This book is a compilation of 10 of the papers presented for a conference at the School of Oriental and African Studies in 2001, to commemorate the centenary of the 1900 Boxers Uprising. The articles are on specialised topics relating to the uprising. There is a useful Introduction by Robert Bickers a well-known author of Chinese 18 – 19th centuries history.
Readers looking for a popular history of the Boxers Uprising should look elsewhere. This book is for readers who want to know more about –
1} the fighting between the substantial number of Chinese Catholic converts and the Boxers in North China, in particular in Shanxi province.
2} a book published by an Indian soldier from India in 1902 that recounted his experience as a soldier in the British forces sent to fight the Boxers and his eyewitness account of the looting of Peking by the British forces after victory.
3} the looting of Peking by British forces after the victory, on a scale similar to the looting and destruction of the Summer Palace during the Opium war.
4} the, hitherto unknown, looting of Peking by Japanese forces after defeating the Boxers. This book is footnoted extensively and is clearly intended for the more discerning reader who wants to dive deep into The Boxers Uprising.