taiping (Taip'ing) rebellion: reasons for the rise and fall

What were the general causes of the Rebellion?

- "suffered a series of natural disasters, economic problems, and defeats at the hands of Western powers" - in particular, the humiliating defeat in 1842 by the British Empire in First Opium War - heavily overtaxed, rents were rising, and peasants were deserting their lands in droves. - trade imbalance caused by large-scale illicit and import of opium - increase in small scale warfare, secret societies, and self defence units

What were the overall causes for the Rebellion?

- "the social, economic and political conditions required in order for Hong's movement to resonate with the masses had been fermenting for centuries." Alex McGregor - "suffered a series of natural disasters, economic problems, and defeats at the hands of Western powers" - in particular, the humiliating defeat in 1842 by the British Empire in First Opium War - heavily overtaxed, rents were rising, and peasants were deserting their lands in droves. - trade imbalance caused by large-scale illicit and - import of opium - increase in small scale warfare - secret societies - self defence units - goals were political, religious, and nationalist in nature "conversion of the Chinese people to Taiping version of Christianity" overthrow of ruling Manchus wholesale transformation and reformation of State "sought to upend the moral and social order of China"

Why is it special?

- Hong Xinquan challenged the Qing Dynasty as it called for social and land reforms - appealed to the lower class population who were increasingly poor - only the mightiest of a long line of uprisings that shook the Qing government during the 19th century - the Nian Rebellion 捻亂 1853-68 was led by poor peasants and smugglers with a social objective, the rebellions of the Miao Minority 苗亂 in Guizhou a little bit later - the Muslims 回亂 (as minority called Huizu 回族) in Yunnan, Gansu and Xinjiang under Yakub Beg until 1878 were clearly oriented against the Chinese exploitation and colonisation

How did anti-Qing sentiment cause the Taiping Rebellion?

- anger and desperation increasingly directed towards foreigners - started to blame the West for their ills - inability of Qing dynasty to understand the necessity of reform - social and economic conditions of Qing China aggressive penetration directly worsened the living conditions of the people from which it was profiting - missionaries (hundreds) were a daily reminder that the once proud and strong empire "was now subject to alien doctrines" and no longer was able to determine who could and could not walk upon its soil - Qing dynasty itself considered foreign rulers, the Manchus, hailed from a different ethnic stock to the Han Chinese - despite swiftly adopting traditional, Confucianist cultural practices, were never accepted as Chinese society was built upon foundations of clan loyalty - resentment was only kept at bay as long as the dynasty maintained a prosperous and recognisably Chinese empire - kept Chinese culture free of barbarian influence helps explain popularity of Taiping movement - Tenby argued "despite their internal contradictions and blood fissures, the Taiping had put forward a root and branch response to the challenges facing China. They had also pushed anti-Manchu sentiment to the extreme." - seemed to speak on the behalf of millions Chinese subjects without a voice - "dismissive of enormous contribution that Hong's brand Christianity made to the popularity of the Taiping movement" - did not simply give the movement language but promise of "social equality, political renewal, divine intervention held a powerful appeal for those alienated by the Wings"

How did societal stasis cause the Taiping Rebellion?

- based on traditional, conservative values of Confucianism - under this system there was enormous social pressure on men to find a wife and have kids - this task considerably more difficult in mid 19th century for "millions of landless and jobless men" - lack of employment security made it harder to secure a bride - worsened by enforced economic migration + female infanticide still prevalent - China had a 2000 year old tradition of drowning baby girls as means of population control resulted in a boom with a much higher ratio of boys and girls - made marriage even more of a challenge - problem exacerbated by practice of taking concubines - richer men would take multiple brides, therefore economically less fortunate men with hardly any chance to avoid social shame associated with remaining unmarried - 1840s, "Chinese society was poor, angry, humiliated, and increasing desperate" perfect conditions of rebellion

What were the consequences of the Rebellion on the development of China?

- economic and demographic impact of the "twenty years of internal war" - began talk of a restoration under the Tongzhi emperor - before building up a modern industry, economy had to be reconstructed especially with agriculture - built dikes, waterways, reservoirs, granaries - required increase taxes and duties - help trade and commerce that had to counter the foreign competition

Who was the founder?

- founder was frustrated scholar Hong Xiuquan in contact with Christians - developed his own pseudo-CHristian religion - "saw himself as a kind of messias and preached a social egalitarianism and puritanism" - quasi-mystical leader of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom - 1814 into a family of Hakkas - was hoped he might pass the Chinese civil service exam and join the privileged ranks of scholars unfortunately, he failed four times - "This attraction [to christianity] was quite understandable for a man who had suffered four humiliating personal defeats at the hands of a rigid hierarchical and Confucianist political system" -- Dr. Alexander McGregor

How did economic atrophy cause the Taiping Rebellion?

- however, by middle of 19th century, average Chinese person was poorer than the average American - economic penetration of China by West (esp. Britain) + population explosion - 1842 dealt Qing dynasty a crushing defeat in First Opium War which had the dual effect of enabling Britain to dominate shipping the region + spread opium addiction across coastal cities - unemployment increased especially amongst Chinese sailors and fishermen - population explosion over 18th century—doubled from 150 million to 300 million and greatly increased pressure on resources, housing, infrastructure - corruption and bribery was consequence of a lack of tasks for the educated class - girls looked for employment in red quarters of lower Yangtze cities - many also tried to escape taxmen and population pressure—landless peasants look for new homes in remote mountain areas - anti-Manchu sentiments exploded in southern China amongst the Han; this contributed to hardening the resentment among the poor towards Westerners and ruling Wings - "economic atrophy caused popular resentment towards the ruling classes, making rebellion a genuine possibility.

How did political stasis the Taiping Rebellion?

- in 18th century, Qing was considered to be "presiding over the most sophisticated civilisation" by Enlightenment thinkers - changing nature of civil service exam—Voltaire had seen it as a symbol of a governmental system based on rationality - turned into a "crippling weakness" within a century - nearly 1000 years old and undergone no revisions: required memorisation of 10000 Chinese characters, many of which were no longer in usage pass rate barely 1% - those were successful hailed from privileged ranks who had spent a lifetime in prep. - "what had once been a symbol of the Qing's high degree of civilisation became a symbol of their political stasis" - establishment unable to absorb innovators and creative people, could not respond to population boom "- increasing population and depreciation of copper coins" - there was a need to enlarge the administrator's staff, the quota for recruitment stayed stable fearful of change - maintained traditional methods of bureaucracy and tax collection, therefore could not fund any public works to update infrastructure - millions were born into a "world of insufficient sewage management and underemployment" - "marginalised generation of poor and disaffected became highly receptive to any ideas that promised change, hope, and equality"

When did the tides turn?

- in May 1862, Xiang Army began directly besieging Nanjing - held firm despite numerical superiority of Taiping Army - after Hong died on June 1st 1864,Nanjing fell shortly after on July 19th - the last loyalist was defeated on January 29, 1866 upon retaking Guangdong

What was the imperial response like?

- largely ineffective in halting advances - focused on a "perpetually stalemated siege of Nanking" - however, local irregular army called Xiang Army under Zeng Guofan became main armed force against them - proved effective in gradually turning back Taiping advance - weakened in 1856 after infighting following attempted coup - Xiang Army managed to retake much of Jiangxi and Hubei province - May 1860 the Taiping defeated the imperial forces that had been besieging Nanjing since 1853, opening the way for a successful invasion of southern Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, the wealthiest region of the Qing Empire while preoccupied, Zheng's army retook Anqing in 1861 September

What was the imperial response?

- largely ineffective in halting advances - focused on a "perpetually stalemated siege of Nanking" - however, local irregular army called Xiang Army under Zeng Guofan became main armed force against them proved effective in gradually turning back Taiping advance - weakened in 1856 after infighting following attempted coup Xiang Army managed to retake much of Jiangxi and Hubei province - May 1860 the Taiping defeated the imperial forces that had been besieging Nanjing since 1853, opening the way for a successful invasion of southern Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, the wealthiest region of the Qing Empire while preoccupied, Zheng's army retook Anqing in 1861 September

What was the Taiping Rebellion?

- massive rebellion between Manchu-led Qing Dynasty and the Christian millenarian movement of Heavenly Kingdom of Peace - lasted for 14 years (1850-64) ruined 17 provinces and took an estimated 20 million lives. - rebellion began under Hong Xiuquan (1814-64) - he had a series of vision that he believed to be the son of God (the younger brother of JC) - began with a small following of 10,000 in 1850: the "God Following Society" - on in January 1, 1851 Xinquan established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in Guangzhi - by 1854 the following had reached 1 million and took Nanjing and made it their capital.

What is a brief overview of the Rebellion's events?

- mostly fought in the provinces of Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Anhui, Jiangxi and Hubei - over 14 years, marched through every province except for Gansu - largest war since Qing conquest 1644 one of the bloodiest in human history - 20-70 million to as high as 100 million began on January 1 1851 - Qing Green Standard Army launched an attack against the GWS in Guangxi - Hong declared himself Heavenly King of Heavenly Kingdom of Peace - began marching north in Sept 1851 - on March 19 1853 Taipings captured the city of Nanjing and Hong declared the Heavenly Capital of his kingdom

How did Hong Xiuquan cause the Taiping Rebellion?

- out of forever, believed God had revealed to him that he was the brother of Jesus Christ - precipitated the beginnings of his movement God Following Society in 1843 - by 1850 the newly reformulated Taiping army claimed 10,000 convert-soldiers - 1853, 1 million strong and had captured historic city of Nanjing - in Nanjing retreated into his palace and "slipped into megalomania and decadence" - forbade sexual intercourse but procured 86 concubines - "thought to have committed suicide by eating poisonous mushrooms" - it is easy to echo J.D SPence in wondering how "this particular man had such an astounding impact upon his country for so many years"

What were the long term consequences of the Rebellion?

- power was, to a limited extent, decentralized, and ethnic Chinese officials were more widely employed in high positions. - use of regular troops was gradually abandoned and replaced with personally organized armies. - ultimately, the Taiping Rebellion provided inspiration to Sun Yat-sen and other future revolutionaries, with some surviving Taiping veterans even joining the Revive China Society.

What was the direct impact of the Rebellion?

- shook the pillars of the Qing dynasty's power and resulted in a 14-year internecine Chinese civil war claimed the lives of 20-70 million people - these rebellions were clear evidence that the central government was unable to control their vast empire - instead local governors and military commanders took over responsibility for actual policy similar to end of the Han dynasty where generals controlled central government after subduing the Yellow Turban Rebellion difference that - the Qing government did not want to negotiate with the Western powers, the provincial governors had a free hand in the field of foreign politics

What are the possible lenses through which we can look at the causes of the Taiping Rebellion?

1. Great Man Theory 2. Economic Atrophy 3. Political Stasis 4. Existing Social Discontent

What were the goals of the Taiping Rebellion?

goals were political, religious, and nationalist in nature "conversion of the Chinese people to Taiping version of Christianity" overthrow of ruling Manchus wholesale transformation and reformation of State "sought to upend the moral and social order of China"