The Palace Coup of 1900 in China (Based on the Materials of the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire)

The article analyzes the palace coup in China in January 1900 on the basis of diplomatic documents based on diplomatic documents preserved in the Archive of Foreign Policy of the Russian Empire (AVPRI). The Chinese empress dowager Cixi chose a fourteen-year-old boy of imperial blood, Pujun, as the heir to the throne of the empire. It is impossible to understand why the Boxer Rebellion, one of the significant revolts against foreigners, led to military intervention in the early ⅩⅩ century without analyzing the events in the ruling imperial house. The Russian envoy M.N. Girs in his reports informed about the events taking place in Beijing, made observations and forecasts, compared Emperor Guangxu and the appointed heir to the throne. He speculated about the actions of the government of the empress dowager. The documents show that in the opinion of the Russian diplomat M.N. Girs, the palace coup did not represent a change of government and the intra-dynastic situation in China would remain stable in the near future. However, the Chinese palace coup in many ways posed a threat to the stability and independence of the country, changed the composition of the top echelon of power in China. It should be noted, the palace coup occurred precisely at the crucial moment for the Boxer Rebellion, which was spreading from the periphery to the capital of the empire. The key issue of interest for China was the recognition of the new rule after the palace coup, while for foreign powers it was the Chinese government's reaction to the Boxer Rebellion. Due to China's inefficient communication with the embassy quarter, this palace coup indirectly led to the deterioration of relations between China and foreign countries and was the catalyst for the war between China and the Eight-Nation Alliance.