Happy Summer Solstice! “Boxers” rebel in China and the global powers learn a lesson. “A Lazy Day” poem to kick off your summer!
The date is June 21st, Friday, and today I’m coming to you from La Serena, Chile.
Today is the Summer Solstice in the Northern Hemisphere and the Winter Solstice in the Southern Hemisphere. The Earth is at a point of maximum tilt toward the sun, accounting for the longest day of year for the Northern hemisphere and shortest day for the Southern. Just part of another trip around the sun!
Although in regions closer to the equator, today is mid-summer, in the more seasonal climates it is the official kick-off of the summer season! If you haven’t yet, break out the grills and take off those pool covers.
On this day in 1900 China’s Empress Dowager Cixi (see-Chee) declared war on eight foreign nations in the conflict known as the Boxer Rebellion.
For decades, European nations, Russia, and America, the “Allies,” had been vying for ports and spheres of influence in China, as you may recall from high school history. By 1900, the Chinese had already suffered through and lost two Opium Wars resulting in unfair treaties and were facing a possible final dismemberment of their nation.
Adding to the tension, missionaries continued to spread through inland China. China had become a popular missionary destination as Christians were given special privileges as part of the treaties from the opium wars. Chinese temples had been taken down or retrofitted beyond recognition as Christian churches.
And it was the Christian missionaries in Shandong that seemed to provoke the most tension. The people of Shandong had their own strong religious traditions which were tied to the practice of martial arts. It’s likely that Christian missionaries in Shandong coined the name “Boxers” for the pugnacious and athlete young men in the province.
And those young men, many of them teenagers, had a problem. In addition to seeing their country be bullied and taken over by foreigners, the economy was so poor that most of them were unemployed. So they had all this fight and rebellion in them, and plenty of time to take it out on whomever.
At first, Chinese officials in the province took advantage of the restless “Boxers,” hiring a group of them to do some policing. They were quickly emboldened by the recognition and began attacking and burning churches. The Chinese official that had hired them executed some of the leaders as a punishment, but the “Big Swords” group message began to spread, and clandestine societies of like-minded young men began to pop up throughout China.
By the time June 21st rolled around, there was already fighting happening. The official announcement from Empress Dowager Cixi just served to rile up the foreign powers, who, though they struggled in the China climate, managed to defeat the Boxers in just two months.
Sadly, the European winners were vindictive and continued to conduct atrocities for over a year, until the Chinese imperial court signed a peace agreement. Even though the Allied powers may have won on paper, receiving reparation and seeing the execution of an oppositional Chinese leader, the Boxer Rebellion taught them a valuable lesson. Ruling a second nation had diminishing returns and they had their morals to consider.
Some citizens of the Allies had spoken up in favor of the Boxers, including well-respected icons like Leo Tolstoy and Mark Twain. Twain noted, “The Boxer is a patriot. He loves his country better than he does the countries of other people. I wish him success.”
A Lazy Day
Paul Laurence Dunbar