The BOXER REBELLION During the later half of the 1800's, Chinese resentment of progressive foreign intrusion and unfair treatment of Chinese led to the Boxer Rebellion. A short history from this page: http://www.awm.gov.au/atwar/boxer.htm Boxer Uprising: China 1900–1901 During the nineteenth century the major European powers compelled the reluctant Chinese Empire to start trading with them. There was little the Chinese government wanted from the West at the time but there was a strong demand for opium among the population. In the Opium Wars of the 1860s the British forced the Chinese to accept the import of opium in return for Chinese goods, and trading centres were established at major ports. The largest of these was Shanghai, where French, German, British, and American merchants demanded large tracts of land in which they asserted "extra-territorial" rights, meaning they were subject to the laws of their own country not China. In Shanghai a legendary sign in a park near one of the European compounds read: "No dogs or Chinamen". The Chinese government's failure to resist inroads on its sovereignty and withstand further demands from the Europeans, such as the right to build railways and other concessions, caused much resentment among large sections of the population. This eventually led to the Chinese revolution of 1911 which toppled the imperial dynasty... More can be read at the above site, and here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_Rebellion Cinema portrayals of the Boxer Rebellion varied, from both sides of the story. In 1975, the Shaw Brothers produced the following: http://www.kungfucinema.com/reviews/boxerrebellion_092705.htm "...Boxer Rebellion is one of Shaw Brothers' biggest and most expensive productions to date where the studio combined their patented kung fu action with a historical drama based on the real-life uprising of cultish Chinese patriots attempting to oust foreign occupiers at the turn of the 20th century. The truth is, the film is really just another heroic bloodshed tale..." While hollywood produced the epic 55 Days at Peking (1963), starring Charlton Heston, which highlighted heroic US Marines holding their own against the unwashed barbarian Chinese hordes: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0056800/ The Boxer Rebellion was the flashpoint of modern Chinese nationalism. It gathered political forces and moved public opinion toward a more unifed government that could deal effectively with foreign influence. It would eventually contribute to public sentiment that ultimately culminated in the communist revolution. Ralph
