K History of Asian Nations a disastrous civil war. It was led by Hong Xinquian (Hung Hsiu-chuan), a religious rebel who founded a cult, with “God the father, Jesus the elder brother,” and himself as younger brother. Millions joined him because of widespread discontent and poverty. At the Taiping rebellion, Filipino mer- cenary soldiers distinguished themselves in battle, fighting as bodyguards of Western- ers. In particular, one Filipino named _Vi- cente Macayana, was cited in the foreign reports for his bravery. ‘Although the Manchu emperor won the civil war, it was one of the bloodiest in world history, costing nearly 30 million lives, with damage up to $200 million. The rebellion ruined numerous towns and cities, destroyed railroads, factories, farms, homes, schools and churches, and encouraged other minor revolts to flare up. Foreigners Slice Up China. Barely had China recovered from the disorders when it lost humiliatingly to Japan in the Sino- Japanese War of 1894- 95. Meiji Japan had seen an opportunity to expand its power and encouraged Korea to separate from the Manchus in 1894. After the war, China lost both Korea and Taiwan to the Japanese. ‘The Westerns and Japan took advantage of China’s weakness to slice it up into their own “spheres of influence.” A sphere of influence was a territory in which the foreign nation had exclusive right to trade and develop resources. It was said that China was carved up like a melon, and its riches eaten by others. The breakup of China ceased only when the United States, through Secretary of State Carving up China 36 John Hay, suggested an “Open Door Policy” in 1899, instead of exclusive spheres of influence. The new policy was intended to bring order into a chaotic situation. The Western nations agreed because they realized that the total collapse of the Chinese empire would only bring them into war with each other. They agreed to a free-for-all instead. Boxers Filipino troops vs Boxers Boxers Do Not Save China. In 1898, the Chinese dowager empress Cixi (Tzu Hsi) got rid of her nephew emperor and controlled China until 1908. Wanting to save China from the foreign devils, she encouraged the “Boxers,” a secret martial arts society to go after all the Westerners. In asiege of the Beijing foreign compound that lasted 55 days in 1900, the ill-fated Boxer rebellion isolated and then attacked the Western and Japanese compounds. An allied army, including Filipino mercenary troops, defeated the Boxers finally. The Filipino troops who came from Shanghai were chosen as personal bodyguards of US Army Major Frederick Ward, who commanded the resistance, along with British Consul Charles George Gordon. Empress Cixi packed up and hastily fled after the Boxers lost. China’s empire lay in tatters. Mass civil disorder had begun, and calls for revolution spread across the country. On her deathbed, Empress Cixi named another 2-year old nephew, Henry Pu-Yi, as the “boy emperor”. It was his fate to be the last emperor, too. Sun Yat-sen and the Nationalist Revolution. A new leader named Dr.