20 rare pictures of Boxer prisoners during late Qing Dynasty

Photographs of a Captured Rebellion

Pictures of the Boxer Rebellion: in the late Qing Dynasty (清朝) (1899-1901), China was plagued by a xenophobic conflict that bloodied the country for nearly two years.

Part of our China History Archive
Related articles: Facts, History & Combatants of the Boxer Rebellion

The Boxer Uprising (义和团运动) was initiated by a group known as the Righteous Harmony Society (义和团), a proto-nationalist movement in China. During this period, the Qing government’s stance towards the Boxer rebels was at best ambivalent; it alternated between ignoring their activities and, paradoxically, encouraging them. Yet, when it came to suppressing the uprising, the Qing Dynasty sought the assistance of Western forces.

The movement, also referred to as the Yiheyuan movement or the Righteous and Harmonious Fists, originated from a secret society. Its membership largely comprised individuals who had been disenfranchised due to natural disasters or the impacts of imperialism. The confluence of international pressures and domestic grievances provided a fertile ground for the movement to gain momentum. It quickly escalated, spreading across the country with a level of intensity that had not been seen before.

The Suppression

The rebellion was put down by the Eight-Nation Alliance (八国联军), a multinational military force of roughly 51,755 troops from Britain, the United States, Japan, Russia, France, Germany, Italy, and Austria-Hungary, active from June 1900 to September 1901. The conflict formally ended on 7 September 1901 with the signing of the Boxer Protocol.

The Photographs

Most surviving photographs of Boxer prisoners were taken by soldiers and photographers attached to the Eight-Nation Alliance forces during the suppression campaign, including images of men captured and brought in by the 6th U.S. Cavalry at Tientsin. Public executions of captured Boxers and of Chinese officials suspected of sympathizing with them were also documented, often with foreign officers and soldiers looking on, and some of these images later circulated in Western illustrated publications of the time.