Abstract:

A bloodcurdling tale of siege and last-minute rescue reveals how China's closed society was opened to foreign trade and influence. Tracing the growth of Chinese misgivings over foreign influence, the documentary gives a detailed account of the grassroots "Boxer" rebellion of 1900, which culminated in a deadly 55-day siege that trapped 3400 traders, diplomats, missionaries, and Chinese Christian converts in Peking's foreign quarter. Informed by commentaries from both Chinese and American historians, and rich with period artworks and archival photographs and film footage, the program concludes that the defeat of the Boxers could not end Chinese nationalist fervor: "The spirit of the Boxers has never died."