On October 1, 2000 AD, the Catholic Church held a canonization ceremony in St. Peter's Square in the Vatican, canonizing 120 martyrs in China from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republic of China, more than 80 of whom were clergy and believers who were martyred in the Boxer Rebellion. The day coincided with China's National Day, and the incident sparked criticism from state media.
In addition to the viewpoint and perspective of historical events, this incident also involves the manifestation of political stance. Regardless of one's attitude, however, the constant conflict between missionaries and the common people was a real social phenomenon in the late Qing Dynasty, which led to the rise of the Boxers and the outbreak of the Eight-Nation Alliance.
Conflicts between missionaries (both Christians and Catholics) and the common people are known as church incidents, and in the 60 years from the Opium War to the Eight-Nation Alliance, it is estimated that there were more than 400 religious incidents, and some are estimated to be as many as 1,000 incidents, in short, not an occasional incident. Why are missionaries constantly in conflict with the people?
The people did not understand the missionary's behavior, and rumors arose. For example, when missionaries visit the dying sick, some people believe that the purpose of the missionary is to remove the patient's heart, the missionary opens an orphanage, and some people believe that the purpose is to remove the eyes of the orphan, and the people do not think of the Christians' mixing of men and women and their refusal to bow down to their ancestors, etc., make the people easily incited to conflict with the missionaries.
The brutality of the missionaries brought conflict. Some of the missionaries, with religious zeal, went deep into the interior to argue with the people, which did not necessarily lead to violent conflicts. However, in the process of mission, some missionaries took advantage of their privileges to forcibly buy land, build churches, and shield the parishioners, standing on the side of the parishioners whether they were right or wrong.
Xenophobia breeds conflict. The invasion of foreign powers forced the Manchus to sign unequal treaties and even divide spheres of influence, and the society was full of xenophobia. In this environment, a large number of foreign goods have been dumped into China, and railways and cargo ships have replaced traditional coolies, which has dealt a major blow to the local economy and damaged people's livelihoods. Missionaries are foreigners that the people encounter on a daily basis, and that xenophobia is naturally vented on missionaries.
The government's attitude has intensified the conflict. Consular jurisdiction, local officials avoided interfering in conflicts between missionaries and the people, preferring to sit on the sidelines, or even recklessly see the consequences, often without dealing with them early. Some officials project their grievances on the faithful and treat the traitors with double punishment, creating a vicious circle with the missionaries favoring the faithful and indirectly encouraging conflict.
The attitude of the great powers intensified the conflict. The Manchus were eyed by the great powers, and the teaching plans were often used by the great powers to obtain more benefits by using diplomatic means to pressure local officials on the grounds of protecting their citizens, and even to threaten military action. The intervention of the great powers increased the hatred of the missionaries among the people.
Take, for example, the Tianjin lesson plan of 1870. Some people found that many children were buried in the backyard of the Catholic Church, so rumors spread that the orphans' internal organs were refining medicine. The incited people surrounded the church, argued with the missionaries, and then resorted to force. The French consul demanded that the Manchus seriously investigate and deal with the case, but the Manchu officials thought that the people's morale was acceptable.
The French consul opened fire on the people during the clashes, and the people fought back, killing not only the consul, but also about 20 foreigners and 30 Chinese believers, and burning down several churches. The warships of the great powers then sailed to Tianjin to warn them, and finally Zeng Guofan was in charge of negotiating, apologizing to the French for the reparations, and severely punishing local officials and public leaders. As a typical lesson plan, the Tianjin lesson plan contains the above elements. The incident was quelled, but xenophobia was not addressed.
The Boxer Rebellion arose in Shandong, first, after the First Sino-Japanese War, the great powers competed for interests in Shandong, and for the people of Shandong, this sudden impact intensified xenophobia, and second, it was at a time when the flooding of the Yellow River brought serious natural disasters and the rural economy was on the verge of collapse, and they vented their dissatisfaction with xenophobia. As a result, there were many bloody incidents in Shandong, and the Boxer Rebellion with the slogan of helping the Qing Dynasty and destroying the foreign countries was gradually formed.
The Boxers claimed that the gods possessed the body and were invulnerable. The activities of the Boxer Rebellion spread rapidly in Shandong, and with the tacit approval of the officials, they moved to Tianjin and Beijing, where they carried out an even more intense xenophobic campaign, not only killing missionaries and believers, but also sabotaging Western-related construction, such as demolishing railways and burning foreign goods.
Lesson plans are only a general term for the conflict between missionaries and the people, and it is not appropriate to characterize them by simple labels, as missionaries are the culprits in one lesson plan and sufferers in another. In the same principle, the Boxers launched their xenophobic campaign against missionaries, and it is not appropriate to praise and disparage them with simple labels, because standing up for the people is not the same as being a rebel, and venting xenophobic feelings is not the same as patriotism. Xenophobia intensified the teaching plan, and the teaching plan intensified xenophobia, and the Boxer Rebellion arose. The Boxers used the Manchu government, and the Manchu government used the Boxers, which eventually brought about the tragic end of the Eight-Nation Alliance.