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The Siege of the Peking Embassy 1900: Sir Claude Macdonald's Report on the Boxer Rebellion (Uncovered Editions)

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The Boxer Uprising and the Siege of the Legations are two of the most colorful events in history. Less than 1,000 soldiers and civilians, many of them women and children, were trapped in the Legation Quarter of Peking in 1900. For 55 days they held off the attacking Chinese army and the Boxers, a peasant mass-movement that aimed to erase foreign influence in China.

Sir Claude MacDonald was the British Minister and the commander of the besieged foreigners in the Legation Quarter. This book consists of MacDonald's communications with his government and his report of the siege. It is a primary source for students and scholars. Only the text of documents, MacDonald's report, and a couple of maps are included. There are no explanatory notes or other supporting material to help the reader along.

The Siege of the Legations has been the subject of many books. The value of this one is that we see the siege from the standpoint of a participant who had a broad view of events -- often distorted by the prejudices of the day and deficient insight into the motives and policies of the Chinese government. The general reader will want to look elsewhere. I recommend Susanna Hoe's "Women at the Siege, Peking 1900"

Smallchief

The boxer rebellion as covered in the official despatches to and from the British Embassy, the British ambassador's report and others. Primary reference material on official documentation.
If so, it looks like the Western powers misunderstood Prince Kung's role in the Boxer uprising.