The Taiping rebellion was the most devastating civil war in the history of our country and the world (1). The political views of Hong Xiuquan influenced hundreds of thousands of Chinese. Hong's dedication and ability to succeed in rebellion once again proved how weak our Chinese government was and still is. (2)The Rebellion left myself and many others applaud at the amount of lives taken in the Rebellion. Now that the Rebellion has ended, I am relieved that life can once again become more peaceful. China must always acknowledge the past but move into the future with a more modern view on the world, if we wish to succeed against the barbarians of the west.

Hong Xiuquan was the leader of the Taiping rebellion (3). Hong promoted Marxism and tried to take over the Qing dynasty. Carpenter Hong Cho says, "Nobody thought Hongs rebellion would last fifteen years, we all though it would disappear after several weeks." -Hong Cho His rebellion began January 1851 and ended February 1866; 20 million lives were lost from battle and massacre. The Rebellion was a peasant uprising; Hong and his followers would gain support by helping the poor, the angry, and the jailed that suffered from lack of government care . The army grew fast; in 1850 they began to plan for battle. With every victory the rebels became stronger. Then during the fallowing months Feng Yanshan, a leader in the rebellion, along with 10,000 rebels died as they marched from city to city . The rebels lost Wuchang on Jan. 12 1853, 100,000 suicides were reported. The rebels then moved toward Nanjing, to capture it, with its 500,000 soldiers. As they reached Nanjing in March, they had 750,000 soldiers. On March 20, Nanjing was captured and 30,000 were massacred. As more power was obtained the new laws of Hong and his followers were enforced, the major change was equality for all men and women (4). In 1856 there was a stalemate and in 1859 Hong Rengan attempted to restructure the Taiping, prior to his restructuring the Rebellion no longer prospered as much as it had before. In 1861 the Taiping gained power again, along with ports, including Ningpo in 1862. The British and French sent troops and weapons to the Chinese government. Li Xiucheng, a member of the Taiping led 200,000 soldiers to recapture Nanjing again, and stole shipments in Ningpo. On June 1 1864 Hong Xiuquan died, on July 19 government forces recaptured Nanjing and the Leaders of the Taiping Rebellion were executed. Fighting continued until 1866, as rebels were still spread around china (5).

Rice Farmer Xiu Chan says "The Taiping rebellion was an important influential moment in Chinese history." The leader, Hong Xiuquan created one of the most destructive civil wars the world has ever seen. His ideas left the citizens opinions divided, which led to the loss of twenty million lives. His efforts only made life in China worse than it had previously been. Before the Europeans came we were the center of Asia. When The Europeans came our pride and power diminished, along with our economy. The opium trade left china more corrupt. Hong Xiuquan's rebellion only made life in china worse than it already was (6).

Hong Xiuquan's rebellion occurred because of the weakness of our Chinese population from the European barbarians (7). Our people had become addicted to opium, corrupt with crime, and depressed, and our pride and love of country had dissipated . Poor Peasant Hong Kong says "We were vulnerable and exploited at the time." Our anger was a cause of government's lack of power and increase in corruption. Our governments inability to help it citizens left the poor peasants angry, and when they had the chance to join the Taiping, they joined (11). It provided shelter and food along with companionship. Without the poor economic and political situation in China the Taiping would not have thrived so successfully.

Hong Xiuquan's efforts were carried with the justification of a religious movement. As time continued his efforts became militaristic and he wanted to conquer the Qing dynasty. Because his rebellion left China divided, there were those few people who supported Hong, and they were against the Chinese imperial government. This division led to many quarrels and battles, which would eventually end with approximately twenty million died. Many of the deaths were suicide. (8)The Taiping generated too much emotional grief in China. Hong's rebellion destroyed cities, trade, and the conventional everyday lives of the Chinese (9). In Hong's quest for power the physical aspects of China crumbled. Many buildings and homes were destroyed. Food became scarcer and more firearms were created to add to the destruction.

The Rebellion was one more blow to the ego of our Chinese government and our people (10). Our government let a small rebellion negatively affect millions of its citizens. The government took fifteen years to contain the Taiping and left the devout citizens of China questioning the government's ability to rule once more. The rebellion also destroyed our foreign policy. It showed other countries China was weak and could not manage it's own people. The Taiping Rebellion was the worst thing that could have happened to China prior to the European conflict and opium wars.

Footnotes

1. Taiping Rebellion [http://www.watson.org/rivendell/historyeasttaiping.html]. January 2002

2. Robert A. Scalapino and George T. Yu, Modern China and Its Revolutionary Process (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1985) 11-39

3. CHrists Brother goes to China [http://www.historyhouse.com/in_history/taiping/ ]. January 2002

4. Robert A. Scalapino and George T. Yu, 11-39

5. O. Edmund Clubb, 20 TH Century China (New York, Columbia University Press, 1978) 12-14

6. Robert A. Scalapino and George T. Yu, 11-39

7. O. Edmund Clubb, 12-14

8. Ch'ing China, The Taiping Rebellion [http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/CHING/TAIPING.HTM]. January 2002

9. Robert A. Scalapino and George T. Yu, 11-39

10. Spielvogel, Jackson J., World History The Human Odyssey (Cincinatti: West Educational Publishing, 1998), 769-771

Images

1. Battle Scenes [http://www.arts.ed.ac.uk/fineart/battle.html] January 2002

2. Gallery [http://www.merechina.com/gallery/default.asp?PageIndex=4] January 2002