BOXERS, SÈTTA dei. – After 1898, the so-called “Society of Good and Sincere Friends,” in Chinese “I huo t’oen,” joined the very numerous secret societies of China; it arose in reaction against the granting of national territories to foreign powers. Since its members practised gymnastics and boxing, the name I huo t’oen was translated as B. or pugilators. In 1900 they also took the name “Society of the Great Knife.”
The aspirants were initiated into the sect through a series of rites by which they claimed to attain invulnerability. Once one had given his name to the sect, it was impossible to withdraw without risking revenge at the hands of the other affiliates. After the rebellion of 1900 (v. CINA), the three sects of the red spears, the yellow spears, the hard bellies, and others arose from the dispersed elements of the B.