"Fall 1917. Ancient silkroad in Gansu, China. A mysterious caravan appeared from the horizon. Camels led a few dozen carts carrying baggage, women and children. In the front were a number of archaic sedan chairs carried by human coolies, reflecting the old comforts of a rapidly disappearing time. In the back, a giant coffin lay in an open cart, escorted by a team of well-armed guards. The strange caravan cast a long, eerie shadow in sharp contrast with the blood-colored sky lit by the late autumn sunset of China's wild west ... No-one realised that the owner of the caravan was once the most powerful man in China and certainly the most hated in the West ... [from the prelude]." "This is the first book to provide a panoramic view of the origins of the Boxer War. Comprehensively examining this historical conundrum of the 20th century from a detached perspective, the book is based on 10 years exhaustive research of both unpublished and published materials from all nine countries involved. Analysing the misunderstanding between Chinese and foreign governments of the day, Xiang debunks the traditional view that the anti-foreign Empress Dowager of the Chinese Empire was chiefly responsible for this catastrophic episode which altered the course of 20th century China's relationship with the West."--Jacket.