NHD 2017-2018 Process Paper

FROM A HOPELESS CONFLICT TO A HOPEFUL COMPROMISE: 

SINO AMERICAN DIPLOMACY AFTER 
THE BOXER REBELLION 
 Since last year, I have embarked on a mission to make sense of my Chinese heritage
through research on late Qing history. I believe that this era began the integration of China into a
rapidly changing world and a momentous ideological shift within the nation, and that its analysis
is necessary for the understanding of the modern Chinese society. As someone aspiring a career
in international relations, I want to use history to build mutual cultural understanding between
China and America - the two nations that define my identity.
The compromise of the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship Program fit perfectly with my
interests - it explains American involvement in Chinese westernization and offers insights into
the nature of Sino-American diplomacy. This event, sidelined in history, seems to hold far
reaching implications on bilateral cultural ties and who I am as an individual.
As there is very limited research on my topic, several pieces of primary sources were
hard to access. I was able to reach a Tsinghua alumni in Jinan, China to find a collection of
historical documents, which included correspondences between Qing bureaucrats regarding the
indemnity. Furthermore, the Office of the Historian provided crucial diplomatic papers in 1907
and 1908. I am currently working on obtaining microfilm for letters between American
diplomats from the National Archives. To me, a balance of Eastern and Western sources is
essential for an objective historical standpoint. Thus, to present more obscure Chinese sources,
I’ve personally translated excerpts from significant documents.
I chose to create a website to present my research as this medium effectively engages the
audience while allowing a variety of ways to present information - texts, primary documents,
political cartoons, photographs, music, video, and other multimedia. This enables me to give a
holistic view of my research and communicate my original analysis to my audience.
On the surface, the creation of the Boxer Indemnity Scholarship was clearly a
compromise after a conflict - following the Boxer Rebellion (conflict), the U.S. agreed to remit
Chinese indemnities to fund an education program (compromise). However, the relation to the
theme can be more complex. This event could suggest that modern Sino-American diplomacy,
marked by strained negotiations and conflicting interests, can be conducted on a basis of
strategic compromise in which both nations can pursue long-run interests while forgoing present
rivalries.
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