A Study Of Violence In Shanxi Local Society During The Boxer Movement

The study of the origin of any collective violence in history should not be confined to the discussion of “environmental decision” or “universal law”.If we focus on the “people” in the historical process and observe the specific interaction process between people or groups from a micro perspective,we will find that many of the previous arguments attributed to “reasons” do not necessarily have an inevitable relationship with the “results” we see.One of the characteristics of Shanxi Boxer Movement is the extremely violent and killing activities.How to explain this process has not been discussed in detail in the academic circles.This paper takes “contact” as the breakthrough point to analyze the violence in local society,which is based on the reflection of the research paradigm that attaches too much importance to “background” and“influence” and neglects “process”in the study of Boxer Movement.Only by paying attention to the process of violence can we test the accuracy and explanatory degree of the “background” and “influence” explored in the past more profoundly under the principle of “seeking truth from facts”.As for the discussion of the reasons for the rise of the Boxer Movement in Shanxi,the focus of previous studies,such as the intervention of missionaries in litigation due to conflicts of material interests,or the negative influence of anti-religious rumors due to cultural conflicts,may be only the important reasons for Shanxi people's “hatred of foreign affairs”and “hatred of religion” in specific historical time and space,but it can not directly promote them to participate in justice.The development process from“cause”to “result”is not as simple and direct as we imagine.From the specific interaction among Shanxi officials,local gentry,ordinary people,missionaries and missionaries,the idea of returning to the “political” nature of collective action may be able to effectively interpret their relationship-from hostility to confrontation,then to the development of violence-is not a natural process.However,in the past,there has been a lack of effective explanation onhow the “anti-foreign”attitude of the Qing Dynasty was broadly connected with Shanxi local society.Based on the analysis methods of“realism”and“unrealistic”,the author focuses on the social interaction of all parties in the specific social situation with “contact”as the breakthrough point,and draws a conclusion about the process of the rise and development of Shanxi Boxer Movement: Yuxian advocated boxing training in Shanxi under the background of complying with the “military preparations”order,but the Shanxi government has never effectively controlled the Boxer Movement in the organization.The Qing government only disseminates the concept of“anti-foreign”to local society.Due to different political opinions and the decline of power,local officials in Shanxi generally lack interaction with the Boxers.The concept of “anti-foreign”can only be understood and practiced by the local society,and eventually a chaotic situation in which the officials and the people are united in“anti-foreign”background is formed.