HIS 104 Hong man - Essay on the author Hongman PDF

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David Cashier HIS 104 Professor Cole 1 March 2019 The Taiping Rebellion was a rebellion that occurred in China from 1850 to 1864. The rebellion was led by Hong Xiuquan, who was native to the province of Guangdong who encountered Christian missionaries in the 1830s. He eventually went on to found the Society of God Worshippers and the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, which were both founded based on his Christian ideas 1. Hong had failed his civil service exam three times, at which he came down with a strange “illness” in which he dreamed of combating demons and proclaimed himself the Heavenly King. As a result, his family and neighbors considered him to have gone crazy 2. Hong failed his civil service exam a fourth time, Hong immersed himself into Christianity and began to understand his Christian ideas. Everything was coming together, and what was once a simple idea, became a prophecy 3. Hong began organizing a rebellion. The idea of revolt in order to revive a troubled land and restore the “Heavenly Kingdom” spread through the lower classes of China that demanded social change. Hong drew upon the largely rural social base and, asserting allegiance to Christianity, the Taiping Rebellion was established and promised to bring in a new era of economic and social justice 4.

1 “Chapter 16: Alternative Visions of the Nineteenth Century | Worlds Together, Worlds Apart 4e: W. W. Norton StudySpace,” 16, accessed March 1, 2019, http://wwnorton.com/college/history/worlds-together-worldsapart4/ch/16/ebook.aspx. 2 “Chapter 16: Alternative Visions of the Nineteenth Century | Worlds Together, Worlds Apart 4e: W. W. Norton StudySpace.” 3 “Chapter 16: Alternative Visions of the Nineteenth Century | Worlds Together, Worlds Apart 4e: W. W. Norton StudySpace.” 4 “Chapter 16: Alternative Visions of the Nineteenth Century | Worlds Together, Worlds Apart 4e: W. W. Norton StudySpace.”

Many of the early followers of the rebellion came from local society, those who were ready and eager for social change. Those locals were angered by the social distraught of the Opium War, but were not angry at the Europeans, but at the Qing government. The Qing were identified as “demons” by the Taiping, thus making the it a true rebellion against the standing government 5. Some of the policies the Taiping enacted were very strict, but ensured social change for the better. The consumption of alcohol was prohibited as well as the sale and consumption of opium. The involvement in sensual pleasure was also outlawed, and men and women were segregated for residential and administrative purposes 6. “It is advisable to avoid suspicion [of improper conduct] between the inner [female] and the outer [male] and to distinguish between male and female, so men must have male quarters and women must have female quarters; only thus can we be dignified and avoid confusion.” 7 The Taiping virtually separated society based on sex in order to please God and to establish a dignified society which allowed for social justice and change. Even though society was separated, women were allowed to join the military in segregated units from men, which was change from the past. Most of the women in these units were a subgroup of the Han called the Hakka, who did not bind their feet. Women were also allowed to join the bureaucracy, a dramatic change from the past 8. Hong also changed the civil service examinations to focus more on the bible. Finally, land was divided up amongst families according to family size. An important part was that men 5 “Chapter 16: Alternative Visions of the Nineteenth Century | Worlds Together, Worlds Apart 4e: W. W. Norton StudySpace.” 6 “Chapter 16: Alternative Visions of the Nineteenth Century | Worlds Together, Worlds Apart 4e: W. W. Norton StudySpace.” 7 The Principles of the Heavenly Nature, in Sources of Chinese Tradition, 2nd ed., Vol. 2, compiled by W. Theodore de Bary and Richard Lufrano (New York: Columbia University Press, 2000), pp. 229-30. 8 “Chapter 16: Alternative Visions of the Nineteenth Century | Worlds Together, Worlds Apart 4e: W. W. Norton StudySpace.”

and women received equal share, and any land remaining was a surplus given to the community. many of these changes were dramatic changes that went against traditional Chinese values. By 1850, the Taiping Rebellion had amassed 20,000 followers, enough to worry the Qing officials. They sent soldiers to arrest Hong, but the Taiping repelled them. This prompted the Taiping to go on the offensive with Hong proclaiming himself the “Heavenly King” of the “Taiping Heavenly Kingdom”. By 1853, the Taiping had control of major cities including Nanjing....