Original Boxer Rebellion Era Chinese Executioner Sword with Steel Scabbard Captured by U.S. Marine in Korea Original Items

Original Item: Only One Available. This is definitely one of the more interesting swords we have examined lately. It is a large Boxer Rebellion era Chinese executioner sword, with a very heavy 23 inch long curved blade. It definitely looks to be quite old, and the hilt has been wrapped with more modern rope. The scabbard is definitely modern Korean era, probably made during the WWII period.

The galvanized steel scabbard has the following on an old paper tag attached to it:

Chinese Beheading Sword
Captured in Korea at Yu Dam Ni
and carried out of the Chosin
Reservoir by PFC. William Baker
First Marine Regiment – 1950

Condition of the sword and scabbard is very good, with a great gently worn patina. The wrapping on the sword is solid, and the heavy blade is still quite sharp.

A great piece of history, first made during the Boxer Rebellion and then brought back into the field during Korea, before being captured by a U.S. Marine. This sword has definitely had an interesting life! Ready to display!

Dimensions:
Blade length: 23”
Blade Style: Heavy Curved Machete
Overall length: 30 3/4”
Scabbard length: 23 1/2″

The Boxer Rebellion:

The Boxer Rebellion, Boxer Uprising or Yihetuan Movement was a violent anti-foreign, anti-colonial, and anti-Christian uprising that took place in China between 1899 and 1901, towards the end of the Qing dynasty. It was initiated by the Militia United in Righteousness (Yihetuan), known in English as the “Boxers”, and was motivated by proto-nationalist sentiments and opposition to Western colonialism and associated Christian missionary activity.

The uprising took place against a background of severe drought and the disruption caused by the growth of foreign spheres of influence. After several months of growing violence against both the foreign and Christian presence in Shandong and the North China plain in June 1900, Boxer fighters, convinced they were invulnerable to foreign weapons, converged on Beijing with the slogan “Support the Qing government and exterminate the foreigners.” Foreigners and Chinese Christians sought refuge in the Legation Quarter. In response to reports of an armed invasion to lift the siege, the initially hesitant Empress Dowager Cixi supported the Boxers and on June 21 issued an Imperial Decree declaring war on the foreign powers. Diplomats, foreign civilians and soldiers as well as Chinese Christians in the Legation Quarter were placed under siege by the Imperial Army of China and the Boxers for 55 days.

Chinese officialdom was split between those supporting the Boxers and those favoring conciliation, led by Prince Qing. The supreme commander of the Chinese forces, the Manchu General Ronglu (Junglu), later claimed that he acted to protect the besieged foreigners. The Eight-Nation Alliance, after being initially turned back, brought 20,000 armed troops to China, defeated the Imperial Army, and arrived at Peking on August 14, relieving the siege of the Legations. Uncontrolled plunder of the capital and the surrounding countryside ensued, along with the summary execution of those suspected of being Boxers.

The Boxer Protocol of 7 September 1901 provided for the execution of government officials who had supported the Boxers, provisions for foreign troops to be stationed in Beijing, and 450 million taels of silver (approximately $10 billion at 2017 silver prices and more than the government’s annual tax revenue) to be paid as indemnity over the course of the next thirty-nine years to the eight nations involved. The Empress Dowager then sponsored a set of institutional and fiscal changes in an attempt to save the Dynasty by reforming it.