1899 – 1901
The Yihequan, labeled “Boxers” by foreigners, grew from rural religious and martial traditions amid drought, economic disruption, missionary disputes, Christian privilege, and accelerating foreign encroachment. Boxer groups attacked Chinese Christians, missionaries, and foreign property. The Qing court was divided: it first tried suppression, then supported the movement and declared war on foreign powers as legations and the Beitang were besieged. An eight-power expedition occupied Beijing and conducted widespread looting, rape, killing, and punitive expeditions. The 1901 Boxer Protocol imposed executions, foreign garrisons, and a huge indemnity, further weakening—but not mechanically determining the fall of—the Qing state.
Chapter-by-chapter narrative with maps, primary sources, and key events.
Explore battles on a live map with a timeline slider and territory overlays.
Deep-dive into every major engagement — commanders, casualties, significance.
Biographical flip cards with real portraits, facts, and full biography pages.
Trace each figure's full life journey — birth, education, battles, and death — on a live map.
Scroll-driven visualization of casualties — each dot a thousand lives.
Weapons, war machines, and the military innovations that defined how this conflict was fought.
Cause-and-effect chains tracing the war's long shadow on history.
War crimes, massacres, and the darkest chapters of this conflict — documented for history.
The Yihequan, labeled “Boxers” by foreigners, grew from rural religious and martial traditions amid drought, economic disruption, missionary disputes, Christian privilege, and accelerating foreign encroachment. Boxer groups attacked Chinese Christians, missionaries, and foreign property. The Qing court was divided: it first tried suppression, then supported the movement and declared war on foreign powers as legations and the Beitang were besieged. An eight-power expedition occupied Beijing and conducted widespread looting, rape, killing, and punitive expeditions. The 1901 Boxer Protocol imposed executions, foreign garrisons, and a huge indemnity, further weakening—but not mechanically determining the fall of—the Qing state.
The Boxer Rebellion was fought from 1899 to 1901.
The Boxer Rebellion was fought between Eight-Nation Alliance and Boxers & Qing Empire.
An estimated 125,000 people died in The Boxer Rebellion, including roughly 25,000 military and 100,000 civilian deaths. Figures are scholarly estimates and vary by source.
Major engagements included The Russian Invasion of Manchuria, The Boxer Uprising, The Sack of Peking and the Punitive Expeditions, and The Relief of Peking.