China and the allies, vol. 1 (of 2)

This vivid historical account opens amid the rising Boxer movement in China at the turn of the twentieth century. It examines the origins of the secret societies, their rituals, weapons, proclamations, and fervent hostility toward foreign influence, while also exploring the resentment created by missionary activity, European dealings, and the country’s political upheaval.

As reports of violence spread through Shantung, Shansi, and the northern provinces, diplomats struggle to interpret official assurances and persuade the Imperial government to act. Murdered missionaries, threatened communities, destroyed railway lines, and the gathering of international naval forces reveal a crisis moving rapidly toward Pekin and Tientsin. Drawing on contemporary correspondence, eyewitness observation, maps, and illustrations, the narrative follows the mounting alarm among foreign representatives and the peril facing engineers, missionaries, and civilians caught between rebellion and imperial power.