"This book tells the compelling and colourful story of the 1900 Boxer Rising in China which culminated in the siege of the eleven Foreign Legations in Peking, their relief by an international force sent up from Tientsin and the subsequent looting of the Forbidden City in Peking. Much of the story is told through eye-witness accounts which are vivid and often moving. The book also puts the story into the context of society and politics at the turn of the century - a time when old orders were being challenged. The book also shows how the Rebellion and the international reaction fit in with China's long standing and continuing troubled relationship with the outside world."--BOOK JACKET.