ploughed over by the feared and hated locomotive, and the most profitable enterprises to be placed in the hands of the despised foreigners.1

But the most potent cause of the Boxer movement was neither the missions nor commerce, but the political influences which were operating for the dismemberment and destruction of the empire. These influences were especially manifest during 1897 and 1898. The cession of Formosa to Japan in 1895 was not so offensive, as it was the result of a great war and some compensation to the victor in territory seemed natural. But the effect of the next aggression was quite different. Following the murder of two German Catholic priests by a mob in Shantung in November, 1897, the German government sent a strong naval force to the spacious harbor of Kiaochau, ejected the Chinese forces from the fortifications, and occupied the place with marines. This was soon followed by the demand of the German minister in Peking for an apology for the murder of the priests, a large indemnity, and a lease of the harbor and an adjoining strip of territory, with the privilege of building railroads and exploiting mines in the province of Shantung. The remonstrances of the Tsung-li Yamen against the summary method of procedure and the exorbitant demands were of no avail. The German seizure of Kiaochau was followed a month later by the occupation of Port Arthur by a Russian

1 The Problem in China, by A. R. Colquhoun, London, 1900; 1 Smith's China, etc. chap. vii.; Douglass's China, 447; The Story of the Chinese Crisis, by A. Krausse, London, 1900, p. 135; China and the Powers, by A. Ireland, Boston, 1902; Dr. Brown's Report, 9-13; Gen. Wilson's China, 394; Speer's Missionary, etc. 157, 161.

fleet, and in March, 1898, Russia secured a lease of that strong fortress and harbor, as well as the neighboring port of Talienwan, in the peninsula of Liaotung, with the privilege of connecting them by railroad, through Manchuria, with the Siberian trunk line. Only three years before, Russia, in conjunction with its ally France, and with Germany, had compelled Japan to give up the Liaotung peninsula, on the ground that a nation holding it might at any time threaten Peking. The action of Russia led Great Britain to demand and secure the lease of the fortress of Wei-hai-wei and a strip of adjoining territory on the opposite promontory. France, which had some years before taken the large suzerain territory of Annam and Tonquin, also secured in 1898 an enlargement of its possessions in that region at the expense of China.

These proceedings were followed by agreements or treaties between Russia and Great Britain, and between Germany and Great Britain, as to what are termed

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spheres of influence" in China, without consulting the government of that country or taking its wishes or interests into account. At the demand of the same powers, several new ports were opened to foreign trade, with the usual concomitants of foreign territorial concessions and exterritorial jurisdiction; until now the extensive Chinese Empire is reduced to the anomalous condition of scarcely possessing a single harbor in all its long line of seacoast where it can concentrate its navy and establish a base of warlike operations, without the consent of the treaty powers. Not the least of the irritants which induced the Boxer movement was

the foreign authority which was exercised in the treaty ports, and the abuse and contempt with which the natives were there treated.1

The rulers of China understood full well the causes which had nerved their people to rise in their wrath and undertake the impossible task of the expulsion of the foreigners. In 1900, after the Boxer movement had been put down, Li Hung Chang, in giving the cause of the outbreak, stated that its chief impetus was to be found in the high-handed course of Germany, and it "was due to the deep-seated hatred of the Chinese people towards foreigners. China had been oppressed, trampled upon, coerced, cajoled, her territory taken, and her usages flouted." The empress dowager, in her famous proclamation issued when the Boxers were reaching their ascendancy, and just before the violent outburst of 1900, exclaimed: "The various powers cast upon us looks of tiger-like voracity, hustling each other in their endeavors to be the first to seize upon our inmost territory. They think that China, having neither money nor troops, would never venture to go to war with them. They fail to understand, however, that there are some things which this empire can never consent to, and that, if hard pressed, we have no alternative but to rely upon the justice of our cause, the knowledge of which in our breasts strengthens our

1 U. S. For. Rel. 1898, pp. 182-191; 1900, p. 85; 1 Smith's China, etc. chap. viii.; The Break-Up of China, by Lord Charles Beresford, New York, 1899, chap. xxx.; Krausse's Chinese Crisis, 143, 147; China in Transformation, by A. R. Colquhoun, London, 1898, chap. xiv. ; Essays on the Chinese Question, by Sir R. Hart, London, 1901, chap. v. ; World Politics, by P. S. Reinsch, New York, 1900, pts. iii. and v.

resolve and steels us to present a united front against

Under the state of affairs thus briefly indicated, the Boxers soon overran Shantung, spread through the adjoining provinces, and were threatening the imperial capital. In 1898 the Yellow River overflowed its banks, causing widespread misery, and in 1899 famine prevailed in the near-by province of Kiangsu, and bands of robbers and lawless men added to the general disorder. The political confusion at Peking likewise contributed to the prevailing disorganization of the country. While the mass of the people, including the ruling classes, remained fixed in their conservative views, a considerable body of intelligent men had become convinced that China must follow the example of Japan, and align itself with the Western nations in its government and social institutions. The young emperor, who had studied English and read numerous translations of Western books, including the Bible, had gathered about him a number of liberal men, who realized the deplorable condition of the empire, and believed it could be overcome only by initiating reforms in the government. The emperor at once undertook the task, and over thirty edicts were issued in quick succession, providing for most radical reforms in the administrative, financial, and educational departments.

Li Hung Chang, a devoted adherent of the empress dowager, not being in accord with these measures, was relieved from his post in the Tsung-li Yamen. His rival, Chang Chih Tung, who from a bitter foreign hater had become a strong advocate of liberal ideas,

had written a book urging radical reforms, and by an edict of the emperor this book was printed and scattered broadcast over the land. The emperor and his advisers were, however, moving too fast. The conservative members of the government appealed to the empress dowager, who had a few years before nominally withdrawn from participation in public affairs, and she resolutely seized again the reins of government, practically dethroned the emperor, and proceeded to behead, banish, or imprison his supporters, his chief adviser, Kang Yu Wei, however, having escaped and fled the country.1

The reform movement of the emperor, which, if carried out, might have restrained foreign aggression, thus came to an end, and the government continued to endure the demands of the foreigners, and its conduct furnished additional incentive for the growth of the Boxers. Their attitude became so threatening that in November, 1898, the American and other ministers asked for guards to protect the legations. They were sent from the naval vessels at Tientsin, and remained through the winter, when they were withdrawn. The year 1899 was not marked by any serious outbreaks, though the Boxers continued to extend their organization and influence. But early in 1900 their movement assumed a more aggressive character. In May the foreign ministers addressed the Tsung-li Yamen asking

1 Martin's Siege, chaps. ii. and iii.; China from Within, by S. P. Smith, London, 1901, chaps. ii. and iii.; 1 Smith's China, etc. chap. ix. ; Thompson's China, 215; China's Only Hope, by Chang Chih-Tung, New York, 1900; U. S. For. Rel. 1898, pp. 219–221.