Preview

Taiping Rebellion

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
773 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Taiping Rebellion
Jason Bishop
Prof. Nardini
HIST 112-A
6 April 2011
The Rise and Fall of the “Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace” The Taiping Rebellion is the largest and bloodiest ever to take place in china, the rebellion lasted all the way from 1850 until 1864. It is estimated that over twenty million Chinese died resulting from this rebellion. This movement was started by a man name Hong Xiu-quan who started his career as a failed Confucian scholar that later claimed to have been visited by God and Jesus in a vision. Xui-quan convinced his followers that he was the younger brother of Jesus and that he was sent to establish a “Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace”. A new form of Christianity was formed by his followers where the bible was the centerpiece and a stern moral code of behavior was enforced. The movement grew to include millions of believers who were ready to rebel against the ruling dynasty.

The rebels were dissatisfied with the internal conditions of China. After losing a naval war with the British over opening port cities for trade, the Chinese government was very weak and open to foreign influence. Many treaties allowed for other countries to take advantage of China, which greatly bothered Hong Xiu-quan and his followers. The weak Chinese government was full of corruption and incompetent government officials.

Hong Xui-quan and his followers, the Taipings, gained control of most of south china and they established their “Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace”. This kingdom was ruled by a supreme monarch, Hong Xui-quan, who ruled using a court and bureaucracy system. The Taipings established a counter government with their capitol at Nanjing. Xui-quan had men constantly producing Chinese copies of the bible and required his soldiers to memorize the Ten Commandments. Many westerners thought that Xui-quan would be the founder of Christian china but were eventually proven wrong.

The Taipings resented western influence and were strongly



Cited: Adler, Philip J., and Randall L. Pouwels. World Civilizations. 6th ed. Vol. 2. [S.l.]: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2012. Print. "Ch 'ing China: The Taiping Rebellion." Washington State University - Pullman, Washington. Web. 02 Apr. 2011. . Esherick, Joseph W. "The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Rebellion and the Blasphemy of Empire." The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. Ebsco Host. Web. 5 Apr. 2011. FRANZ MICHAEL.  "T 'ai-p 'ing T 'ien-kuo [The Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace]. " The Journal of Asian Studies (pre-1986)  17.1 (1957): 67-76. ProQuest Central, ProQuest. Web.  7 Apr. 2011.

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    commissioned by God to found a new kingdom on earth and drive the Qing out of…

    • 743 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Study Chapter 26

    • 1746 Words
    • 6 Pages

    From what groups in Chinese society did the founder of the Taiping Rebellion draw his followers? Pg. 602…

    • 1746 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    George....

    • 589 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Early China’s cities, Shang and Zhou, have very distinctive features in the ideology of kingship. In the Shang dynasty, the king and his administration were the controllers, where the king was the intermediary between the people and the gods. However, in the Zhou dynasty, the ruler was chosen by gods to justify power, and if he/she misbehaved or acted inappropriately, they would be kicked off the throne; this was called the Mandate of Heaven.…

    • 589 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Usurper Wang Mang takes control and attempts social reforms D. Natural disaster and rebellion 1. Yellow River changes course a. Demographic changes b. Regular peasant revolts c. Reasons for overthrow of Wang Mang E. The later Han dynasty 1.…

    • 1086 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Although India and China are different when it comes to religion and culture, the Taiping Rebellion in China and the Sepoy Rebellion in India had their similarities and their differences, which allowed them to succeed in some parts of their rebellions and fail in other. However, neither of these rebellions were truly successful in the sense that neither of them achieved their main goals. Even though the leaders of the Sepoy Rebellion and the Taiping Rebellion used certain methods and techniques to achieve their goals, both rebellions outcomes were very similar.…

    • 763 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tang Emperor Wu suggested that the religion destroyed the ways of the Chinese people and ruined the customs that the country had been loyal to for years. Wu believed that by spreading the Buddhist religion and culture, the people of China were actually suffering, “Buddhism wears out the people’s strength, pilfers their wealth…” (Document 6). Han Yu, a Confucian scholar and official at the Tang imperial court based his opinions on the spread of Buddhism on the fact that “Buddha was a man of the barbarians who did not speak Chinese and who wore clothes of different fashion,” (Document 4), Yu believed that since the practice of the Buddhist religion didn’t originate or apply to the Chinese government, that there was no need to practice it as a Chinese citizen. Yu stated that Buddha didn’t understand the meaning of family and customs of the Chinese culture because Buddhism didn’t originate in China, so because of the lack of Chinese culture centered on the religion, Yu didn’t believe that the Chinese people should follow such a way of life. By analyzing these two documents one must assume that Chinese government officials did not feel the spread of Buddhism was good for their country, they felt…

    • 1028 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Opium War Analysis

    • 1984 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Between 1839 and 1842, China experienced the first of two Opium Wars, against Britain. The Opium War, which weakened the Qing Dynasty, created diplomatic tension, opened China up to more foreign influence. The time period examined will mainly be between 1839 and 1842, though there will be context from years leading up and following the war, including the years after the Treaty of Nanking was signed. To determine the extent and reasons for the difficulty that the Chinese experienced adapting to the challenge of the west, this paper will examine certain Confucian…

    • 1984 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    The great rebellions that happened during the 19th century in the Qing dynasty, proved to be costly. Notably the biggest and most dangerous of the rebellions was the Taiping Rebellion. The Taiping Rebellion was so widespread, that the Qing considered it to be more pressing than the second opium war against the Europeans. The Taiping Rebellion had taken over 20 million Chinese lives over the course of the rebellion. Why did the Taiping Rebellion and other Rebellions during the middle of the 19th century happened? The rebellions throughout Chinese history usually happen with events that causes impoverishment to the peasant classes; For example, the Yangtze river flooded much farm land throughout the heart of China and elsewhere, it was drought (Green). Another reason to why the Taiping and other rebellions were so successful was due to the immense weakening of the scholar-officials and their corruption. A lot of these rebellions got so big because the scholar-officials were failing to report it – much like the earlier and later opium wars during the 18th century – to save their lives (Green). Lastly, these rebellions saw much reform in the Qing's military structure, such as, Chinese officials being able to raise armies without a Manchu present. This essay looks at…

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Hong Xiuquan has a series of visions for 40 days and 40 nights in 1837 after failing his Civil Service exam. In these visions, he meets someone who calls him son. It is not until 1843 when Hong Xiuquan understands who these figures are after reading a set of books. He realizes that he met God and is called the brother of Jesus. This leads Hong Xiuquan to believe that he is “The Heavenly King” and that his mission is to cleanse China of the Manchus and others who stood in their way in order to return the Chinese people to worship the Biblical God. Xiuquan leads a movement called the Taiping Rebellion in hopes of creating a new “Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace.” This rebellion was unsuccessfully and led to the destruction of more than 600…

    • 413 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Han Dynasty

    • 161 Words
    • 1 Page

    "Chinese History - Han Dynasty 漢 (www.chinaknowledge.de)." Chinese History - Han Dynasty 漢 (www.chinaknowledge.de). Web. 11 Sept. 2014.…

    • 161 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Good Essays

    The Qing Dynasty

    • 1832 Words
    • 8 Pages

    Nevertheless, despite the unequal treaty signed along with a series of other obligations and negativities on the defeat, the Opium war indeed opened the door of modern Chinese history, and is beneficial to China’s development from a different perspective. While the improvement in technology had largely improved people’s lives in Europe and spread the idea of liberty to the general population, China had yet to accept the trends of revolutions. Even though the majority of the reasons of Qing’s collapse are related to internal factors, the external forces helped stimulate the internal forces and push the country forward. Moreover, the break-out of the Opium War fostered the growth of emerging merchant class in China, which also set the foundation of self-strengthening and reform movements in later Qing. As five ports were forced to open in China after the Opium War, the foreign trade and other merchant activities became increasingly prosperous, especially in Canton and Shanghai. As China’s door was gradually opened after the Opium War, foreign technology, and more importantly, foreign ideas of democracy and liberty started to take roots in the land of China. As more and more young scholars became educated on the foreign ideas or were even sent abroad to study, further rebellions, reforms and revolutions have yet to take place. Therefore, the Opium War well…

    • 1832 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    SPICE Chart on Imperialism

    • 1668 Words
    • 6 Pages

    1. 1850-1864 : Taiping Rebellion led by Hong Xiuquan. He worked for reforms to abolish private property, share communal wealth, free education for all, end the system of concubine, and create equality between men and women. He wound up capturing Nanjing, but it was put down by the British and the French.…

    • 1668 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Qin Dynasty

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Qin Shi Huangdi plunged his dynasty into a short era of civil crisis because he ruled with strict legalism. Qin Shi Huangdi favored legalism by ruling with an iron fist and not favoring Confucius believes. Not only did he not favor it, he feared it. Qin shi Huangdi burnt all the books and kept only 1 copy of every book he found in royal libraries. Qin Shi Huangdi halted any teachings of Confucius. Qin Shi Huangdi created a metaphorically toxic community. Using the rewards and extreme punishment, Qin Shi Haungdi eventually led his people to start spying on each other. Not for their own well being, but for the rewards that came if the people catch others, and the punishments if they didn’t. Furthermore this compelled people to live not by their own morals, but in fear of the government. Qin Shi Huangdi died reigning as the first emperor of China from 246-221 BC (25 years). After his death his younger son brutally murdered the eldest son who would originally move up to the throne. The younger son became the…

    • 262 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Best Essays

    The Taiping’s thus went ahead and propagated Hong’s vie of dragons being devils; this resulted in…

    • 1301 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Best Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Jindandao, a branch of the White Lotus Sect, was an ancient Chinese secret society. In the winter of 1881, Chinese peasants joined the sect and rebelled against the Qing court. Society heads Yang Yuechun and Li Guozhen proclaimed themselves “warriors to sweep the north”, which in clearer terms are “warriors to wipe out the Mongolians in the north.” The extremist slogans of Yang Yuechun and his followers included “kill the Mongolians and seize their land,” and “defeat the Qing and wipe out the Mongolians and Manchus.” They entered the land of southeastern Southern Mongolia’s Zusat League and Zuun-ud League, carrying out large-scale massacres of the Mongolians. The Mongolian death toll may had reached tens of thousands. Tens…

    • 1916 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Powerful Essays

Related Topics