Following the Opium Wars and enjoying privileges given by the unequal treaties, foreign missionaries occupied a great deal of land, houses and temples all over China. Often in defiance of Chinese laws, they used their considerable influence to protect their converts. There were increasing conflicts between foreign missionaries and Chinese civilians.

In 1898, led by a martial arts groups known as the Yihe Boxers, the Yihetuan (Society of Righteousness and Harmony) Movement took place in Shandong province, which soon developed its anti-Christian and anti-aggression themes. Qing government tried to suppress Yihetuan ar first. In 1900, Yihetuan organizations in Shandong and Hebei joined forces to march to Beijing. Supported by common people, their numbers grew rapidly all the time. Empress Dowager Cixi worried that the crackdown of Yihetuan could be disadvantageous to her rule. Meanwhile, she wished to use them as a weapon against the foreign forces which may intend to disintegrate China. Hence, she gave her recognition to Yihetuan as a patriotic movement, which spread to Beijing and Tianjin accordingly.

Yihetuan brought about great anxiety to the foreign powers in China. When they realized that Qing government neither could nor would contain Yihetuan, they decided to dispatch troops to quash the movement on their own. In June 1900, eight countries, i.e. Britain, the United States, Germany, France, Tsarist Russia, Japan, Italy and Austria formed an allied army, which occupied the foreign legation quarters in Beijing. Qing government declared war on these powers. With a half-hearted Qing army at its back, equipped with minimal leadership and primitive weapons, the inexperienced Yihetuan warriors fought hard against the allied forces, simply having no chance to win. In August, the whole of Beijing fell into the hands of the foreign allies. Empress Dowager Cixi and Emperor Guangxu fled to Xi'an. Foreign troops committed burnings, killings, looting and other heinous crimes in Beijing.

Qing government then betrayed Yihetuan, calling them bandits and joined the foreign forces to suppress them. In September 1901, Foreign powers forced Qing government to sign the Protocol of 1901. From then on, Qing government was no more than an instrument with which the imperialists enforced their will on Chinese.