The Boxer Rebellion
Chinese Imperial often failed. And their ritualism,
cutting off limbs and gouging eyes, chanting and
singing during attacks on enemy positions, which left
them rather vulnerable, and belief in being bulletproof
was strange and obscure. None are left now, but Mao
would regularly parade a few for political purposes to
invoke the spirit of the true Chinese revolutionary.
China has no need of armies of farmers now, it
has a military that has all the tricks and toys of death
and destruction, but the century of humiliation still
nags at the Chinese psyche – after 5000 years of
culture, how did they end up so far behind the West
rather than ahead? I imagined a time in the future
when China might be tricked again by the West like
the Opium Wars, perhaps a large purchase of treasury
bonds, like a global TARP, to save Europe who then
defaults and leaves China with worthless paper. Such
an event might trigger a national outcry, certainly a
rallying call for those still carrying the hurt from
previous offences, which become opportunities to be
exploited.
I was also really interested to create a character
that would draw on genuine and relevant ritualism
that was part of the character’s life and youth, not just
paying homage to activities and practices that seem
spooky and unnerving. Boxers drew on Chinese
history and have strong connections with the I-Ching
and the quest for immortality, which they interpreted
as being bulletproof. While the ritualism includes use
of the I-Ching symbol, it also included the use of red
lanterns to warn friends from foes, vicious mutilation
of enemy bodies, the need for symmetry and chants
and slogans. Supporters who gathered as the Boxers
gained prominence in the larger war, also created
manipulative chain letters that required the recipient
to give money or face eternal damnation. The history