Qing China · 1899-1901

The Boxer Uprising

Hungry, angry young men in North China blame foreigners and Christians for their troubles. In 1900 the Boxers besiege the foreign legations in Beijing, and eight nations send armies. Students weigh the causes and the high price China paid.

Teach it live New Open on the map
Length
45 minutes
Ages
13–16
On the map
3 steps, AD 1900
Live lesson
7 rounds, 3 on the map
Worksheet
Two A4 pages, with Classroom
You need
A projector; phones for live

Live lesson · new in Classroom

Teach it live. The class answers on their phones.

Put the board on the projector. Students join with a six-digit code, no account needed, and tap the map: where was the frontier, where did the grain come from. Their pins drop in together when you reveal, and the closest student takes the round.

€19 per month: every lesson live, every worksheet, cancel anytime. Rome at its height runs live for free.

A live lesson on the projector: the class's pins on the map around Alexandria, the closest students listed beside it A student's phone: the question and a map to tap
7 rounds
3 places to find on the map, quiz questions, a class vote and a one-line answer.
About 15 minutes
Run it as the map step, or to open the discussion. You move on with the space bar.
A report
Every answer, per student and per round, to read back or print after the lesson.
1

Introduction

5 min

Read aloud

Hungry, angry young men in North China blame foreigners and Christians for their troubles. In 1900 the Boxers besiege the foreign legations in Beijing, and eight nations send armies. Students weigh the causes and the high price China paid.

By the end of the lesson, students can

  • Explain who the Boxers were and why they turned against foreigners and Chinese Christians.
  • Describe the siege of the legations and the intervention of the Eight-Nation Alliance.
  • Explain the results of the Boxer Protocol of 1901 for China.
2

Explore the map

12 min

Project the map, or let students follow on their own devices. Each step opens the map at the right year and place.

a

AD 1900

North China

Open the map in 1900 and zoom in on North China. Find Beijing, Tianjin and the coast. Why could foreign armies reach Beijing quickly from the sea?

Open this view on the map
b

AD 1877

Drought and hunger

Turn on Weather of History and move to 1877, when a great drought hit North China. Drought struck the same region again in 1899-1900. How might hunger turn people against outsiders?

Open this view on the map
c

AD 1900

Foreign footholds

Type "Which foreign powers held ports in China in 1900?" in Ask the atlas. Then find Hong Kong, Port Arthur and Qingdao on the map.

Open this view on the map
3

Class discussion

14 min

Pick two or three. They run from what happened to why it mattered.

  1. Many Boxers believed their rituals could protect them from bullets. Why might desperate people believe that?
  2. Many victims of the Boxers were Chinese Christians. Why were they targeted?
  3. Foreign troops looted Beijing after the siege. How does that change the story of a "rescue"?
  4. Some powerful governors in the south ignored the order to attack foreigners. Were they traitors or wise leaders?
  5. China had to pay a huge sum to the foreign powers. How would that affect ordinary Chinese families?
4

Game round

9 min

Play Wu Zetian in Rule History, the only woman to rule China as emperor in her own name. Compare her with the Empress Dowager Cixi, who held power behind the throne in 1900. Discuss: what choices did each woman have, and what did each do with power?

Open Rule History
5

Worksheet

5 min

This worksheet comes with Classroom

€19 per month unlocks every worksheet, every live lesson and the class workspace. The free lesson prints without a subscription.