Character Sheet for Boxers & Saints.
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Main Characters
Little Bao
Lee Bao/"Little Bao"
The main protagonist of Boxers, a village boy who gets trained in martial arts and eventually becomes leader of the "Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fist", a Boxer uprising against the Ch'ing.- A Lighter Shade of Grey: He gets much more ruthless as the book goes on, but he still adheres to a code of honor and isn't greedy or corrupt like the Ch'ing forces and their European backers.
- Became Their Own Antithesis: Father Bey's smashing of his village's idol is what first leads him to want to fight back against the "foreign devils". Later on, he burns down a library full of ancient and culturally significant Chinese books, in order to give himself a vantage point to attack the enemy forces from.
- Big Bad: In Saints, given how it's told from Vibiana's perspective and he's the leader of the Boxers.
- Big Good: Leader of the warriors fighting to liberate China and defend villages from the Ch'ing and Europeans. At least until he goes off the deep end.
- Hero of Another Story: He's a minor character in Saints, which follows Vibiana instead.
- Jumping Off the Slippery Slope: He increasingly falls under Ch'in Shi Huang's influence and becomes much more ruthless as the story goes on. It starts with him slaughtering Chinese men alike aboard a train car, because they wouldn't de-convert from Christianity, but choosing to spare the women and children. Later on, he sets fire to a church filled with Chinese women and children converts, and eventually turns to desecrating his own cultural artifacts in an attempt to get a leg up on his enemies.
- Protagonist Journey to Villain: Starts the book a hero defending villages against the forces of the corrupt Ch'ing and Europeans, transitions to a more morally gray Anti-Hero midway through, and ends it a fanatic willing to kill women and children and even desecrate China's own culture if that's what it takes to liberate China.
- Rebel Leader: Leader of a Boxer uprising against the Ch'ing dynasty and European occupation of China.
- Sole Survivor: He's the sole survivor of the Boxers after they get brutally put down by British forces, apart from Second Brother (who deserted prior to their arrival at Peking).
- Youngest Child Wins: He's the youngest of the Lee brothers, but gets personally selected by Red Lantern Chu to be trained by him and later becomes the leader of the Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fist, with his two elder brothers now obeying him.
Vibiana
Four-Girl/Vibiana
The main protagonist of Saints, a village girl who runs away to join a Christian missionary.- Action Girl: Is inspired by Joan to become a "maiden warrior" and thus makes Kong teach her how to fight with a sword.
- All-Loving Hero: Becomes this by the end of her story. To the point of even telling Bao how to pray even though he's about to kill her. It ends up saving his life later on.
- Four Is Death: Her name comes from her being her mother's fourth daughter and being born on the fourth day of the fourth month. It leads her superstitious grandfather to label her a "devil" and bringer of bad luck.
- Hero of Another Story: In Boxers, her path and Bao's intersect very little, the two times being when Bao notices being taken by her mother to see Dr. Won and much later when he kills her.
- The Hero Dies: Meets her end at Bao's hands. Although if you've already Boxers it's a Foregone Conclusion.
- Trauma Conga Line: This poor girl goes through quite a lot as the story goes on. It starts with her being abused and neglected by her family.
Mortals
Big Brother
Lee Hun-tai
Bao's eldest brother. Second Brother
Lee Chuan-tai
The middle brother of the Lee siblings.- Big Brother Instinct: Even though he abandons the Boxers, he returns to save Bao after the rest of the Boxers are crushed, to uphold the vow they made under the peach tree never to abandon one another.
- Handsome Lech: He looks handsome enough, and has a habit of flirting with any attractive women he sees, even attempting to force himself on Vibiana later on before being stopped by Bao.
- The Lancer: To Bao, being his less uptight and more laid back foil in the Boxers.
Red Lantern Chu
Red Lantern Chu
A martial artist who comes to Bao's village and eventually trains them in the ways of martial arts.- Decapitation Presentation: After he's executed, his head is placed on a stick and brought by the Ch'ing forces when they arrive at Bao's village.
- The Mentor: The one who teaches Bao and the other residents of his village martial arts.
- Mentor Occupational Hazard: Captured and executed by the Ch'ing forces after freeing prisoners taken by them. His death is what finally compels Bao to lead his uprising.
Mei-wen
Mei-wen
A farm girl who Bao meets after saving her and her sister from a group of Christian bandits. Later becomes the leader of the "Red Lanterns", an all-female army of Boxers who fight alongside Bao's Society of the Righteous and Harmonious Fist.- Action Girl: She becomes leader of the Red Lanterns, and can fight just as well as most of the men in Bao's army.
- Big Damn Heroes: She and her army show up to save Bao's forces when they get overwhelmed, allowing them to claim victory.
- Uncertain Doom: Last seen attempting to save as many books as possible from the Hanlin library after Bao sets it on fire, before it collapses and presumably kills her.
Father Bey
Father Bey
A gruff missionary who comes to China looking to convert its people to Christianity.- Hate Sink: In Boxers, where's he shown to be little more other than a bigoted foreigner who smashes the idol of Bao's village and tries to force his religion on them. Saints gives him considerably more depth.
- Noble Bigot: He looks down on the Chinese as "uncivilized" due to not having been taught Christianity, but still respects the noble qualities they have and even finds them to be in some ways more virtuous than the culture he hails from.
- Reassigned to Antarctica: Came to China because he was forced to leave his own country due to being harshly critical of the corruption he saw among the Bishops of the Catholic Church.
Dr. Won
Dr. Won
The devoutly Christian local doctor of Bao and Four-Girl's village.- Broken Pedestal: Having viewed Won as his ideal convert, Bey didn't take well to finding out he was an opium addict. And neither does Vibiana.
- Functional Addict: Is revealed to be an opium smuggler later on, but is still able to function well enough to do his job and provide charity for others.
- Taking the Bullet: Dies shielding Bey from an arrow.
Spirits
Master Big Belly
Master Big Belly
A martial artist who lives on a mountain, and who trains both Red Lantern Chu and Little Bao.- Cool Old Guy: Gruff at first but eventually turns out to be one. The "bean garden" he makes Bao tend to later provides the opera gods who empower Bao and his army.
- Eccentric Mentor: Trains Bao by making him tend to his bean garden and do other pointless exercises.
Ch'in Shih Huang
Ch'in Shih Huangdi/First Emperor
The First Emperor of China, who becomes Bao's spiritual advisor and whose form he takes whenever he goes out into battle.- Above Good and Evil: Declares that, as Divine Sovereign, he is the one who decides good and evil.
- Big Bad: He's the one who triggers Bao's descent into villainy, by compelling him to be increasingly ruthless and merciless in his quest to reform China.
- The Emperor: The "First Emperor" who united China from a group of divided kingdoms.
- Evil Mentor: He guides Bao while pushing him to be increasingly ruthless and devote himself in full to the liberation of China.
- Evil Wears Black: Wears black and is the most harsh and merciless spirit we see. In-Universe this trait about him is the first thing that makes Bao conclude he's not Liu Bei.
- Historical Domain Character: Is the spirit of the real life First Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huangdi.
- The Unfettered: Is loyal to China above all morality.
- Villain Has a Point: After Bao kills a group of Christian men, Ch'in tells him he should have killed the women and children along with them, saying that anyone who can hold a weapon is a threat. One of those very same women later kills his eldest brother.
- Well-Intentioned Extremist: Wants to liberate China from foreign invasion, but favors especially ruthless tactics in pursuit of it.
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
The Christian martyr who led the French to victory against the English, she begins appearing to Four-Girl/Vibiana in visions.- Action Girl: Vibiana has visions of her fighting in battle, and is eventually inspired to become a "warrior maiden" like her because of them.
- Historical Domain Character: She's Joan of Arc, and appears as a spirit to Vibiana to give her guidance.
- Splash of Color: She's shown in gold, while everything else in Saints is depicted in black and white.
