Discoursing Shalllowly The Reason For The Boxers Arising And Developing In Shandong

Between the years of 1895 and 1899 there happened increasingly more and violent conflicts between local populace and the Church in Shandong, the eastern part of China. Meanwhile, the Boxing organizations were developing vigorously across the region, and finally into an overwhelming Boxing movement against foreign national oppression. Why did such changes happen? And why did the movement break out so suddenly in Shandong? That's the very question to which the article tries to find the answer. To achieve this , to the author's mind ,entails an understanding of the interconnection and interdependence among the populace, the Qing government and foreign powers as well as an illumination of to what extent such foreign powers as Germany and France were responsible for the event. From this perspective an conclusion is drawn at the end of the article—In Shandong, the process of the Boxing movement coming into existence is in line with that of the foreign impact eclipsing the Qing dynasty's governance mere. Both are inherently interconnected.Germany and France's interference with and influence on Shandong's affairs were not so obvious before the German forces took Jiaozhou Bay with an excuse of the Juye case involved with local people and the Church. During this period, the Qing central government and the local government administered by Li Bingheng, Shandong Governor, resisted, to some limited degree, against the foreign interference, though the governments were not able to be totally free from the Catholic incursion and ease the popular enmity against the Church. So the local authority remained undamaged for the time, which maintained the stability of Shandong local society. However, after the German occupation of Jiaozhou Bay, things altered dramatically. With the expanding incursion and impact of Germany and France on the local affairs, the Catholic Church got more and more involved in the unremitting conflicts and lawsuits among the populace and laymen. Under the aegis of the Church, the laymen bullied their fellow villagers, which resulted in increasingly fierce conflicts. Since local authorities failed to protect the popular interests on the base of justice, Boxing organizations and movement served as the last force to protect property, life and maintain social justice. The Boxing movement against the Church came consequently. On the other hand, it is made clear that the three successive governors, Li Bingheng, Zhang Rumei and Yu Xian, with the view of resisting the expanding foreign powers and maintaining the interests of the Qing dynasty, showed something of sympathy, indulgence and even encouragement to the organizations and movement instead of taking forbidding and repressive measures. As the result, the Boxing movement loomed large at the end of the nineteenth century.