Last modified: 2020-07-31 by ian macdonald
Keywords: boxers army | china | qing dynasty |
Links: FOTW homepage |
search |
disclaimer and copyright |
write us |
mirrors
![[Boxers Army]](../images/c/cn-1900.gif)
image by Jaume Ollé, 02 December 2009
The red triangle flag charged with white and black yin yang and four white
circle with white border.
The Boxer Rebellion, more properly called the Boxer Uprising, or the Righteous
Harmony Society Movement (simplified Chinese: 义和团运动; traditional Chinese:
義和團運動; pinyin: Yìhétuán Yùndòng) in Chinese, was a violent anti-imperialism,
anti-Christian movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" (Yihe tuan), or
"Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious
Fists" (known as "Boxers" in English), between 1898 and 1901. In response to
imperialist expansion, growth of cosmopolitan influences, and missionary
evangelism, and against the backdrop of state fiscal crisis and natural
disasters, local organizations began to emerge in Shandong in 1898. At first,
they were relentlessly suppressed by the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty of China.
Later, the Qing Dynasty tried to expel western influence from China. Under
the slogan "Support the Qing, destroy the foreign" (扶清灭洋), Boxers across North
China attacked mission compounds.
In June 1900, Boxer fighters, lightly armed or unarmed, gathered in Beijing to
besiege the foreign embassies. On June 21, the conservative faction of the
Imperial Court induced the Empress Dowager, who ruled in the emperor's name, to
declare war on the foreign powers that had diplomatic representation in Beijing.
Diplomats, foreign civilians, soldiers and some Chinese Christians retreated to
the Legation Quarter where they held out for fifty-five days until the
Eight-Nation Alliance brought 20,000 troops to their rescue.
The Boxer Protocol of September 7, 1901 ended the uprising and provided for
severe punishments, including an indemnity of 67 million pounds.
The Qing Dynasty was greatly weakened, and was eventually overthrown by the 1911
revolution, which led to the establishment of the Chinese Republic.
Nozomi Kariyasu, 02 December 2009
![[Boxers Army]](../images/c/cn_boxer.jpg)
image located by William Garrison, 01 February 2011
Antique Chinese flag at
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=180616279330&ssPageName=ADME:B:EF:US:1123
Relic from the Boxer Rebellion!
"This blood-stained flag of a FLYING TIGER with fire scrolls" a
description that Bonhams Auction rooms of London gave to it. This item
has been in my family for over a 100 years. One of my ancestors served
in the British Army in China during the Boxer Rebellion, he took this
banner to England after he finished his mission in China.
This rare (only one similar found in the National Maritime Museum in
London) flag has some signs of age. Due to the fact it weathered
battle. Faded, stained, some tears just as much as it is shows on the
photographs. It is still a complete piece of hand-crafted art.
Size of the flag: 80.5cm x 79cm (31,7 x 31 in.)
William Garrison, 01 February 2011
![[Boxers Army]](../images/c/cn^man-boxer.jpg)
image located by William Garrison, 30 May 2020
Source:
https://historical.ha.com/itm/military-and-patriotic/boxer-rebellion-imperial-china-manchu-army-command-flag/a/6226-43009.s?ic4=GalleryView-Thumbnail-071515
Caption: below this flag:
Boxer rebellion - Imperial China -
Manchu, Army Command Flag. This is a silk flag with Manchu inscription dates
from the Boxer Rebellion, a popular uprising in China against Christianity and
foreign influence. In 1644, the Manchus seized control of Peking (modern Beijing)
overthrew the Ming dynasty and established the Qing dynasty, which would rule
until 1912. The Manchus brought the Eight Banners System to the military
specifically and society in general.
All Manchu households were placed
under one of the banners. In war, the Eight Banners functioned as armies, but
the banner system was also the basic organizational framework of all of Manchu
society. The three "upper" banners (Plain Yellow Banner, Bordered Yellow Banner,
and Plain White Banner) were directly controlled by the emperor.
In 1900,
the "Boxers" besieged the foreign legations and seized large portions of the
Chinese capital. A coalition of allies called the Eight-Nation Alliance joined
forces to relieve the siege of the foreign legations in Beijing and eventually
suppressed the uprising. The United States sent the China Relief Expedition
consisting of the 9th and 14th Infantry regiments, elements of the 6th Cavalry
regiment, the 5th Artillery regiment, and a USMC battalion. They would help
occupy the Chinese capital until a Treaty was signed in 1901.
The
Imperial Army/Manchu flag is silk brocade, woven with a traditional heavenly or
cloud pattern, triangular in shape, with flam mules or flame shaped edges on two
sides. It is approximately 71" X 108", with a centered, red, handstitched,
double-faced, Manchu script syllabary ging. The flag is finished along the hoist
side with a linen/cotton hoist with a tie at the bottom. A provisional
translation of the character is "He or those who officially or respectfully
watch over, [defend] the capital".
Ronglu (1836 - 1903), was a Manchu
political and military leader and a high-ranking member of the Plain White
Banner. A favorite of the Qing Empress Dowager when she fled the capital, he was
denied permission to accompany her and was instead order to remain in Beijing as
the Nine Gates Infantry Commander who oversaw the Beijing Field Force and the
Wuwei Corps, a western trained and organized military unit, to resist the forces
of the Eight-Nation Alliance. It has been speculated that this flag was
associated with Ronglu. The plain white brocade silk, the Manchu script, and the
overall high quality with which it was made. Most surviving Imperial Army flags
do not betray this workmanship, instead being simply sewn cotton.
Flags
were a popular trophy item for US troops and many made their way to the United
States with veterans of the China relief expedition. Somehow this flag was
conveyed to Reuben Henley Lloyd (1835-1909), a San Francisco lawyer, and
community leader, although he never held elected office, serving only as an
appointed Parks Commissioner. He was leader of the Masonic community, a member
of the Bohemian Club, an eclectic association of journalists, artists,
musicians, businessmen, and entrepreneurs.
In turn, Mr. Lloyd gifted this
flag to Michael Henry de Young, (1849 -1925), an American journalist and
businessman who owned and published the San Francisco Chronicle. He used his
vast wealth to further his eclectic tastes and accumulated a collection of
immense variety in the de Young Museum, which as San Francisco's premier
repository, came to house a number of flags. These eventually evolved to The
Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco.
These is no other known surviving
Manchu, Army Command Flag from the Boxer Rebellion. This is an opportunity for
an advanced collector of Manchu, Imperial Chinese, Boxer Rebellion, military
trophies and Chinese ephemera.
Condition: The pennant is in good
condition. It is used, worn, and soiled with some color transference from the
red, likely due to being folded when wet.
Provenance: Reuben H Lloyd; de
Young Museum, San Francisco Fine Arts Museums.
Note: This flag was not part
of the Rungee Museum Collection.
William Garrison, 30 May 2020
![[Boxers Army]](../images/c/cn^boxer-9th.jpg)
image located by William Garrison, 30 May 2020
Boxer Rebellion - Imperial Peking Field Force Mounted Artillery 9th Unit
Flag. In 1900, the United States sent the China Relief Expedition, comprised of
the 9th and 14th Infantry regiments, elements of the 6th Cavalry and the 5th
Artillery regiments, and a battalion of Marines to aid the Eight Nation Alliance
in lifting the siege of Peking (modern Beijing). Earlier that year the Yìhéquán
(Militia United in Righteousness), a populist group who detested both Christians
and foreign interference, had risen in defiance of the government in Beijing.
Known to the west simply as "The Boxers" they besieged the foreign legations and
seized large portions of the Chinese capital.
The combined western forces
occupied Beijing until the Boxer Protocol Treaty was signed in 1901. For
occupying troops everywhere flags proved a popular trophy item, this flag among
them.
This is a unit flag, hand stitched, double faced, cotton,
approximately, 34" X 35", with Chinese characters stitched to both sides in
white on a black background with a white picture frame border, finished with a
plain edge. There is no identifiable system of attachment remaining. The
characters roughly translate, Qipao jiu dui or "Mounted Artillery 9th Unit," and
were undoubtedly part of the Peking Field Force that garrisoned the Chinese
Capital.
Power in China, at the turn of the 20th century, lay with the
Qing Dynasty, a Manchu minority that had conquered the Ming dynasty in 1644.
Although officially neutral, there was no unanimity in the Chinese military, and
some, especially in the ruling class, favored the Boxers. Whether through
surrender or trade this flag was acquired, likely by an American soldier, who
ultimately conveyed it to Reuben Henley Lloyd.
Lloyd (1835-1909), a San
Francisco lawyer, community leader, Mason and Bohemian, was well known in local
affairs and in turn gifted this flag to Michael Henry de Young, whose de Young
Museum, the product of his fertile brain and vast fortune, had become San
Francisco's premier repository for art, ephemera, curiosities and in this case,
flags.
The flags remained at the de Young until it was merged with the
California Palace of the Legion of Honor to form the Fine Arts Museums of San
Francisco.
This is a significant opportunity for a collector of Imperial
Chinese Military, Boxer, militaria, and Asian ephemera. Boxer Rebellion items
rarely come to auction.
Condition: The flag is in good condition. It is
used, worn and soiled with several small holes, but otherwise intact and
complete.
Provenance: Reuben H Lloyd; de Young Museum, San Francisco Fine
Arts Museums.
Note: This flag was not part of the Rungee Museum collection.
William Garrison, 30 May 2020
This is a unit flag, hand stitched, double faced, cotton, approximately, 34"
X 35", with Chinese characters stitched to both sides in white on a black
background with a white picture frame border, finished with a plain edge. There
is no identifiable system of attachment remaining. The characters roughly
translate, Qipao jiu dui or "Mounted Artillery 9th Unit," and were undoubtedly
part of the Peking Field Force that garrisoned the Chinese Capital.
It
should be read, from right to left, "xiao qi ying" (cavalry), then the middle, "pao
jiu dui" (artillery 9th unit).
Miles Li, 30 May 2020