Beijing Postcards Bookclub: The Boxer Rebellion
We are taking on the Boxers!
In July and August, The Beijing Postcards Historical Bookclub is reading ”The Boxer Rebellion” by Diana Preston.
The Boxer incident is one of the most fascinating, decisive and utterly contradictory events in Beijing’s modern history. Preston’s book is based on source material produced by the foreigners that were besieged inside Beijing’s diplomatic quarter for 55 days in the year 1900.
We will upload weekly updates here, and we will also arrange a discussion at our hutong gallery, a movie night, and a walk in the old Legation Quarter that you can sign up for. It can be hard to find paper copies of the book in Beijing but you can buy the book second hand on www.kongfz.com. You can also find digital copies on Amazon, google books and so forth. It is also possible to find the book at the National Library in Beijing. The book was previously published under the title “Besieged in Peking”.
In addition to the updates on this page you can also find source material about the Boxer Rebellion on our project page.
Episode 1: The Legacy of Year 1900
This week’s update is about the incredible double standards that the West treated China with in the year 1900. After this edition nobody will probably accuse us of China bashing…
Episode 2: Two China Hands and A Merchant
A Beijing Legation Quarter map reveals three places of special interest