Item number: M224

Year: AD 1901

Material: Silver

Size: 37.3 x 37.3 mm

Weight: 51.45 g (with box)

Provenance: Künker 2024

This is a silver commemorative badge minted to commemorate Germany’s participation in the Boxer Rebellion in AD 1900. The obverse side features a beaded circle enclosing a right-facing portrait of Emperor Wilhelm II, wearing a bicorne hat and full marshal uniform adorned with medals. The inscription at the top reads in German, “WILHELM II DEUTSCHER KAISER,” meaning “Wilhelm II German Emperor.”

The reverse side of the badge also features a beaded circle, surrounded by eight five-pointed stars. Inside, there is a map depicting the route of the German expeditionary force in China. The map covers the region from Shanghai northwards, including Eastern China and the Korean Peninsula, and labels the Yellow Sea (“GELBES MEER”), the Yangtze River, the Yellow River, and major cities with their German names. The expeditionary route is clearly marked from “Shanghai–Qingdao–Yantai–Tianjin.” The map is inscribed with “KRIEG IN CHINA 1900,” meaning “War in China 1900.”

In AD 1900, a xenophobic movement known as the Boxer Rebellion erupted in rural Shandong and quickly spread across northern China, causing alarm among foreigners stationed in Beijing. On June 20th, the conflict escalated dramatically when German Minister to China, Clemens von Ketteler, was killed. With the approval of Empress Dowager Cixi, the Boxers besieged the Legation Quarter, trapping a German officer and 50 soldiers among the foreigners under siege. News of the minister’s assassination and the besieged legations reached Germany, prompting Kaiser Wilhelm II, a staunch advocate of military expansion, to call for an expeditionary force to avenge the death.

On August 20th, under the nominal command of Field Marshal Alfred von Waldersee, 24,000 German troops set out for China. By the time the German forces arrived in September, the Allied forces had already captured Beijing. Nevertheless, the German troops participated in subsequent military operations in northern China and played a role in the negotiations for the Boxer Protocol. As part of these negotiations, Germany demanded that China erect a commemorative archway in Beijing in honour of the slain Minister von Ketteler.

物件編號: M224

年代: 公元 1901 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 37.3 x 37.3 mm

重量: 51.45 g (含盒)

來源: 昆克 2024

這是一枚紀念公元1900年，德國參與八國聯軍戰役鑄造的銀質紀念章。徽章正面為一道珠圈環繞，內部是頭戴雙角帽，身著全套元帥戎裝和勳章的德皇威廉二世右臉肖像。人像上緣鐫刻德文「WILHELM II DEUTSCHER KAISER」，即「威廉二世德國皇帝」銘文字樣。

徽章背面亦有一道珠圈，外側環繞八枚五角星，內部則是一幅德國遠征軍在中國的路線圖。地圖含括上海以北的中國東部和朝鮮半島，並標示黃海「GELBES MEER」、長江、黃河和各大城市的德語地名。地圖還清楚標示遠征軍的「上海—青島—煙台—天津」行軍路線圖。地圖上還鐫刻著「KRIEG IN CHINA 1900」，即「中國戰爭1900」字樣。

公元1900年，山東農村掀起一股義和團的仇外運動，該運動旋即席捲華北各地，引發駐紮於北京的外國人不安。6月20日，隨著德國駐華公使克林德遭到殺害，標示著衝突的全面升級。北京城內的義和團在慈禧太后允許下，向受困於使館區的外國人展開圍攻，困守其中的有一名德國軍官和50名士兵。隨著公使遇害和使館被圍的消息傳回德國，崇尚軍事擴張的德皇立即鼓吹要組織遠征軍復仇。8月20日，聯軍的名義總指揮瓦德西元帥帶領2萬4千名德軍從德國開拔，直到9月聯軍早已攻克北京後，德軍方才抵達中國。但德軍仍參與在華北的一系列軍事活動，並在後續跟清廷談判的庚子賠款中，要求中國為遇害的克林德在北京豎立紀念牌坊。