{ "id": "epgxyghamh", "slug": "the-boxer-rebellion", "title": "The Boxer Rebellion (八国联军)", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical", "label": "War and historical films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical.war-action-and-adventure", "label": "War action and adventure", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical.war-action-and-adventure" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical.war-action-and-adventure.war-action-films-released-through-1999", "label": "War action films released through 1999", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical.war-action-and-adventure.war-action-films-released-through-1999" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical.war-action-and-adventure.war-action-films-released-through-1999.yr-1963-1998", "label": "Released 1963 to 1998", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical.war-action-and-adventure.war-action-films-released-through-1999.yr-1963-1998" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "China · 1946 to 2000: Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "path": [ { "id": "geo.chn", "label": "China", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946", "label": "China · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.chn.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" } ] } ], "excerpt": "Boxer Rebellion (八國聯軍, 1976) is a Chang Cheh Shaw Brothers martial arts war film about three sworn brothers joining the Boxers in 1900; censored in Hong Kong as Spiritual Fists, restored in 2005.", "snippet": "Boxer Rebellion (八國聯軍, 1976) is a Chang Cheh Shaw Brothers martial arts war film about three sworn brothers joining the Boxers in 1900; censored in Hong Kong as Spiritual Fists, restored in 2005.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.war-historical.war-action-and-adventure.war-action-films-released-through-1999.yr-1963-1998", "markdown": "# The Boxer Rebellion (八国联军)\n\n**The Boxer Rebellion** (八國聯軍) is a 1976 Mandarin-language martial arts war film directed by Chang Cheh (張徹), set during the [Boxer Rebellion](https://www.edgepedia.org/boxer-rebellion) of 1900, in which three sworn brothers join the Boxer movement against an invading alliance of eight foreign nations[1](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/boxer-rebellion-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdi0ntcy). Produced by Shaw Brothers through Chang's Film Company and released in Hong Kong on January 29, 1976, it was one of the most expensive Hong Kong films made up to that time, and its politically sensitive subject matter led to heavy censorship in both Hong Kong and Taiwan before later restoration[2](https://movie.douban.com/subject/2037681/) • [3](https://www.silveremulsion.com/2017/08/25/boxer-rebellion-1976/).\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Original title | 八國聯軍 (Ba guo lian jun); also released as Spiritual Fists (神拳三壯士) and The Bloody Avengers[2](https://movie.douban.com/subject/2037681/) |\n| Director and writers | Chang Cheh; screenplay by Ni Kuang (倪匡) and Chang Cheh[4](https://moviecool.asia/film/gwzm9s-GORj) |\n| Release | January 29, 1976 (Hong Kong); distributed by Shaw Brothers[2](https://movie.douban.com/subject/2037681/) • [5](https://www.grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Boxer_Rebellion) |\n| Runtime | 137 minutes per the BBFC; 143 minutes per JustWatch and Netflix listings[1](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/boxer-rebellion-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdi0ntcy) • [6](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/boxer-rebellion) |\n| Lead cast | Alexander Fu Sheng, Chi Kuan-chun, and Leung Kar-yan as three sworn brothers; Li Li-Hua as the Empress Dowager[7](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/ahel/202501105006.aspx) |\n| Hong Kong box office | HK$1,172,518, ranking 28th for its January 29 to February 6, 1976 run[8](https://kungfutube.info/12986) |\n| Budget | One of the highest budgets for a Hong Kong film at the time[3](https://www.silveremulsion.com/2017/08/25/boxer-rebellion-1976/) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nThe story is set in 1900, when China is being invaded by an alliance of eight foreign nations. Three young brothers trained in martial arts, Tsang Hin Hon, Shuai Fang Yun, and Chen Chang, set out to find fellow patriots who resent the foreigners, and their search brings them into the Boxers, a rising sect named for the fighting style of its members[9](https://www.netflixmovies.com/boxer-rebellion-1976).\n\nThe man who leads the Boxers is portrayed as an opportunistic conman who teaches that spirits protect his followers from foreign guns. A large following gathers around him, and the Empress Dowager gives the Boxers her blessing to fight the foreigners[9](https://www.netflixmovies.com/boxer-rebellion-1976). The film follows the three brothers through the movement's rise and its crushing by overwhelming force, ending with the international coalition descending on Peking and taking control of the city[10](https://www.kungfufandom.com/topic/31720-boxer-rebellion-1976-dir-chang-cheh/). A Taiwanese streaming synopsis adds that during a battle with Japanese forces the brothers discover that the leader of the East City branch altar, Li Chung-ching, is a self-aggrandizing man who disregards his followers' lives, costing the master fighter [Chang Chen](https://www.edgepedia.org/chang-chen)-chiang, skilled in the Iron Shirt technique, his life under Japanese gunfire[11](https://www.litv.tv/movie/details/VOD00182350).\n\n## Cast and production\n\nThe three leads were Chang Cheh's third-generation stars. Alexander [Fu Sheng](https://www.edgepedia.org/fu-sheng) plays Tsang Hin Hon, Chi Kuan-chun plays Shuai Fang Yun, and Leung Kar-yan (梁家仁) plays Chen Chang[7](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/ahel/202501105006.aspx). The supporting cast drew on well-known names: two-time Golden Horse Best Actress winner [Li Li](https://www.edgepedia.org/li-li)-Hua played the [Empress Dowager Cixi](https://www.edgepedia.org/empress-dowager-cixi), Sun Yueh played the eunuch Li Lianying, Hu Chin played the famous courtesan Sai Jinhua, and the American actor Richard Harrison played the German General Waldersee[7](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/ahel/202501105006.aspx) • [12](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/boxer-rebellion/cast/2030136311/). Jenny Tseng, Wang Lung-wei, Bruce Tong, Chiang Tao, and Gordon Liu also appear[13](https://www.fareastflix.com/Boxer-Rebellion_p_3681.html).\n\n**Production scale.** Chang Cheh, called the \"Godfather of the kung-fu film\", was given one of the highest budgets to date for this sweeping war story[13](https://www.fareastflix.com/Boxer-Rebellion_p_3681.html). The kung fu choreographer Lau Kar Leung (劉家良) led the action design[13](https://www.fareastflix.com/Boxer-Rebellion_p_3681.html) • [4](https://moviecool.asia/film/gwzm9s-GORj), with music by Chen Yung-yu (陳勳奇) and cinematography by Mu-To Kung[4](https://moviecool.asia/film/gwzm9s-GORj) • [5](https://www.grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Boxer_Rebellion). Palace fight scenes were shot on the main hall set of the Qing court at the Central Motion Picture Corporation studio in Taiwan; a Central News Agency photo report dates that shooting day to January 13, 1975[7](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/ahel/202501105006.aspx). Reviewers note the film's set designs, exterior locations, and large numbers of extras as setting it apart from smaller studio titles[14](https://embed.letterboxd.com/benraygreen/film/boxer-rebellion/).\n\nChang had grown tired of making Shaolin pictures around this time and turned to the war picture, first shooting *Seven Man Army* and then following it with *Boxer Rebellion*[3](https://www.silveremulsion.com/2017/08/25/boxer-rebellion-1976/). A Douban reviewer places it alongside *Seven Man Army* as one of Chang's two large-scale productions of 1976, both about resisting foreign enemies, with this film carried by his third-generation \"twin stars\" Chi Kuan-chun and Fu Sheng[2](https://movie.douban.com/subject/2037681/).\n\n## Censorship and release history\n\n**Hong Kong.** British censors in Hong Kong took issue with how the film portrayed the Boxer Rebellion and its hostility toward foreigners, so it reached audiences only in a greatly cut form, losing roughly 30 to 45 minutes of footage and appearing under the new title *Spiritual Fists* (神拳三壯士)[3](https://www.silveremulsion.com/2017/08/25/boxer-rebellion-1976/). The Hong Kong Film Archive filmography records that the film was initially banned in Hong Kong and released only after cuts under the new title[15](https://www.hkfilm.net/archive/hkfa.pdf). The truncated version failed commercially, which angered Chang Cheh; the editor of his memoir notes that \"he really poured his heart into Boxer Rebellion\"[3](https://www.silveremulsion.com/2017/08/25/boxer-rebellion-1976/).\n\n**Taiwan.** The film was also heavily cut before release in Taiwan. A retrospective account attributes the failure there to two causes: the authorities were happy with a film promoting anti-communist, KMT-glorifying revolutionary sentiment, but society widely regarded the [Eight-Nation Alliance](https://www.edgepedia.org/eight-nation-alliance) as a national humiliation, so the title alone drew criticism and distributors lost confidence; the theatrical release also suffered from poorly arranged cinema scheduling[16](https://ikikyou2724.milkoolong.net/blog/report/movie/boxer-rebellion-1976/4/). The Central News Agency retrospect calls the film Chang Cheh's labor of love (傾力之作) and notes that because of the sensitive subject matter it was cut before release in both Taiwan and Hong Kong[7](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/ahel/202501105006.aspx).\n\nDespite the cuts, the film earned HK$1,172,518 in Hong Kong over its nine-day first run, ranking 28th[8](https://kungfutube.info/12986).\n\n## Restoration and reception\n\nChang Cheh died in 2002, a few years before his stated wish was realized: Celestial restored and released the full version of the film in 2005[3](https://www.silveremulsion.com/2017/08/25/boxer-rebellion-1976/). The restored cut runs about 137 minutes, and the BBFC classified a 137m 21s version for physical media and VOD on December 9, 2024, for a release by Eureka Entertainment, with the content advice noting strong bloody violence, sexual threat in scenes of soldiers harassing and dragging women from their homes, and scenes in which foreign enemies refer to each other as 'filthy' and 'Japanese devils'[1](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/boxer-rebellion-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdi0ntcy).\n\nThe film holds an IMDb rating of 6.2/10 from 294 votes[9](https://www.netflixmovies.com/boxer-rebellion-1976) and a Douban score of 6.6[2](https://movie.douban.com/subject/2037681/). In a retrospective review, [Letterboxd](https://www.edgepedia.org/letterboxd) calls the film \"a patriotic epic, gutted by politics\", observing that the Boxers are portrayed not as zealots but as martyrs, men who were used, infuriated, and destroyed by vastly superior strength, while the movie also depicts Western soldiers abusing Chinese noncombatants and seizing the imperial palace.[17](https://letterboxd.com/film/boxer-rebellion/reviews/) The Silver Emulsion review judges the restored version one of Chang's finest efforts, praising its scale and scope, though it concedes the film is less purely entertaining than much of his output[3](https://www.silveremulsion.com/2017/08/25/boxer-rebellion-1976/).\n\n## Historical liberties\n\nThe film mixes fictional protagonists with historical figures and events. A commentary on Chang Cheh's historical epics records that the Dowager Empress is shown having messengers killed for bringing bad news so she often was not told it, that a scene involving a magistrate and two shootings was modified from a factual incident, and that the Sai Jinhua and Waldersee affair, which might appear contrived, really happened[18](https://horrorcultfilms.co.uk/2024/12/horrible-history-four-historical-epics-by-chang-cheh-1972-1973-1975-1976/).\n\n## References\n\n1. [BOXER REBELLION, British Board of Film Classification](https://www.bbfc.co.uk/release/boxer-rebellion-q29sbgvjdglvbjpwwc0xmdi0ntcy)\n2. [八國聯軍 (1976), Douban](https://movie.douban.com/subject/2037681/)\n3. [Boxer Rebellion (1976), Silver Emulsion Film Reviews](https://www.silveremulsion.com/2017/08/25/boxer-rebellion-1976/)\n4. [《八國聯軍》, MovieCool 華文影視數據平台](https://moviecool.asia/film/gwzm9s-GORj)\n5. [Boxer Rebellion, The Grindhouse Cinema Database](https://www.grindhousedatabase.com/index.php/Boxer_Rebellion)\n6. [Boxer Rebellion streaming: where to watch online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/boxer-rebellion)\n7. [開箱老照片》電影八國聯軍, Central News Agency (CNA)](https://www.cna.com.tw/news/ahel/202501105006.aspx)\n8. [八国聯軍（1976）｜ショウブラ全集, KUNGFU TUBE](https://kungfutube.info/12986)\n9. [Boxer Rebellion (1976) on Netflix, NetflixMovies.com](https://www.netflixmovies.com/boxer-rebellion-1976)\n10. [Boxer Rebellion (1976, dir. Chang Cheh), Kung Fu Fandom](https://www.kungfufandom.com/topic/31720-boxer-rebellion-1976-dir-chang-cheh/)\n11. [八國聯軍-Boxer Rebellion, LiTV 立視線上影視](https://www.litv.tv/movie/details/VOD00182350)\n12. [Boxer Rebellion - Full Cast & Crew, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/boxer-rebellion/cast/2030136311/)\n13. [Boxer Rebellion, Far East Flix](https://www.fareastflix.com/Boxer-Rebellion_p_3681.html)\n14. [Review of Boxer Rebellion by Benjamin Green, Letterboxd](https://embed.letterboxd.com/benraygreen/film/boxer-rebellion/)\n15. [1913-2003 Hong Kong Filmography, Hong Kong Film Archive](https://www.hkfilm.net/archive/hkfa.pdf)\n16. [電影 八國聯軍 (1976), 坐井觀天 blog](https://ikikyou2724.milkoolong.net/blog/report/movie/boxer-rebellion-1976/4/)\n17. [Reviews of Boxer Rebellion (1976), Letterboxd](https://letterboxd.com/film/boxer-rebellion/reviews/)\n18. [HORRIBLE HISTORY: Four Historical Epics by Chang Cheh, Horror Cult Films](https://horrorcultfilms.co.uk/2024/12/horrible-history-four-historical-epics-by-chang-cheh-1972-1973-1975-1976/)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › War and historical films (individual works) › War action and adventure › War action films released through 1999 › Released 1963 to 1998*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-boxer-rebellion", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-boxer-rebellion.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"The Boxer Rebellion (八国联军)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-boxer-rebellion. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[The Boxer Rebellion (八国联军)](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-boxer-rebellion)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/the-boxer-rebellion](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-boxer-rebellion). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"The Boxer Rebellion (八国联军)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-boxer-rebellion. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "Boxer Rebellion is a Chang Cheh Shaw Brothers martial arts war film about three sworn brothers joining the Boxers in 1900; censored in Hong Kong as Spiritual Fists, restored in 2005." }