The Fists of Righteous Harmony : A History of the Boxer Uprising in China in the Year 1900

A British historian recounts the armed, violent Chinese insurrection near the end of the Qing dynasty at the dawn of the 20th century. The Boxers were a fanatical secret organization who were incited by anti-foreign elements in the Chinese Government to commit wide-scale deportations against foreign missionaries and their Chinese converts. The Boxers had the tacit support of the Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi who maintained all the while that they were beyond her control. The Boxer Rebellion came to a head with the 55-day siege of the Peking Legations and ended in total humiliation for the Chinese. This book tells the story of the Boxer Rebellion in China in 1900. The Boxers were a fanatical secret organization who were incited by anti-foreign elements in the Chinese Government to commit wide-scale deportations against foreign missionaries and their Chinese converts. The Boxers had the tacit support of the Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi who maintained all the while that they were beyond her control. The Boxer Rebellion came to a head with the 55-day siege of the Peking Legations and ended in total humiliation for the Chinese. Winston Churchill's obsession with the Dardanelles had fatal consequences for many thousands of servicemen. Moreover it almost destroyed the career of the most influential British figure of this Century. Penn's latest work examines in depth an extraordinary and ill-matched politico/military relationship which was to have the most far-reaching results.