Honors Program

 

First Advisor

Dr. Wendy Katz

Second Advisor

Dr. Lory J. Dance

Date of this Version

Fall 11-15-2024

Document Type

Thesis

Citation

Yu, J. (2024). "In The Case of Prince Ling Ching: Visualizing the Boxer Rebellion Through Puck Magazine". Undergraduate Honors Thesis. University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Comments

Copyright Mimi Yu 2024.

Abstract

Through the framework of orientalism, this paper examines the historicism behind satirical illustrations created by artists and editors in Puck Magazine which depict the Boxer Rebellion, spanning from 1899 to 1902. In doing so, I aim to explore the nuances in which mass-produced visual satire seeks to justify Western hegemony. Widely published and distributed in the United States, Puck was a satirical magazine from the late 19th and early 20th century, and one of the first satirical magazines to contain colored lithographic covers. Puck further contributed to discourse over the “Yellow Peril” by employing caricature art and passages of punchlines depicting Chinese people as either submissive, pitiful, or barbaric. This paper also analyzes Puck Magazine’s portrayals on the Great Powers and Expansionist rhetoric to contextualize how Western nations viewed themselves and each other in relation to their political and imperial ambitions. By framing China and Chinese people as “victims” while dehumanizing them, Puck contributes to orientalizing Chinese people as “Other”, leading towards tropes such as the “model minority” and strategic essentialism

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