War and Social Upheaval: The Taiping Rebellion (1850-64)
Figure 1.--While Europe was racked by a series of natiianl revolutions, one of the great conflagrations in world history broke out in China--the Taiping Rebellion (1850). It was launched by a failure. Hong Xiuquan touched a cord in the Chinese peasantry burdened by hard times, imperial taxes and coruption, the aftermath of the Opium War, and a touch of religious fervor. This faikled imperial job aspirant would shake Qing China to its core and leave the imperial regime unable to meet the coming challenfes of the 20th century.
While Europe was racked by a series of natiianl revolutions, one of the great conflagrations in world history broke out in China--the Taiping Rebellion (1850). The Taiping Rebellion was perhaps the largest, bloodiest civil war in history. It was also the largest war fought in the 19th century when measured in mortalities. It was fought between the rebels of the Taiping Hevenly Kingdom amd the Manchu/Qing Dynasty. While little studied in the West, its imapact on modern history is immense, leaving the the imperial regime incapable of meeting the challenges of the 20th century. The Taiping Rebellion was launched by a failure. Hong Xiuquan touched a cord on the Chinese peasntry burdened by hardvtimes, imperial taxes abd coruption, the aftermath of the Opium War, and a touch of religious fervor. Hong was born in Guanlubu, Guangdong (1814). He aspired to be an imperial official and traveled to Canton to take the required civil service examinations. Only he failed multiple exams. He acquired some Christian books, but did not at first read them. Crushed, he returned home and went to bed, feeling sick (1837). He hallucinated a journey to a heavenly land to the east where his father revealed that terrible demons were destroying manind. In his hallicinations, Hong envisioned himself fighting with an enchanted sword. Hong and his brother fought the demons commanded by the King of Hell. After the great battle, he stayed in heaven and found his wife. They had a child. Hong returned to Earth, being granted the title, 'Heavenly King, Lord of the Kingly Way'. Incredable as it may seem, this was the beginning of the Taiping Rebellion. The term 'rebellion' hardly does not do it justice. It was a civil war of immense dimensions -- the most deadly civil war in history. The death toll was far greater than many of the wars on our list here. It has to be the most important event in human history which is basically ignored by Western historians. The Taiping Rebellion was a revolt against the decaying Qing (Manchu) dynasty which morphed into a vast civil war. It began as a religious uprising over regional economic Hong who absorbed a smattering of Christian thought, saw himself as a the son of god. The Rebel Armies fought with religious fervor. It would continue for more than a decade (1850-64). The Taiping forces swept through southern China. The rebels defeated major Imperial armies. They were a cult-like force based loosely on Christianity. It was called the God Worshipping Society by self-proclaimed prophet Hong. They became known as Taipings, the Chinese word 'tàipíng' literally means 'great peace'. For over a decade, the Taiping occupied and fought across much of the mid and lower Yangtze valley--nasically the heartland of China. They controlled Nanjing for a decade. The Taiping Rebellion ultimately was defeated, but at great coast. The fighting and destruction is believed to have caused some 20 million deaths although there is no precise accounting. It serious weakened the Qing at hust the time that Japan was beginning its modernization.
