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At times, while reading about some of the Boxer's actions and beliefs, particularly in terms of their point-of-view of ritual purity, such a perspective can be difficult to assume. "The bandits passed the word around that, just as they were setting fire to the church in question, some woman from across the way had come out of her home and spilled dirty water. Their magic was therefore destroyed, and the misfortune extended [beyond the church]. On the basis of this [explanation], the families whose homes had been burned down didn't resent the Boxer bandits; they all cursed the woman." However, as strange as these ideas may be to a modern reader or historian, that is all the more reason to demand the rigorous perspective demanded by Cohen. If objectivity is impossible, then looking at historical events from as many interpretations as possible provides a potential solution.

Cohen's embrace of folklore, and of piecing together a patchwork quilt of perspectives is useful in unpacking the influence of people outside of the ruling class, and exposing hidden influences upon Chinese history in terms of the impact of the religion of ordinary people, particularly women, denied an education or access to the centers of power. However, even for a historian outside of the field of East Asian studies, Cohen's ideas are useful in terms of how to approach history, particularly historical events that have become especially fraught with meaning in modern culture, beyond their immediate impact. Cohen is most sure-footed when navigating the territory of the recent past, where there are more concrete documents for him to deal with, in terms of how the Boxers were viewed, but his approach could be applied to events of the even farther, as well as the more recent past.

Paul Cohen, "History in Three Keys," (New York: Columbia University Press, 1997), p.3