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HONG XIUQUAN CAUSES TROUBLE IN SOUTHEAST CHINA
By, David Bar-Gadda
July 12, 1864
With aid from American and British troops, Hong Xiuquan and his many
followers have been captured. The rebels are believed to have killed more than
twenty million people with their vast army. Hong's so called " Kingdom of
heavenly peace" had only added to more chaos. Finally, after fourteen
years peace can be obtained.
It all started when Hong wanted to become an official,
but failed the examinations more than once. With the influence of the Christian
bible, he had visions from Jehovah to rid China from its traditional religion.
(1) Ultimately, his movement became an anti-Manchu effort, thus attracting
many peasants and workers. Here is what Ling Dong, a peasant had to say, "The
Manchu rule was getting old and wasn’t fair. Our group had positive ideas
such as no opium and wine, making China a safer place. I am in a state of
mourning over the death of our group."
Hong gained power over the city Nanjing and named it the "heavenly Capital."(2)
This was possible with his followers who made an obedient army which reached
one million in size.(3)
Hong had internal corruption in his group and
killed many members fearing a challenge to his power.(4) Many were perplexed by
how this could be seen as a peaceful movement when death and war were so ever
present. A wealthy trader commented, " It is amazing to see how Hong
thought this movement was for the better. The past few years have been hard
with all this aftermath of the opium war. Hopefully now I can see improvements
in internal order, and especially in my trading business."
In
the end, our government completely underestimated the drive and popularity of
this rebellion. Its appeal was obvious looking at the 14 years it took us to
win. This civil war rose at a time when we already were unstable. Spectators
recognize, "A strong comeback from the Taiping
Rebellion won’t be happening anytime soon."
Work
Cited
Footnotes:
1. Brian Hook, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of China, (New York: cambridge university press 1991), 218-219.
2. Ibid
3. Frederica M. Bunge, China a country Study, (Washington D.C: Library of Congress 1981), 19-20.
4. The Taiping Rebellion [ http://www.mrdowling.com/613-taiping.html ] January 2003
Images:
Taiping army [ http://www.lcsc.edu/modernchina/u3s1p3.htm ] January 2003
Nanjing [http://www.hunggar.org/images/nanking.jpg]
January 2003
