Cultural differences that led to conflict:
The Europeans think that it's alright for the Chinese to spread their religion in a foreign country without concern for the already existing culture and religions there. The nationalism in the Han people's hearts is strong since they had been under the occupation of foreigners for over two centuries. After being ruled over by both the Mongols and the Manchu minority, the Chinese people are desperate for a new dynasty that is governed by the Chinese people themselves. When the Europeans came, the Chinese thought that they would overthrow the Manchus and take over China themselves. The war was mainly between the conservative ideas of Confucianism and the evangelical ideas of Christianity.
Conflicts:
The major conflict in the Boxer rebellion is the Siege of Peking. The Qing troops were planning to take over the legations building in the capital, which housed around 900 foreigners. The Chinese troops had been besieging the city for 2 months already, and all hope seemed to be lost for the trapped missionaries and soldiers in the legation quarters. The Eight-Nation Alliance troops managed to arrive just in time to crush the Chinese opposition and blow up the city gates. The Russians, Americans, Japanese, and British were literally racing against each other to gain the glory of saving the survivors in the legation quarters. Hours before the western troops took over the city, the Empress Dowager Cixi and the Chinese Muslim general Ma Fuxiang escaped the city dressed up as peasants to avoid the humiliation. When the foreign troops took over, they occupied the city and split it into different sections administered by the separate national armies. Some of history's worst looting happened after this siege, and countless Chinese women were raped and innocent civilians were killed just for the enjoyment of the foreigners. After the foreigners occupied Peking, the American government ordered the armies to find Boxer suspects who were hiding in the rural areas and executed all of them, resulting with the cruel deaths of innocent farmers and laborers in the countryside.
How the Chinese were viewed:The author of these letters was surprisingly not hostile towards the Chinese Boxers, he only mentioned how the Chinese usually outnumber them in their battles. However, because the Chinese people had been thought of and treated as inferiors to the Europeans long before even the Boxer Rebellion, they were pushed to rebellion and massacred Chinese Christians and foreigners.
How the Westerners were viewed:
Ever since the Europeans first came to China for trade, the Chinese had been paranoid about opening up to the outside world. The Qing government and the Boxers despised the foreigners so much that the Qing even supported the rebels to kill all of the westerners and practitioners of their religion. During the Siege of Peking, the Qing sent almost all of their available troops to help penetrate the legation’s walls to kill all the Christian men and women inside.
The Europeans think that it's alright for the Chinese to spread their religion in a foreign country without concern for the already existing culture and religions there. The nationalism in the Han people's hearts is strong since they had been under the occupation of foreigners for over two centuries. After being ruled over by both the Mongols and the Manchu minority, the Chinese people are desperate for a new dynasty that is governed by the Chinese people themselves. When the Europeans came, the Chinese thought that they would overthrow the Manchus and take over China themselves. The war was mainly between the conservative ideas of Confucianism and the evangelical ideas of Christianity.
Conflicts:
The major conflict in the Boxer rebellion is the Siege of Peking. The Qing troops were planning to take over the legations building in the capital, which housed around 900 foreigners. The Chinese troops had been besieging the city for 2 months already, and all hope seemed to be lost for the trapped missionaries and soldiers in the legation quarters. The Eight-Nation Alliance troops managed to arrive just in time to crush the Chinese opposition and blow up the city gates. The Russians, Americans, Japanese, and British were literally racing against each other to gain the glory of saving the survivors in the legation quarters. Hours before the western troops took over the city, the Empress Dowager Cixi and the Chinese Muslim general Ma Fuxiang escaped the city dressed up as peasants to avoid the humiliation. When the foreign troops took over, they occupied the city and split it into different sections administered by the separate national armies. Some of history's worst looting happened after this siege, and countless Chinese women were raped and innocent civilians were killed just for the enjoyment of the foreigners. After the foreigners occupied Peking, the American government ordered the armies to find Boxer suspects who were hiding in the rural areas and executed all of them, resulting with the cruel deaths of innocent farmers and laborers in the countryside.
How the Chinese were viewed:The author of these letters was surprisingly not hostile towards the Chinese Boxers, he only mentioned how the Chinese usually outnumber them in their battles. However, because the Chinese people had been thought of and treated as inferiors to the Europeans long before even the Boxer Rebellion, they were pushed to rebellion and massacred Chinese Christians and foreigners.
How the Westerners were viewed:
Ever since the Europeans first came to China for trade, the Chinese had been paranoid about opening up to the outside world. The Qing government and the Boxers despised the foreigners so much that the Qing even supported the rebels to kill all of the westerners and practitioners of their religion. During the Siege of Peking, the Qing sent almost all of their available troops to help penetrate the legation’s walls to kill all the Christian men and women inside.