Tianjin Massacre
Encyclopedia
The Tianjin Religious Case (Chinese
: 天津教案; Pinyin
: Tiānjīn Jiào'àn), more commonly known as the Tientsin Massacre in Western sources, occurred in Tientsin (now commonly known as 'Tianjin') in 1870. It is considered to be one of the most important incidents involving missionaries in the late Qing Dynasty
. The incident marked an end to comparative cooperation between foreign powers and the Tongzhi
Manchu
court, and adversely affected the ongoing renegotiation of the Treaties of Tientsin, first signed in 1858.
In June 1870, rumours of kidnappings spread throughout China, with the blame frequently being attached to Catholic missions. Local Catholic nuns had been active in bringing children into their orphanages, sometimes with the inducement of payment to foster families or orphanages which led illicit child-brokers to engage in kidnapping. Throughout 1870, deaths at these orphanages also increased due to outbreaks of disease; the fact Baptism was often given specifically to those likely to die led to the impression a Christian baptism directly resulted in death. On June 18, three Chinese kidnappers were arrested 30 li
outside Tianjin
, and while the two eldest were executed almost immediately, the youngest - aged 19 - claimed in public to have sold at least 10 children to the staff and guards of a nearby Catholic orphanage for $6 each.
Chinese officials met with their French counterparts, who had assumed responsibility for the Catholic missions to China since the Arrow War. However, an angry anti-Catholic crowd gathered outside the Cathedral and smashed windows. Chinese Catholic converts begged the French Consul, Henri-Victor Fontanier, to appeal directly to the magistrate for public calm.
While the Chinese magistrate's staff attempted to suppress the riot, the French Consul visited the magistrate's official quarters to lodge an angry diatribe, even going so far as to draw his sword and embed it in the magistrate's table. The magistrate was not there, however, and Fontanier left empty-handed. The series of events afterwards are somewhat confused: while both Chinese and French histories agree Fontanier shot a Chinese assistant dead after an argument with the magistrate (who was just entering his office as the Consul was leaving), the French version says Fontanier's shot only came after he was threatened by the mob and the magistrate. In any case, both the French Consul and his assistant, M. Simon, were murdered by the rioters and their bodies dumped in the river.
The riot only ended after a number of Catholic institutions and foreign buildings, including the Tientsin Cathedral and four British and American churches, were burned down. As well as the two French Consular officials, two Lazarist priests, and approximately 40 Chinese converts were killed, as were three Russian traders assumed by the mob to be French. Ten nuns of the Daughters of Charity were raped and mutilated by the crowd before being killed. The final death toll of the riot was given at around 60.
Foreign gunboats were sent to restore order to the legations of Tianjin, with reparations and reprisals demanded by the European governments. Chinese negotiations to mitigate the damage were led by the aging statesman Zeng Guofan
. The situation was more complex than Zeng originally thought; he interrogated the orphans, who denied they had been kidnapped, and proclaimed the nuns innocent. However, Europeans were incensed and demanded punishment against the riot's ringleaders. Zeng had eighteen Chinese instigators (or scapegoats, depending on who tells the history) executed and removed both the magistrate and much of his staff. A Chinese mission of apology sailed to France, under Imperial Commissioner Chung How. A formal apology was presented to the provisional French Head of State Adolphe Thiers
in November 1871.
The Tientsin Incident was far-reaching politically and culturally. Before 1870 the French and Chinese had been negotiating a clause to bring Western Missionaries under the same guidelines as Chinese Buddhist and Taoist religious institutions, in the hope it would stop such situations as occurred at Tientsin. Afterwards, however, the French and Americans refused to allow Chinese control or protection over the spread of Christianity in the country. The Qing government replied in turn by refusing to either proscribe or endorse foreign missionaries.
For Europeans, the riot and loss of life was further proof that the Manchu
court could not be trusted to protect foreigners or their investments. For many Chinese, the fact Europeans and missionaries continued to be an elite outside the realms of Chinese law, and seemingly able to engage in actions through military force without serious repercussions, directly led to anti-foreign feeling and sowed the seeds of the Boxer Rebellion
of 1900.
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
: 天津教案; Pinyin
Pinyin
Pinyin is the official system to transcribe Chinese characters into the Roman alphabet in China, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan. It is also often used to teach Mandarin Chinese and spell Chinese names in foreign publications and used as an input method to enter Chinese characters into...
: Tiānjīn Jiào'àn), more commonly known as the Tientsin Massacre in Western sources, occurred in Tientsin (now commonly known as 'Tianjin') in 1870. It is considered to be one of the most important incidents involving missionaries in the late Qing Dynasty
Qing Dynasty
The Qing Dynasty was the last dynasty of China, ruling from 1644 to 1912 with a brief, abortive restoration in 1917. It was preceded by the Ming Dynasty and followed by the Republic of China....
. The incident marked an end to comparative cooperation between foreign powers and the Tongzhi
Tongzhi Emperor
The Tongzhi Emperor , born Aisin-Gioro Dzai Šun, was the tenth emperor of the Manchu-led Qing Dynasty, and the eighth Qing emperor to rule over China, from 1861 to 1875. His reign, which effectively lasted through his adolescence, was largely overshadowed by the rule of his mother, the Empress...
Manchu
Manchu
The Manchu people or Man are an ethnic minority of China who originated in Manchuria . During their rise in the 17th century, with the help of the Ming dynasty rebels , they came to power in China and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which...
court, and adversely affected the ongoing renegotiation of the Treaties of Tientsin, first signed in 1858.
In June 1870, rumours of kidnappings spread throughout China, with the blame frequently being attached to Catholic missions. Local Catholic nuns had been active in bringing children into their orphanages, sometimes with the inducement of payment to foster families or orphanages which led illicit child-brokers to engage in kidnapping. Throughout 1870, deaths at these orphanages also increased due to outbreaks of disease; the fact Baptism was often given specifically to those likely to die led to the impression a Christian baptism directly resulted in death. On June 18, three Chinese kidnappers were arrested 30 li
Li
Li or li may refer to:* Li , the Confucian concept of ritual** Li , philosophical concept of principle* Li people, an ethnic group of China...
outside Tianjin
Tianjin
' is a metropolis in northern China and one of the five national central cities of the People's Republic of China. It is governed as a direct-controlled municipality, one of four such designations, and is, thus, under direct administration of the central government...
, and while the two eldest were executed almost immediately, the youngest - aged 19 - claimed in public to have sold at least 10 children to the staff and guards of a nearby Catholic orphanage for $6 each.
Chinese officials met with their French counterparts, who had assumed responsibility for the Catholic missions to China since the Arrow War. However, an angry anti-Catholic crowd gathered outside the Cathedral and smashed windows. Chinese Catholic converts begged the French Consul, Henri-Victor Fontanier, to appeal directly to the magistrate for public calm.
While the Chinese magistrate's staff attempted to suppress the riot, the French Consul visited the magistrate's official quarters to lodge an angry diatribe, even going so far as to draw his sword and embed it in the magistrate's table. The magistrate was not there, however, and Fontanier left empty-handed. The series of events afterwards are somewhat confused: while both Chinese and French histories agree Fontanier shot a Chinese assistant dead after an argument with the magistrate (who was just entering his office as the Consul was leaving), the French version says Fontanier's shot only came after he was threatened by the mob and the magistrate. In any case, both the French Consul and his assistant, M. Simon, were murdered by the rioters and their bodies dumped in the river.
The riot only ended after a number of Catholic institutions and foreign buildings, including the Tientsin Cathedral and four British and American churches, were burned down. As well as the two French Consular officials, two Lazarist priests, and approximately 40 Chinese converts were killed, as were three Russian traders assumed by the mob to be French. Ten nuns of the Daughters of Charity were raped and mutilated by the crowd before being killed. The final death toll of the riot was given at around 60.
Foreign gunboats were sent to restore order to the legations of Tianjin, with reparations and reprisals demanded by the European governments. Chinese negotiations to mitigate the damage were led by the aging statesman Zeng Guofan
Zeng Guofan
Zeng Guofan was an eminent Han Chinese official, military general, and devout Confucian scholar of the late Qing Dynasty in China....
. The situation was more complex than Zeng originally thought; he interrogated the orphans, who denied they had been kidnapped, and proclaimed the nuns innocent. However, Europeans were incensed and demanded punishment against the riot's ringleaders. Zeng had eighteen Chinese instigators (or scapegoats, depending on who tells the history) executed and removed both the magistrate and much of his staff. A Chinese mission of apology sailed to France, under Imperial Commissioner Chung How. A formal apology was presented to the provisional French Head of State Adolphe Thiers
Adolphe Thiers
Marie Joseph Louis Adolphe Thiers was a French politician and historian. was a prime minister under King Louis-Philippe of France. Following the overthrow of the Second Empire he again came to prominence as the French leader who suppressed the revolutionary Paris Commune of 1871...
in November 1871.
The Tientsin Incident was far-reaching politically and culturally. Before 1870 the French and Chinese had been negotiating a clause to bring Western Missionaries under the same guidelines as Chinese Buddhist and Taoist religious institutions, in the hope it would stop such situations as occurred at Tientsin. Afterwards, however, the French and Americans refused to allow Chinese control or protection over the spread of Christianity in the country. The Qing government replied in turn by refusing to either proscribe or endorse foreign missionaries.
For Europeans, the riot and loss of life was further proof that the Manchu
Manchu
The Manchu people or Man are an ethnic minority of China who originated in Manchuria . During their rise in the 17th century, with the help of the Ming dynasty rebels , they came to power in China and founded the Qing Dynasty, which ruled China until the Xinhai Revolution of 1911, which...
court could not be trusted to protect foreigners or their investments. For many Chinese, the fact Europeans and missionaries continued to be an elite outside the realms of Chinese law, and seemingly able to engage in actions through military force without serious repercussions, directly led to anti-foreign feeling and sowed the seeds of the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
of 1900.