Boxer Rebellion

The Boxer Uprising ({{zh-tsp|t=義和團起義|s=义和团起义|p=Yìhétuán Qǐyì}}; Righteous Harmony Society Uprising) was an uprising against Western commercial and political influence in China during the final years of the 19th century. By August 1900 over 230 foreigners, thousands of Chinese Christians, an unknown number of rebels, their sympathisers and other Chinese had been killed in the revolt and its suppression.

In fiction

The events were made into the 1963 film 55 Days at Peking. The film, which was shot in Spain, needed thousands of Chinese extras, and the company sent scouts throughout Spain to hire as many as they could find. The result was that many Chinese restaurants in Spain closed for the duration of the filming because the restaurant staff - often the restaurant's owners - were hired away by the film company. The company hired so many that for several months there was scarcely a Chinese restaurant to be found open in the entire country.

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In 1975, Hong Kong's Shaw Brothers studio made a movie titled Pa kuo lien chun of the events, giving director Chang Cheh one of the highest budgets up to that time to tell a sweeping story of disillusionment and revenge. http://www.hkflix.com/xq/asp/filmID.533288/qx/details.htm It depicts followers of the Boxer clan being duped into believing they were impervious to attacks by firearms. The fight sequences were choreographed by Liu Chia-Liang (Lau Kar Leung) and it starred Alexander Fu Sheng as well as Wang Lung-Wei.

Related Topics:
Shaw Brothers - Chang Cheh

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In the 1995 postcyberpunk novel The Diamond Age by Neal Stephenson, the Boxer Rebellion is vaguely retold in a 2100s Shanghai setting.

Related Topics:
Postcyberpunk - The Diamond Age - Neal Stephenson - Shanghai

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In the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer it was during the Boxer rebellion that the vampire Spike killed his first slayer - a young Chinese woman named Xin Rong.

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In the movie Shanghai Knights, the Boxers, led by Wu Chow and backed by British Lord Nelson Rathbone, killed Chon Wang and Chon Lin's father, attempt to assassinate Queen Victoria, unite the Emperor's enemies and storm the Forbidden City in order for their leaders to become King of the United Kingdom and Emperor of China, but they fail.

Related Topics:
Shanghai Knights - Queen Victoria - King of the United Kingdom - Emperor of China

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