[1] Protestant and Catholic missionaries and their Chinese parishioners were massacred throughout northern China, some by Boxers and others by government troops and authorities.

After the declaration of war on Western powers in June 1900, Yuxian, who had been named governor in March, implemented a brutal anti-foreign and anti-Christian policy.

On 9 July, reports circulated that he had executed forty-four foreigners (including women and children) from missionary families whom he had invited to the provincial capital Taiyuan under the promise to protect them.

[7] During the first decade of the university its chancellor was the Baptist missionary Timothy Richard who also headed the Western College.

The Catholics murdered in the massacre were subsequently canonized by Pope John Paul II on 1 October 2000 as part of the 120 Martyrs of China.