Village civil cases in the Qing Dynasty mainly dealt with households and marriage, land, and debts, etc. It was not uncommon for village disputes to end up in court, which functioned as a vent to release the sense of grievance felt by the disputants. Seemingly trivial cases were thus not trivial at all for those concerned. Prefectural or county officials’ mishandling of a petty civil case could spark village conflicts. As a consequence, such trials were seen as a sensitive issue in rural governance. After the 1860s, the unequal treaties had allowed Western missionaries to proselytize deep into the North China countryside, offering “political protection” for their converts in an attempt to maximize their number. The missionaries interfered extensively in village judicial actions, taking the side of their converts in civil lawsuits that pitted church members against ordinary people. This led to a general situation of “deceitful converts against honest men,” making the latter feel they were the victims of injustice. The channels that would have allowed the ordinary villagers to vent their grievances via litigation were thus blocked up. Their accumulated resentment burst its barriers and finally exploded in the violence of the Boxer Uprising.

中文翻译：

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晚清民事审判中s依者与普通村民的关系以及义和团的崛起

清代的乡村民事案件主要涉及家庭，婚姻，土地和债务等。乡村纠纷最终以法院告终，这是释放争议者的不满情绪的发泄口。因此，对于那些关心的人来说，看似琐碎的案件根本不是琐碎的事。县或县官员对小额民事案件的不当处理可能会引发村庄冲突。结果，这种试验被视为农村治理中的一个敏感问题。1860年代后，不平等的条约使西方传教士深入国内华北乡村，为他们的convert依者提供“政治保护”，以期最大程度地增加他们的人数。传教士广泛干预村庄的司法行动，在民事诉讼中将他们的convert依者一面支持，使教会成员与普通百姓抗衡。这导致了“欺骗honest依诚实的人”的普遍情况，使后者感到自己是不公正的受害者。本来可以让普通村民通过诉讼来表达不满的渠道就被封锁了。他们积累的怨恨冲破了障碍，最终在义和团暴动的暴力中爆发。