THE BOXERS | AdventAI

Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Battle Creek, Mich. · Jul 10, 1900

THE BOXERS.

New York Sun.

The Rev. I. T. Headland, professor of mental and moral philosophy and astronomy in Peking University, who is in this city at the present time, being asked yesterday the meaning of “Boxers,” the name of the society that has set all China by the ears, said that the name in Chinese is “I-Ho-Tuon.” The “I” means righteousness, “Ho” means peace, and “Tuon” means fist—a clenched hand. Professor Headland says that the entire title means that the Boxers will fight for righteousness and peace. The Professor said:—

“The Boxers appear to have sprung up in opposition to foreigners because of irritations largely growing out of the operations of the French Catholics. The French minister had secured for the French Catholic missionaries appointments as Chinese officials, in order to facilitate their operations in the settlement of litigation between the native Christians and outside Chinese. As the Catholic missionaries were officials of China, they generally outranked the sitting magistrates. Accordingly they usually settled the case in court themselves. When their rank proved to be lower than that of the magistrate, it amounted to nearly the same thing, as the influence of their official relations generally controlled the action of the court. The Chinese declare that a great deal of litigation, in consequence, went by favor, being thus unduly influenced by the Catholic-Chinese officials, and was not decided upon the merits. The irritation growing out of this has been very great, and extends over a large section of the middle kingdom.”