Righteous Harmony Society

The Righteous Harmony Society (); was a society in China that executed the unsuccessful Boxer Rebellion in the closing years of the 19th Century . They were anti-foreign (originally against the government, but eventually turning against the Christian converts and the colonizing foreign powers). The society's slogan was "support the Qing and destroy the foreigners". There are two theories how they acquired their western nickname "The Boxers". One says it's from their unique style of Kung Fu . They believed that they could, through training, perform extraordinary feats, such as flying and being immune to the Westerner's bullets. More likely though, their name was mistranslated as '''Fists of Righteous Harmony''' (), which still appears in western encyclopediae. Also, according to Small Planet communications, the society was started in the Northern Shandong province. Desperate people soon supported the society, and believed that peace would not bring them hunger. Another known name for the boxers was "spirit soldiers". These soldiers believed that they were blessed with immortality to foreign bullets through martial arts, proper diet and prayer.

The 55-day Boxer Rebellion consisted of thousands of Boxers chanting while surrounding the legation area with the emperor inside. The rebellion was unsuccessful and was later defeated by an 8-nation force.

The movement was somewhat supported by Empress Cixi . It didn't seem to make sense to put a stop of the group for they were patriotic.

The movement has many striking similarities to the Ghost Dance cult of American Indians .

There was also a similar group, named the Red Lanterns but made up of entirely women. They believed they could also had immortal powers such as flying and controlling the wind.

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Righteous Harmony Society