At the beginning of the last century, China's wind and rain were shaky, the mountains and rivers were broken, and the people were not happy. War takes place again and again in this land, and it is always the people who are most seriously hurt each time. Today, let us review an important war in China's modern history, the Eight-Power Alliance's invasion of China. Let's take a time machine back to 1900 and look at China at that time.
The Eight-Power Alliance's Invasion of China took place between May 28, 1900 and September 7, 1901, and lasted more than 21 months. The Eight-Power Alliance captured the city of Beijing, burned and looted in the city, and did all kinds of evil. The war ended with the surrender of the Qing government, which signed the Treaty of Xinugu with the Eight-Power Alliance, an event that marked China's official transformation into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society.
As early as 1894, when the Qing government was defeated in the Sino-Japanese Sino-Japanese War, the imperialist countries began to harbor evil aggressive intentions towards the fertile land of China. But they needed an opportunity, an opportunity to take it for granted that the Boxers appeared on the land of China.
The Boxer Rebellion originated in Shandong, originally called Boxer Boxer, is a folk martial arts organization. The Boxers were used by the Then Shandong government to use force to force and threaten Shandong's Chinese who believed in foreign religions to break away from the church, and were therefore hated by foreign forces in Shandong. The Boxers were driven out of Shandong under threat from foreign forces and went into exile all the way north to the city of Beijing.
At that time, the Qing government was at the time of the failure of the restoration faction led by Guangxu, the Guangxu Emperor himself was imprisoned, and Kang Youwei, Liang Qichao and others fled, and the conservative forces in the government were in the upper hand. The representatives of the conservative forces deceived Empress Dowager Cixi, saying that the Boxers were invincible and that they were emissaries from heaven who had come to eliminate foreigners. Empress Dowager Cixi, who had always hated the foreigners and was ignorant, listened to them and supported the Boxer Rebellion in "destroying the foreigners and helping the Qing Dynasty."
The Boxers gained the support of the imperial court and became more powerful. In the Area around Tianjin, Beijing, the railways and power lines built by foreigners were destroyed, and the churches were attacked. The Boxers were understandably sympathetic to their simple patriotic fervor and single-mindedly defending the Qing government, but their practices were doomed not to succeed if they did not conform to the trend of the times. Foreign envoys in China repeatedly complained to the Qing government about the boxer rebellion, but they never received a response.
As the Boxers grew more powerful and more members, more and more sabotage activities were carried out. Britain, the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Japan, and Austria-Hungary united and sent troops into the city of Beijing in the name of protecting the embassy. The feeble Qing government, which had no say in the international arena, was forced to agree to their decision.
On May 28, war broke out. In June, the Boxers fought bravely against the enemy, regarding death as if they were returning home, and although their numbers were far less than those of the Allied forces, they also won several battles. Empress Dowager Cixi also held a meeting at this time and proposed to disband the Boxers. However, the conservative faction in the government forged official documents and deceived Empress Dowager Cixi that the real purpose of the Eight-Nation Alliance was to restore the rule of the Guangxu Emperor, which made Empress Dowager Cixi furious and ordered that the conservative faction be allowed to lead the Boxer Rebellion.
It was also during this time that the German minister to China, Klinder, on behalf of various countries, went to the Qing government's prime minister Yamen to request protection of the embassy area, but was killed by Qing officers on the way. This incident became the fuse of the Eight-Power Alliance's war of aggression against China, and after this incident, the war really broke out. The Eight-Power Alliance began to do nothing wrong on Chinese soil, snatching property everywhere and killing people indiscriminately.
The Eight-Nation Alliance used poison gas cannons and other devices along the way, killing countless people, and many generals and soldiers of the Qing government, members of the Boxer Rebellion, stubbornly resisted and bravely killed the enemy and died. By August, they had reached the city of Beijing. The defending generals fled without a fight, leading the coalition forces to easily enter Beijing. On August 14, Beijing fell. Empress Dowager Cixi and the Guangxu Emperor fled, and on the way to escape, Empress Dowager Cixi assigned Li Hongzhang to handle the peace talks.
The Eight-Power Coalition entered the city of Beijing, looted property and killed people at will. The foreign clergy in Beijing saw the opportunity to lead the way for the coalition soldiers, and took the initiative to encourage the soldiers to rob and loot a large amount of property to the church. The pinnacle of the coalition forces' misdeeds was the burning of the Yuanmingyuan incident, which everyone knew. Countless treasures in China have been destroyed, countless works of art have been shipped abroad, and the Yuanmingyuan, which was once a brilliant stroke in the forest of world art, has withered away.
Group photo of the generals of the Eight-Power Alliance
On September 7, 1901, the Treaty of Xinugu was officially signed. China has become a complete puppet, ready to be slaughtered.
Now, 122 years after the Eight-Power Alliance invaded China, what happened to the eight countries that invaded China? In fact, two of these countries no longer exist, let's take a look.
One. United States
Everyone knows the American Dream, and the United States is still the world's number one power. In the frequent world wars of the last century, the United States took advantage of the situation and firmly occupied the throne of the first major power. As the victorious power in World War II, the United States dominated the international situation for a long time and formed a bipolar confrontation with the Soviet Union. Although the United States today has experienced a bad president and an epidemic that is still difficult to control, it is undoubtedly still full of energy and is an important opponent that we should not underestimate.
Two. United Kingdom
Pass the River Thames and come to the British Isles. Today, more than a hundred years later, The United Kingdom still maintains a constitutional monarchy and the Queen is still reigning. As an old capitalist country, Britain still cannot be ignored. After Brexit, what will the future of the UK go? We are all on the sidelines.
Three. France
France inflicted heavy losses in World War II, but did not falter, and developed rapidly after the end of the war. Today's France is synonymous with romance, movies, and fashion, but we must not forget that the burning of the Old Summer Palace was done by the British and French forces.
Four. Germany
Germany, shrouded in militarism in the last century, launched the largest World War II in human history under Hitler's rule, displacing and losing countless lives around the world. After the nazi party was eliminated, Germany was divided into East and West Germany for a period of time, and then re-merged, which can be said to be a complicated experience.
Five. Italy
Italy is now synonymous with warm romance. In China, the Eight-Power Alliance's war of aggression against China, Italy only sent 85 people, in fact, it was only a number, but even if the number was still to participate in the war, this practice can be said to be very Italian.
six. Japan
Of the eight countries, Japan is the one that everyone hates the most. Japan launched the War of Aggression against China more than thirty years after the Eight-Power Alliance's war of aggression against China, which was known to the world as the East Asian battlefield of World War II. Japan's post-war non-apology has prevented them from being forgiven by Chinese.
Seven. Austria-Hungary
Now Hungary
The Austro-Hungarian Empire collapsed after World War I and has disappeared from the world stage. In its place were Austria and Hungary.
Eight. Russia
Group photo of Russian soldiers
The Tsarist Empire that participated in the Eight-Power Alliance's war of aggression against China has also long been overthrown, and today's Russia and the Tsarist Empire are very different, and russia and China have very good relations.
In any case, the past is over. We should not have hatred in our hearts, but we must never forget the pain of the past, and we must learn from history, forge ahead, and build a strong China together.