Unpacking the Past: Paul Cohen's "History in Three Keys" and the Boxer Rebellion's Enduring Legacy

 

Unpacking the Past: Paul Cohen's "History in Three Keys" and the Boxer Rebellion's Enduring Legacy

The Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901) stands as a pivotal, often misunderstood, moment in Chinese history. While many historical accounts simply narrate the events, Paul A. Cohen's influential 1997 book, History in Three Keys: The Boxers as Event, Experience, and Myth, offers a profound methodological framework for understanding not just what happened, but how we remember and interpret it. Cohen invites us to view history not as a monolithic truth, but as a complex interplay of objective facts, subjective realities, and evolving narratives.

Key One: The Boxers as Event 

The first "key" focuses on the Boxer Uprising as a set of verifiable occurrences. This is the realm of traditional historical narration: the who, what, when, and where. Cohen meticulously reconstructs the sequence of actions: the rise of the Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists, their anti-foreign and anti-Christian violence, the Qing court's fateful decision to endorse the Boxers, the siege of foreign legations in Beijing, and the subsequent intervention by the Eight-Nation Alliance. This key establishes the empirical foundation—the historical facts—upon which all further interpretations are built. It seeks to answer the question: "What actually happened?"

Key Two: The Boxers as Experience 

Beyond the objective event, Cohen delves into the subjective "experience" of those involved. This key explores how the participants themselves understood, perceived, and gave meaning to the unfolding crisis. It investigates the Boxers' magico-religious beliefs, such as their conviction of invulnerability to bullets, and examines the pervasive role of rumor,local grievances, and cultural clashes between traditional communities and Christian converts. By looking at the rebellion through the eyes of peasants, missionaries, and officials, Cohen illuminates the motivations, fears, and worldviews that shaped their actions, moving beyond mere facts to grasp the lived realities.

Key Three: The Boxers as Myth 

Perhaps Cohen's most powerful contribution, the "myth" key analyzes how the Boxer Uprising has been interpreted,reinterpreted, and selectively remembered over time to serve various political and ideological agendas. For early 20th-century Chinese intellectuals, the Boxers were often portrayed as superstitious, backward figures. In contrast, the Chinese Communist Party later reframed them as heroic anti-imperialist patriots, essential for forging a national identity rooted in revolutionary struggle. Western narratives, meanwhile, frequently highlighted the "barbarism" of the Boxers and the "heroism" of the foreign defenders. This key reveals that history is not static; it is a contested terrain where different groups construct narratives to legitimize their own perspectives and goals.

Cohen's work is a vital reminder that understanding history requires engaging with its multiple dimensions—the facts, the lived experiences, and the persistent, often politically charged, narratives that shape our collective memory.