Stars of the Orient: New Martyrs of China
Part 3: Red Fist vs. Mailed Fist
Young Liberators
The movement of the Yi-Ho-Tuan, or Boxers, -- as the Europeans called them because of the red ensign of the clenched fist, -- has an obscure origin[16]. Chinese history is rich in secret societies and rebellions; Boxers' hallmark was their unquenchable hate of the "foreign devils" and their native stooges which had to be expunged at any cost.
Boxer groups began to spring up in 1899. They set up temples with sacrifices to local idols and hypnotic rites not much different from those practiced by modern occultists and New Agers. Their extensive battle drilling was similar to what is currently taught as Oriental martial arts. Thanks partially to suggestive techniques, partially to cheap fraud, Boxers were certain of their invincibility to enemy's bullets -- at least for the time being.
Boxer detachments consisted predominantly (if not exclusively) of village youth: gentry never took part in them, but in general were sympathetic. Observers testify with horror about the young age of Boxer fighters; Empress Tzu Hsi, on the contrary, welcomed "broad participation of children in the liberation of the country from the aliens". It is very important that anti-Christianity from the beginning to the end was the backbone of Boxer ideology, religious in nature and appearance: their propaganda tried to convince the people that ancient gods turned away from them, dismayed with the iniquities of alien worship[17]. Along with the familiar image of an arrogant, aggressive and stupid foreigner, they exploited wild superstitions and absurd accusations of cannibalism, child abuse, and even "arson of water wells."[18]
Swift Success...
Whether the Boxers had a goal to liberate the country from the ruling dynasty is not clear: there were contradictory appeals to support the Manchu and to get rid of them. The government was not too consistent either: although Boxers had many sympathizers at the Imperial Court, hoping they stop the "slicing of the melon", up until Spring of 1900 the official policy was to protect the foreign missions and subdue the rising rebellion.
By June, however, the rebellion engulfed the countryside and spilled over into Beijing: Legation Quarter, filled with foreign refugees and their families, came under siege. A joint detachment, sent from Tiantsin to rescue them, was pushed back by Boxer fighters. The Empress heard this news as a call to action: she ordered her troops to support the Boxers, arrested and killed the highest officials suspected of having links with the aliens, and declared war on Britain, France, Germany, Russia, Italy, Austro-Hungary, Untied States, and Japan. Provincial authorities, which until that moment had been wavering and even tried to resist the Boxers, now took their side and in some places began the extermination of Christians.
Some say that the Boxers owe their swift success to the draught: allegedly, superstitious Chinese peasants, unable to start toiling their land and, facing sure famine, vented their outrage at the "foreign devils" whom they held responsible for the absence of rain. But this doesn't explain much: firstly, draught in China is not unheard of (and normally the government would have the situation under control by bringing in food supplies from other provinces), and, secondly, the draught of 1900 did not last long: by June the soil already had enough water, and many of the terrible atrocities of the Boxer Rebellion evolved under pouring rain[19].
The war spread northeast, where the construction of the East-Chinese Railroad by the Russians was under way. Forces of the Trans-Amur District came under assault from the Chinese troops and Boxer bands; city of Harbin was besieged and attacked. Casualties, both military and civilian, were very substantial.
"Tragic was the fate of the detachment of road builders which withdrew from Mukden under the command of lieutenant Valevsky and engineer Verhovsky: most of them were killed in battle. Verhovsky was taken prisoner and beheaded.
"...There is a small monument at the Piatnitskoe cemetery in Moscow. The caption says: Boris Alexeevich Verhovsky, 1873 - 1900. And another caption on the side: The head of Railroad Engineer B. A. Verhovsky, killed by Chinese Boxers in Lao-Yan, Manchuria, in July, 1900, was brought in Russia in 1901 and is resting under this stone."20
If this tombstone survived the Bolshevist years, it is probably the only monument of that war on the Russian soil.
...And Crushing Defeat
In the meantime, the allied powers dispatched troops to China, which, having broken minor resistance of the Chinese forces, reached Beijing by mid- August. The Imperial Court fled, hoping, evidently, to continue the fight, but soon accepted the conditions of surrender. The war was over; former members of the Boxer bands were subject to arrest, court-martial, and execution.
Like any other war, the defense of the Legation Quarter in Beijing and the multinational rescue expedition from Tiantsin have seen both gallantry and wickedness, self-sacrifice and brutality. The trouble is, when the Chinese were defeated, the latter completely overtook the former.
Much was written about the heroes of the Legation Quarter where a handful of sailors and marines from different countries for two long months stood firm against fierce attacks of numerous savages... It is uncommon, however, to mention with this regard, that the Chinese military command in Beijing restrained its forces from assaulting the Legation Quarter, while Boxer bands, armed mainly with sticks and knives, their formidable appearance notwithstanding, were poor match for Gatling guns and cannon[21].
"Compensation for the Damage"
Pillaging and atrocities of the occupation troops in China made an impression even on seasoned observers. The Germans (apparently inspired by their Kaiser) were particularly notorious:
"...They are still shooting around here, just as if a war were going on. They don't think anything at all of a Chinaman's life, and on the least excuse they shoot them down like so many dogs. As you have probably noticed in my dispatches I have NOT much use for the German soldiers anyhow. They are a big lot of swine, if human beings ever are swine."[22]
Western missionaries also showed their interest in the "compensation for the damage", motivated, as it were, by their version of the "Christian revelation":
"As you know, of course, by the papers, everybody went loot- mad at Tientsin and here, and the missionaries were as bad, if not worse than, anybody else. Here is a sample of what they did. Take the case of one missionary. As soon as the allies arrived, he boldly took possession of the house of one of the Princes who was wealthy and who had fled with the Court. Then he sent out and got some moneyed men and showed them the store of treasure he had and boldly asked for bids. He sold everything in the home except what he needed for his own use. His alleged excuse for doing it was that "his people" had been robbed and he had the right to compensate himself for their losses. In other words, two wrongs make a right. If a man steals from you, you steal from him.
"This case is not an isolated one. These men knew where the rich men lived in Peking, and the moment it was safe to do it they descended on their homes and took possession, protecting themselves by sticking up a flag of whatever nationality they happened to belong to. A case even worse than the one cited is that of a missionary who found six soldiers digging for loot that they learned had been buried. They were Americans, and, under the orders of our Government, our men could take nothing. The fact that these men were disobeying orders gave the missionary an advantage, and he frightened then away by telling them he would report them to their officers. They left. Half an hour or so afterwards they got back their courage and started back to the place. They got there just in time to find the missionary driving off with the treasure. He had commandeered coolies and put them to work digging up the stuff, silks and silver."[23]
The Glory of the Huns
But besides barbarities and looting, no matter how terrible they were, there was more to the conflict of cultures in the Chinese expedition. American general Wilson, a skilled and experienced soldier obviously unaffected by any "idealism", bears eloquent witness to this fact:
"Brigadier Richard Barrow, British Adjutant General, asked for my permission to destroy the beautiful porcelain pagoda which had stood on the brow of the hill overlooking the plains beyond for a thousand years, and was still as fresh in appearance as the day it was built. Amazed at the request which seemed to be made in the spirit of barbarism, I declared at once that I could not countenance the destruction of such a beautiful building while I remained in command of the joint forces. Desirous, however, of knowing what justification could be advanced in support of this strange request, I asked General Barrow why the British Minister wanted to destroy so notable a landmark. His reply was still more amazing, for he explained at once that if the Christians did not destroy this famous Chinese temple, the Chinese, who had destroyed many missionary churches, would conclude that their gods to whom the pagoda was dedicated were more powerful than the God of the Christians.
"A brief conversation followed, in which I stood by my disapproval of the proposition, but concluded with the remark that I should dissolve the Anglo-American command and withdraw our contingent to Peking at the early hour the next morning, after which the British Minister and the British command would, of course, be free to take such action as they might think proper. And there the matter rested that night, and the next morning till I took up my return march, but I regret to add that we had hardly got strung out in the plain below when the British contingent which had already undermined the foundation of the pagoda, exploded a charge of gunpowder under its base and toppled the world-famed structure over in irretrievable ruin."[24]
Rather than styling himself as someone like St. Clement who "labored to obliterate all places of the idol worship", General Barrow should have learned a lesson from Russian Orthodox villagers of the Volga region who, passing by a mosque, would make the sign of a Cross and explain to a puzzled foreigner that "Muslims have built this house for God, and respect is due to it".
Mark Twain in a pamphlet scornfully called "To the Person Sitting in the Darkness" quotes the Rev. Mr. Ament, of the American Board of Foreign Missions, who made a trip to China for the purpose of collecting indemnities for damages done by Boxers:
"I criticize the Americans. The soft hand of the Americans is not as good as the mailed fist of the Germans."[25]
Surely, it was not only the Kaiser who coveted the glory of the Huns.
The Sections of the New Martyrs of China:
- The Celestial Empire and her Northern Neighbor
- Traditional Way of Life
- Albazinians in Beijing
- The Ecclesiastical Mission
- Slicing of the Melon
- The Dawn of the "Millennium of Peace"
- Under the Attack of Free Trade
- Pistol Diplomacy
- The Underlying Crisis
- Red Fist vs. Mailed Fist
- Young Liberators
- Swift Success...
- ... And Crushing Defeat
- "Compensation for Damage"
- The Glory of the Huns
- "Preaching the Lamb of God, ye were also slain as lambs..."
- Orthodox Martyrs in Beijing
- "We came here to bring you the Good News..."
- One Hundred Years Later
- Dewey, Marx and Lenin
- "Multicultural Developments" at Home
- Memory lives
References
[17] Joseph Esherick. The Origins of the Boxer Uprising. Univ. of California Press, 1987, p 281
[18] Brandt, p. 178
[19] Ibid., p. 209
[20] G.V. Melihov. Manchuria Dalekaja i Blizkaja. Moskva, Nauka, 1991, p. 108-109, 122
[21] O'Connor, p. 343-344
[22] Wilbur J. Chamberlain. Ordered to China. F.A. Stokes, 1903, p. 163
[23] Ibid., p. 126
[24] J.H. Wilson. Under The Old Flag. D. Appleton, 1912, p. 530
[25] Mark Twain. To the Person Sitting in the Darkness. A Pen Warmed-up in Hell, Harper & Row, 1972, p. 61
