Le Guerre en Chine’

Rare contemporary representation of the Boxer Rebellion.

This interesting board game/map shows a generalized area around Peking (Beijing), China in the early 20th century. Players progressed along various points and, when landing on colored spaces, particular incidents affecting play would occur according to an accompanying rulebook (not present).

Games such as this leveraged well-known playing mechanisms and incorporated important contemporary events in a fun and educational manner. In this case, the content emphasized events surrounding China’s Boxer Rebellion of 1900.

The French were one of a coalition of eight different nations that intervened in China to lift the siege of Peking and protect western economic interests. The map is based on an illustration included in Paul Schlieper’s booklet entitled ‘My War Experiences in China.’

The sheet, apparently never affixed to the board, was part of a larger game called ‘La Guerre en Chine’ (The War In China), created by Louis Saussine in Paris in 1901. Aydin, Games of Empires 289.