Question

Which of the following is true about the Fists of Righteous Harmony?
A. Members blamed foreigners for China’s poor economic conditions.
B. Members supported the expansion of China's relations with other countries.
C. The Chinese imperial court sought to destroy the secret society.
D. The secret society acted out with peaceful, but demonstrative protests.

Answer 1

The Fists of Righteous Harmony, otherwise known as the Boxers to the West because of their physical focus on martial arts, were most definitely anti-foreign and would ultimately instigate the infamous Boxer Rebellion in 1899.

They did not support the expansion of China's relations with other countries. In the years leading up to the Rebellion, China had been relatively belittled by foreign powers such as France and Britain in being forced to make special trade concessions. For example, Great Britain had earlier negotiated a 99 year lease agreement for Hong Kong (which expired in 1997 with the city transferred back to China's administration).

The imperial court had a dim view on secret societies, but in the Boxer's case, they eventually supported their goals and committed military forces to their cause in laying siege to the foreigners (traders, priests, etc.) who fled to the Legation Quarter in Beijing. The society initially began with protests and passed out fliers decrying the "foreign devils" and their religion (Christianity), but it ultimately became violent and bloody at the end with the siege and the imperial court's decision to participate on their side.

So the only right answer has to be (A). The Rebellion failed in the end, however, when a multinational force intervened leaving thousands dead ultimately forcing China into a humiliating peace.