List of Rebellions in China - Taiping Rebellion

Taiping Rebellion

The Taiping Rebellion (太平天國, 1851–1864) was the second bloodiest conflict in history, a clash between the forces of Imperial China and those inspired by a Hakka prophet named Hong Xiuquan, a Christian convert who had claimed that he was the brother of Jesus Christ. Most accurate sources put the total deaths at about 20 million civilians and army personnel, although some claim the death toll was much higher (as many as 50 million according to at least one source.). There are reports that "Some historians have estimated that the combination of natural disasters combined with the political insurrections may have cost on the order of 200 million Chinese lives between 1850–1865 ". That figure is generally thought to be an exaggeration, as it is approximately half the estimated population of China in 1851. The rebellion is named after the revolutionaries' proclaimed Heavenly Kingdom of Taiping (Chinese: 太平天国, pinyin: Tàipíng Tiānguó, Wade–Giles: T'ai-p'ing T'ien-kuo, lit. "Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace"), which lasted as long as the revolution.

Hong Xiuquan gathered his support in a time of considerable turmoil. The country had suffered a series of natural disasters, economic problems and defeats at the hands of the Western powers, problems that the ruling Qing Dynasty did little to lessen. Anti-Manchu sentiment was strongest in the south, and it was these disaffected that joined Hong. The sect extended into militarism in the 1840s, initially against banditry. The persecution of the sect was the spur for the struggle to develop into guerrilla warfare and then into full-blown war.

The revolt began in Guangxi province. In early January 1851, a ten-thousand-strong rebel army routed the Imperial troops at the town of Jintian (Jintian Uprising). The Imperial forces attacked but were driven back. In August 1851, Hong then declared the establishment of the Heavenly Kingdom of Taiping with himself as absolute ruler. The revolt spread northwards with great rapidity. 500,000 Taiping soldiers took Nanjing in March 1853, killing 30,000 Imperial soldiers and slaughtering thousands of civilians. The city became the movement's capital and was renamed Tiānjīn (in Wade–Giles: T'ang-chun) (Heavenly Capital).