynasty and in favour of a restoration of the mings. It was banned in the early nineteenth century but continued to function. The uprising was possible because the boxers were able to gain support from the court and popular support (at least in northern china). After the failure of the 1898 reform movement, power at court was in the hands of the empress dowager and her reactionary manchu supporters, such as zai yi. Manchu takeover government had been taken over by manchu nobles and courtiers who were obscurantist, superstitious, parasitic and vengeful . this group shared a resentment at the influence of foreigners in china and a determination to make no more concessions.