Boxer Rebellion

proper noun

A violent anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising which took place in China towards the end of the Qing dynasty between 1899 and 1901.

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Meanings

proper noun
  1. A violent anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising which took place in China towards the end of the Qing dynasty between 1899 and 1901.

    Young Major Leonard, with only one arm (the other lost during the Boxer rebellion in China), Mr. John Lodge and a charming young Italian named Gherardesca, and many others, made these visits stand out in my memory.

    1937, Eleanor Roosevelt, This Is My Story, Harper & Brothers, →OCLC, pages 113–114
    1 more example

    According to one published account, said to be based on information provided by foreign missionaries in Chungking, whose reaction may have been influenced by the excesses of the Boxer Rebellion just a few years earlier, Tuan-fang was killed by his own soldiers at Tzu-chou, Shensi province.

    1991, Thomas Lawton, A Time of Transition: Two Collectors of Chinese Art, →ISBN, →OCLC, →OL, page 63

Origin

From Boxer + rebellion. Boxer refers to 義和拳 /义和拳 (Yìhéquán, literally “Righteous and Harmonious Fists”), the martial arts practiced by the rebels.

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Chinese Mandarin 義和團運動 /义和团运动, 拳亂 /拳乱
  • 義和團運動 /义和团运动 (Yìhétuán Yùndòng)violent anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901
  • 拳亂 /拳乱 (Quánluàn)violent anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901
Hungarian bokszerlázadás
  • bokszerlázadásviolent anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901
Vietnamese phong trào Nghĩa Hoà Đoàn, khởi nghĩa Nghĩa Hoà Đoàn
  • phong trào Nghĩa Hoà Đoànviolent anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901
  • khởi nghĩa Nghĩa Hoà Đoànviolent anti-foreign and anti-Christian uprising in China between 1899 and 1901
Cite this entry
APA

Boxer Rebellion. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Boxer%20Rebellion

MLA

“Boxer Rebellion.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Boxer%20Rebellion. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Boxer Rebellion,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Boxer%20Rebellion.

Source: Boxer Rebellion on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.