The Red Lanterns () were a women's fighting group organized during the Boxer Uprising of 1900. Villagers said these women had supernatural powers which helped to protect the male Boxers and fight against foreign enemies.

Background Unlike the Taiping rebels but like many Chinese folk sects such as the White Lotus Sect, Boxer ideology forbade contact with women. Boxer discipline in its strictest form did not allow sexual contact with or even looking at a woman for fear that the female's polluting yin would destroy the invulnerability ritual.Joseph Esherick. The Origins of the Boxer Uprising. (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1987 ), p. 235.

Women organized parallel units to the Boxers: The Red Lanterns (Hongdeng zhao, i.e. "Red Lanterns Shining") for younger women, "Blue Lanterns" (Landeng zhao) for middle-aged women, and Black Lanterns (Heideng zhao) for elderly women. Red Lanterns were anywhere from eleven to seventeen years old.

It is likely that the Red Lanterns had little day-to-day contact with the Boxers.Paul A. Cohen, History in Three Keys: The Boxers as Event, Experience, and Myth, ACLS Fellows' Publications (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997), 39. Due to the negative associations with childbirth, adult Chinese women were seen as polluted or ritually unclean. Their young age, combined with limited access to a reliable food source, meant that most Red Lanterns were likely premenstrual, or presumed to be by the community.Paul A. Cohen, History in Three Keys: The Boxers as Event, Experience, and Myth, ACLS Fellows' Publications (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997), 143. Their special powers were deemed to be a result of this pure prepubescent and pre-childbirth state.Paul A. Cohen, History in Three Keys: The Boxers as Event, Experience, and Myth, ACLS Fellows' Publications (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997), 144. Another argument speculates that their power was greater than the Boxers because "women, though polluted (or perhaps, because polluted), possessed extraordinary powers."Joseph Esherick, The Origins of the Boxer Uprising (Berkeley and Los Angeles, California: University of California Press, n.d.), 298. Nevertheless, because they were young women, their powers were generally seen as less fallible than the Boxers'.Jerome Ch'ên, "The Nature and Characteristics of the Boxer Movement- A Morphological Study," Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 23, no. 2 (1960): 303.

Regardless of the reasons for their powers, these young women were able to live outside of traditional Confucian expectations.Esherick, The Origins of the Boxer Uprising, 298. For example, the Red Lanterns did not set their hair in the traditional way and did not bind their feet. They wore red coats and trousers, red hats, and red shoes, and each carried a red lantern.

Activities in 1900

The Red Lanterns were trained for up to five months in order to cultivate their powers. The new Red Lanterns would practice walking on water through chanting incantations. With enough practice on the pond, they would be able to take flight.Ch'ên, "The Nature and Characteristics of the Boxer Movement- A Morphological Study," 303. In addition, they were trained in sword fighting and fan waving.Kazuko Ono, Chinese Women in a Century of Revolution, 1850-1950 (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1989), 49.

They were said to be able to leap up to heaven when they waved their red fans.Kazuko Ono, Ch Three "The Red Lanterns and the Boxer Rebellion", in Chinese Women in a Century of Revolution, 1850–1950. (Chūgoku Jōsei-shi) Translated and edited by Joshua A. Fogel (Tokyo, 1978; Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1989). p. 49. They are mentioned as being able to walk on water, fly, set fire to Christians' homes, and stop their guns, powers which the male Boxers themselves did not claim. Other accounts claim that the Red Lanterns could control the strength and direction of the wind as they flew.Paul A. Cohen, History in Three Keys: The Boxers as Event, Experience, and Myth, ACLS Fellows' Publications (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997), 127.

A folk song had it:

Wearing all red, Carrying a small red lantern, Woosh, with a wave of the fan Up they fly to heaven.

Reliable accounts of Red Lantern activities are hard to find.Jerome Ch'ên, "The Nature and Characteristics of the Boxer Movement- A Morphological Study," Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London 23, no. 2 (1960): 302. Similar to the Boxers, reports of their magic come from second or third-hand accounts. The only good accounts of their actual activities come from the Battle of Tientsin, when they nursed wounded Boxers and did work such as sewing and cleaning.Esherick, p. 298.

These young women also had the power to protect the Boxers who were fighting the invaders. One former Boxer recalled in an oral history in the 1950s that "a brother-disciple," that is, a fellow Boxer, "would hold a piece of rope in his hand.... and direct the fighting. The Boxers would fight down below, while the Red Lanterns would watch from above, appearing suspended in the sky, no larger than a chicken's egg." These Red Lanterns could throw swords through the air and lop off the heads of the invaders, as well as remove the screws from their cannons. When the Red Lanterns stood still, they could send their souls into battle.Paul A. Cohen. History in Three Keys: The Boxers as Event, Experience, and Myth. (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997; ), 124–126. They had the ability to freeze foreign guns in action.Paul A. Cohen, History in Three Keys: The Boxers as Event, Experience, and Myth, ACLS Fellows' Publications (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997), 125.

The Red Lanterns were also famous for their healing powers. In the 1950s, a former Red Lantern told another oral history project of the senior "sister disciple" who could go into a trance, clap her hands in the direction of a sick person, and cure the illness. Another Red Lantern, the Holy Mother of the Yellow Lotus, had the reputation of being able to heal wounds by sprinkling clear water on them and even bringing the dead back to life by rubbing their bodies.Cohen, p. 126.

When Boxer magic failed, women frequently took the blame. For instance, when Beijing's Church of the Saviour withstood weeks of attack by explosives and fire, the Boxers blamed this failure on the Catholic women inside, who were said to expose themselves and wave "dirty things," causing the spirits of the Boxers to leave their bodies. The answer was to await the arrival of the Red Lanterns: "The Red Lanterns are all girls and young women, so they do not fear dirty things."Esherick, pp. 296–98

In the years following the defeat of the Boxers, villagers traded stories concerning their exploits. One told of Red Lantern women appearing at buildings in Tianjin which the Qing armies could not capture from the foreigners. They caught the bullets from the foreign guns in their flower baskets and scattered them to set the buildings afire, forcing the French and Japanese soldiers to flee. Other village stories spread an egalitarian message of sharing wealth equally and opposing the monarchy. One was that after they attacked the Foreign Legations, the Red Lanterns spread the slogan of killing "a dragon, a tiger, and three hundred rams." The dragon was the emperor, the tiger was Prince Qing, and the three hundred rams were the officials of the central government.Ono, pp. 52–53.

Beyond their supernatural powers, the Red Lanterns also provided operations assistance to the Boxers. It is alleged that they apprehended spies, served as lookouts, transmitted news, and gathered intelligence on the enemy.Paul A. Cohen, "The Contested Past: The Boxers as History and Myth," The Journal of Asian Studies 51, no. 1 (1992): 102, .Kazuko Ono, Chinese Women in a Century of Revolution, 1850-1950 (Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1989), 49. During battles, they would take care of the wounded, help prepare meals, boil water, and carry provisions.Paul A. Cohen, "The Contested Past: The Boxers as History and Myth," The Journal of Asian Studies 51, no. 1 (1992): 102, .

Notable leaders and members

Lin Hei'er: Huanglien Shengmu (Holy Mother of the Yellow Lotus) Leaders of the Red Lanterns were called by similar titles to the Boxers, namely "'Senior Sister-Disciple' (da shijie) and 'Second Sister-Disciple' (er shijie).'"Ono, Chinese Women in a Century of Revolution, 1850-1950, 49.

Lin Hei'er, more commonly known as Huanglien Shengmu (Holy Mother of the Yellow Lotus), is the most well-known leader of the Red Lanterns. One account tells that Lin Hei'er became involved in anti-foreign activities after her husband, Li You, was jailed in 1900 and later died following a conflict with a foreigner.Ono, Chinese Women in a Century of Revolution, 1850-1950, 51. A different account suggests that her father-in-law was imprisoned, not her husband.Paul A. Cohen, History in Three Keys: The Boxers as Event, Experience, and Myth, ACLS Fellows' Publications (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997), 271. In either case, her rebellious activities were inspired by the imprisonment and subsequent death of a loved one after a bad encounter with a foreigner. She traveled to Tianjin with Boxer leader Zhang Decheng where she began assembling women to form the Red Lanterns. On a slat boat along the Grand Canal, she flew a flag saying Holy Mother of the Yellow Lotus. Here, it was reported that she created an altar, attracted women to join the Red Lanterns, and cured the sick.Ono, Chinese Women in a Century of Revolution, 1850-1950, 51-52.

Huanglien Shengmu was involved in many aspects of the Boxer Rebellion, including healing the sick and wounded, crafting battle plans, and leading the Red Lanterns in battle.Ono, Chinese Women in a Century of Revolution, 1850-1950, 52. Her powers were greater than other Red Lanterns and included the ability to undo screws on foreign cannons.Ch'ên, "The Nature and Characteristics of the Boxer Movement- A Morphological Study," 303. She also possessed the unique ability to heal the wounded by sprinkling clear water on them and could restore life to the dead by rubbing their bodies.Paul A. Cohen, History in Three Keys: The Boxers as Event, Experience, and Myth, ACLS Fellows' Publications (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997), 126. It is alleged that she led the Red Lanterns into battle at Laolongtou Station and Zizhuling.Ono, Chinese Women in a Century of Revolution, 1850-1950, 52. Notably, these battles are rare instances of women fighting alongside men.Paul A. Cohen, History in Three Keys: The Boxers as Event, Experience, and Myth, ACLS Fellows' Publications (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997), 273.