1903 Royal Prussian Bilingual City Plan or Map of Beijing / Peking, China

This is a 1903 Royal Prussian Cartographic Department (Kartographischen Abtheilung der Königl. Preuss.) bilingual German and Chinese city plan or map of Beijing / Peking. The map depicts the old walled center of Beijing, including the Tartar City, the Chinese City, the Imperial City, and the Forbidden City. Issued shortly after the Boxer Rebellion, numerous locations throughout the city are identified in both German and Chinese. The Legation Quarter, the central focal point of the Boxer Rebellion, is illustrated in detail, labeling the various legations and their related buildings. The Imperial City and the Forbidden City are both depicted in striking detail.

The Boxer Rebellion or Yihetuan Movement

The Boxer Rebellion or Yihetuan Movement (1899 - 1901, 義和團運動) was an anti-foreign anti-imperialist uprising marked by proto-nationalism in northeastern China. The rebellion was largely a response to Christian missionary activity in China and was initially supported by the Qing Empress Dowager Cixi and her ministers who distrusted the radical and unpredictable peasant movement but sympathized with their goal of driving foreign influence out of China. In June of 1900, some 20,000 Boxers, convinced that their spiritual and martial prowess gave them immunity to foreign weapons, attacked the Chinese Christians and foreign nationals living in Beijing's Legation Quarter. Although terrible violence ensued, the Legation Quarter was able to mount a ragtag defense – which is outlined on this map. Relief came about a month later in the form of the Eight-Nation Alliance China Relief Force, which, with an army of some 20,000, defeated the Boxers and occupied Beijing, as well as a number of other northern Chinese cities. The atrocities and looting that ensued, particularly at the hands of Russian and Japanese forces, are well documented and horrifying.

Publication History and Census

This map was created and published by the Royal Prussian Cartographic Department in 1903. It was based on surveys undertaken by the German East Asian Expeditionary Force in 1900 - 1901. We have located examples in the collections of the Library of Congress and the Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library.