During the initial stages the Chinese nationalism manifested itself in the shape of individual reaction against foreigners and was confined to very narrow areas. Generally, the people attacked the sailors and mission­aries.

But a full fledged anti-imperialist feeling gained around in China only after her defeat at the hands of Japan in 1894. This defeat demon­strated to the people China’s weak and helpless position vis-a-vis the foreign powers.

The Boxer Uprising further demonstrated the inferiority of the Chinese and inspired some students and missionaries to work for overcoming this inferiority. However, it was only with the formation of the Kuomintang, a revolutionary party under the leadership of Sun Yat Sun that the anti-imperialist forces came under common platform.

The anti-imperialist feeling received a further impetus in the wake of Japanese victory over Russia in 1904. Japan’s victory over Russia was treated as symbolic of the rise of East, and gave the Chinese leaders a new confi­dence that they could also get rid of the western dominance. Hence it can be said that as a result of Russo-Japanese War. Chinese nationalism was transformed from a vague sentiment into a policy of action.