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Once Qing China had declared war on the foreign powers, how did its government officials respond to the call to arms? What was Empress Dowager Cixi’s stance on the war? |
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See answer below. |
The Cixi-led faction that held sway over the Qing government aided the Boxers in their xenophobic mission and declared war on the foreign powers. However, those local officials who were more insightful and more sensible refused to support these decisions. Among them were Liu Kunyi (劉坤一), the Viceroy of Liang-Jiang (兩江總督); Zhang Zidong (張之洞), the Viceroy of Huguang (湖廣總督); Li Hongzhang (李鴻章), the Viceroy of Liang-Guang (兩廣總督), and Yuan Shikai (袁世凱), the Governor of Shandong (山東巡撫). Calling the Imperial Decree of Declaration of War Against Foreign Powers a “false decree”, they refused to obey it; instead, they reached an agreement with the countries of the Eight-Nation Alliance. It was agreed that if their provinces were not invaded, they would safeguard all foreign interests and the lives and properties of any foreigners within those regions. The initiative was later referred to as the “Mutual Protection of Southeast China (東南互保)”. It spared China’s south-eastern provinces from the ravages of the Boxer Rebellion and the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance.
Nie Shicheng fought in the First Sino-Japanese War (甲午戰爭) and won a battle against the Japanese military in Liaodong (遼東). He was one of the few infantry generals that distinguished themselves in the war. As commander of the Qing Army in Zhili during the Boxer Rebellion and the invasion of the Eight-Nation Alliance, Nie was adamant that the Boxers were bandits and a scourge to the country that must be quelled. After clashing with them on multiple occasions, he was reprimanded by the Qing government. As the Eight-Nation Alliance approached Tianjin, Nie was dispatched to engage the enemy. On the way, the Boxers kept ambushing and killing his men. Unable to fight back due to the Qing government’s protection of the Boxers, Nie had to endure the indignities, and found his army caught between two foes as his front line engaged the alliance while his back line was raided by the Boxers. On 9 July 1900, while waging a fierce battle against the Japanese army, Nie died after being shot seven times. The Boxers attempted to humiliate his body but failed because the foreign troops approached.
While on the run, Cixi ordered officials nationwide to exterminate the Boxers. On 7 September, the Qing government issued a royal decree that proclaimed, “The Boxers are responsible for instigating the disaster. We must spare no effort in eradicating the root cause of the issue.”
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Once Qing China had declared war on the foreign powers, how did its government officials respond to the call to arms? What was Empress Dowager Cixi’s stance on the war? |
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While some Qing officials, like Nie Shicheng, fought ferociously once the war was declared, there were also those who ignored the call to arms and prioritised their own interests instead. Sheng Xuanhuai (盛宣懷), a celebrated entrepreneur, acting on behalf of Liu Kunyi, the Viceroy of Liang-Jiang, and Zhang Zhidong, the Viceroy of Huguang, reached an agreement called the Mutual Defense Pact of the Southeastern Provinces (《東南互保章程》) with the foreign consuls in Shanghai (上海). The agreement, which called for the “mutual protection of southeast China”, was supported by Li Hongzhang, the Viceroy of Liang-Guang; and Yuan Shikai, the Governor of Shandong. They claimed that the imperial declaration of war was a “false decree” issued under duress by the Boxers, and represented the will of the rebels instead of imperial’s. Thus, they ignored the call to arms. In fact, Cixi also regretted her decision soon after the declaration of war. When Beijing fell, she immediately escaped westward with Emperor Guangxu. In her explanation to the foreign powers, she made the claim that “China, even when overconfident, knew better than to antagonise every country at the same time”, and shifted the blame for starting the war completely to the Boxers. Even while she was on the run, she expressed her willingness to “figure out ways to punish them when the opportunity arises”. Later, she grovelled for peace and promised to “allocate resources within China’s available means to please the foreign countries”. |
