A civil war fought in Qing dynasty China from 1850 to 1864, led by Hong Xiuquan, a failed civil service examination candidate who came to believe, after a series of visions, that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ sent to found a Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace on earth. His movement grew into an army that captured Nanjing in 1853 and held much of southern China for over a decade before Qing forces, backed by regional armies raised by Zeng Guofan and Li Hongzhang and by the foreign-officered Ever Victorious Army, retook the city in July 1864, days after Hong Xiuquan died in the siege. It is among the deadliest conflicts in recorded history and permanently reshaped Qing finances and regional military power.
Facts
Disputed
Death Toll, Low EstimateThe conservative demographic range most general histories use, drawn from population data recorded before and after the fourteen year war; historian Stephen Platt reports this range, 20 to 30 million dead, as the figure most consistently cited, attributing the bulk of the toll to famine, disease and displacement rather than to combat deaths alone. This entry records 20 million as its lower bound. Death Toll, High EstimateDemographic historian Cao Shuji's 2001 reconstruction of Qing-era population records put the total toll as high as 70 million; Stephen Platt reports this figure alongside the standard 20 to 30 million range while noting how uncertain any single total is once Qing record-keeping collapsed across the war zones. Both bounds draw criticism, the low end for undercounting indirect famine and disease deaths in areas that stopped keeping records, the high end for extrapolating too far from incomplete regional data; this entry records 70 million as the documented upper bound rather than a preferred figure. YearConventionally dated from Hong Xiuquan's 1850 uprising in Guangxi to the July 1864 fall of Nanjing. LocationQing dynasty China, chiefly the south and the Yangtze valley 1 Connections
Associated With
The rebellion was fought against the Qing dynasty, whose survival it directly threatened for over a decade.
Source Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil WarStephen R. Platt
In Era
Participant
Additional Source Wikipedia: Hong XiuquanLead section, Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
Additional Source Wikipedia: Li HongzhangLead section, role suppressing uprisings
Additional Source Wikipedia: Zeng GuofanLead section, Xiang Army and the Taiping Rebellion
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Also in Divinity Atlas: the same subject.
Source Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil WarStephen R. Platt
Also in War and Military Atlas: the same subject.
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Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject took place.
Sources
1. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War
Stephen R. Platt, Alfred A. Knopf, 2012Taiping Rebellion: Event Type
A civil war fought in Qing dynasty China from 1850 to 1864, led by Hong Xiuquan, a failed civil service examination candidate who came to believe, after a series of visions, that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ sent to found a Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace on earth.
- Associated With: The Qing Dynasty
Wikipedia: Hong Xiuquan
WikipediaParticipant: Hong Xiuquan, Lead section, Taiping Heavenly KingdomQuote, Participant: Hong Xiuquan, Lead section, Taiping Heavenly Kingdom
He established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom over large portions of southern China, with himself as its "Heavenly King".
Wikipedia: Zeng Guofan
WikipediaParticipant: Zeng Guofan, Lead section, Xiang Army and the Taiping RebellionQuote, Participant: Zeng Guofan, Lead section, Xiang Army and the Taiping Rebellion
He is best known for raising and organizing the Xiang Army to aid the Qing military in suppressing the Taiping Rebellion
Wikipedia: Li Hongzhang
WikipediaParticipant: Li Hongzhang, Lead section, role suppressing uprisingsQuote, Participant: Li Hongzhang, Lead section, role suppressing uprisings
His legacy in China remains controversial, particularly over his role in suppressing several uprisings, his diplomatic record amid Western powers, and the mixed outcomes of his industrial and military modernization efforts.
New World Encyclopedia: Taiping Rebellion
New World EncyclopediaIn Group: Events of the Mid-Century Revolutions and Wars, 1848 to 1859, Article textQuote, In Group: Events of the Mid-Century Revolutions and Wars, 1848 to 1859, Article text
The Taiping Rebellion was a large-scale revolt, waged from 1851 until 1864
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