Imperial Yellow Edict

Edict issued by the Guangxu Emperor of the Qing dynasty, dated February 1st, 1901 (26th year of Guangxu reign, 12th moon, 13th day), printed in black ink on yellow paper, with punctuation marks and dragon border in red. The edict addresses senior provincial officials in the aftermath of the Boxer War of 1900, demanding that they set aside anti-foreign feeling, and work to prevent hostility against foreign merchants and missionaries living in China. The publication of the edict was demanded by Article X of the so-called Boxer Protocol, a punitive diplomatic settlement forced on the Qing dynasty by European nations, the United States, Russia, and Japan after the Boxer War. The text of the edict was specified in Annex No. 16 of the Protocol. The edict is in the voice of the Guangxu emperor but published under the authority of the three senior officials whose names appear at the end. The first of these, Zhang Zhidong, was Viceroy of Huguang at the time of the Boxer War, and one of the group of Viceroys and Provincial Governors to defy the Qing court’s declaration of war on the European and other foreign nations that invaded China during the war. Since all three of the officials had posts in Hubei, it is likely that this copy of the edict was printed in the provincial capital of Wuchang 武昌 (now Wuhan). See also CG94-1-40.