Personally, I think the Boxers did not deserved a bad reputation.
I understand the boxers did something unspeakable to the foreigners in general. However, they did this against a background where foreign armies were invading China. If a country is invaded by other countries and it’s should resist
The motivation of Boxers is just wanted to protect their own country and some cultural traditions. After the Opium War, more foreigners entered China. They passed on their ideas and traditions to the Chinese. The original Chinese traditional culture was being destroyed.
When other countries’ armies arrived in Beijing, the emperor and empress fled to Hebei, and foreign armies began to attack Beijing. They hated the Boxers because it was their enemy. The members of the Boxer at that time took off their special costumes and became like normal people. Foreign armies don’t know who the Boxers were. They shot innocent people on the street and killed many Chinese, but many of them were just innocent people. In 1900 they (Boxers) swept into Peking, murdered the German and Japanese ministers, and besieged the foreign legations, this also made China compensate a lot of money. The original intention of the boxer group was to protect the country, but the method was not appropriate. We can think of different places. If foreigners build churches in China, then if the Chinese build temples in other countries and let foreigners join Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism? I think the boxers should not use killing to resist the church, but we both should think in other places.
It’s a very confusing time There is a great amount of mistrust and resentment between Chinese and foreigners, so sometimes, some innocent foreigners were killed as scapegoats. China doesn’t want the ideas of other countries to affect people in China, cut the railways, and stop all communication with other countries and cities. All they do are to protect their country, although sometimes the methods and processes are not so friendly, there is really nothing wrong with the intention.