The Taiping Rebellion, also known as the Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution, was a civil war in China between the Manchu-led Qing dynasty and the Hakka-led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. The conflict lasted 14 years, from its outbreak in 1850 until the fall of Taiping-controlled Nanjing—which they had renamed Tianjing "heavenly capital"—in 1864. However, the last rebel forces were not defeated until August 1871. Estimates of the conflict's death toll range between 20 and 30 million people, representing 5–10% of China's population at that time. While the Qing ultimately defeated the rebellion, the victory came at a great cost to the state's economic and political viability.
Hong Xiuquan, born Hong Huoxiu and with the courtesy name Renkun, was a Chinese revolutionary and religious leader who led the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing dynasty. He established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom over large portions of southern China, with himself as its "Heavenly King".
Hong Tianguifu was the second and last king of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He is popularly referred to as the Junior Lord (幼主). Officially, like his father Hong Xiuquan, he was the King of Heaven (天王). To differentiate, he is also called the Junior King of Heaven (幼天王).
Li Xiucheng was a military rebel commander opposing the Qing dynasty during the Taiping Rebellion. He was born to a peasant family. In 1864, he was captured and interrogated following the third and final Battle of Nanjing. He was then executed by Zeng Guofan.
Zongdu were high-level officials responsible for overseeing the governors of several provinces in Ming and Qing China. One viceroy usually administered several provinces and was in charge of all affairs of military, food, wages, rivers, and provincial governors within their region of jurisdiction. Viceroys were appointed by and directly reported to the Emperor.
Hong Rengan was an important leader of the Taiping Rebellion. He was a distant cousin of the movement's founder and spiritual leader Hong Xiuquan. His position as the Gan Wang resembled the role of a prime minister. He is a noted figure in history because of the sweeping reforms attempted under his rule, and because of his popularity in the West.
The Jintian Uprising was an armed revolt formally declared by Hong Xiuquan, founder and leader of the God Worshippers, on 11 January 1851 during the late Qing dynasty of China. The uprising was named after the rebel base in Jintian, a town in Guangxi within present-day Guiping. It marked the beginning of the Taiping Rebellion.
The Taiping Kingdom History Museum is a museum dedicated to artifacts from the Taiping Rebellion (1851–1864). It is located on the grounds of the Zhan Yuan Garden, a historical garden in Nanjing, China.
Shi Dakai, born in Guigang, Guangxi, also known as the Wing King or phonetically translated as Yi-Wang, was one of the most highly acclaimed leaders in the Taiping Rebellion and a poet.
Taiping Tianguo or Tai Ping Tian Guo may refer to:
Feng Yunshan was the South King of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, a distant cousin and early accomplice of Hong Xiuquan, and an important leader during the Taiping Rebellion against the Qing government. He was one of the first Taipings to be baptized and established the first group of God Worshippers during the 1840s. He was killed during the initial stages of the rebellion, prior to the establishment of the Taiping's capital of Tianjing at Nanjing.
Huadu District is one of 11 urban districts of the prefecture-level city of Guangzhou, the capital of Guangdong, China. It is located in the far northern suburbs of the city.
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, or the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace (1851–1864), was a theocratic monarchy which sought to overthrow the Qing dynasty. The Heavenly Kingdom, or Heavenly Dynasty, was led by Hong Xiuquan, a Hakka man from Guangzhou. Its capital was at Tianjing, present-day Nanjing. The unsuccessful war it waged against the Qing is known as the Taiping Rebellion.
Twilight of a Nation is a Hong Kong television series based on the events of the Taiping Rebellion and the rise and fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom during the late Qing dynasty. The 45 episodes long series was produced by Siu Sang and was first aired on TVB Jade in Hong Kong in November 1988. It was broadcast again on TVB in 1996. The theme songs and insert songs in the series were performed by Roman Tam.
The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom is a Chinese television series based on the events of the Taiping Rebellion and the rise and fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom in the late Qing dynasty. The 48-episode series was first broadcast on CCTV in China in 2000. The series was also broadcast on STAR Chinese Channel in Taiwan and on ATV in Hong Kong.
Tse Tsan-tai (Chinese: 謝纘泰 or 謝贊泰; pinyin: Xiè Zàntài; Sidney Lau: Je6 Juen2 Taai3; 16 May 1872 – 4 April 1938), courtesy name Sing-on (聖安), art-named Hong-yu (康如), was an Australian Chinese revolutionary, active during the late Qing dynasty. Tse had an interest in designing airships but none were ever constructed. His book The Chinese Republic: Secret History of the Revolution (中華民國革命秘史), published in 1924 by the South China Morning Post, of which he was co-founder, is an important source of studies on the anti-Qing revolution.
The God Worshipping Society was a religious movement founded and led by Hong Xiuquan which drew on his own unique interpretation of Protestant Christianity and combined it with Chinese folk religion, based on the faith in Shangdi, and other religious traditions. According to historical evidence, his first contact with Christian pamphlets occurred in 1836 when he directly received American Congregationalist missionary Edwin Stevens' personal copy of the Good Words to Admonish the Age. He only briefly looked over and did not carefully examine it. Subsequently, Hong claimed to have experienced mystical visions in the wake of his third failure of the imperial examinations in 1837 and after failing for a fourth time in 1843, he sat down to carefully examine the tracts with his distant cousin Feng Yunshan, believing that they were "the key to interpreting his visions" coming to the conclusion that he was "the son of God the Father, Shangdi, and was the younger brother of Jesus Christ who had been directed to rid the world of demon worship."
Fu Shanxiang was a Chinese scholar from Nanjing who became Chancellor under the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, a rebel Chinese state opposed to the Qing dynasty in the 1850s. Fu is known as the first female Zhuangyuan in Chinese history.
Li Ki-tong was a Hong Kong publisher and key financial backer of the revolutionary movement leading to the Xinhai Revolution which overthrew the Qing dynasty of China.
The currency of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom consisted of Chinese cash coins and paper money, although the rarity of surviving Taiping paper money suggests that not much was produced. The first cash coins of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom were issued in the year 1853 in the capital of Tianjing. The cash coins of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom should not be confused with the Taiping Tongbao (太平通寳) which was issued during the Northern Song dynasty between the years 976 and 997, or with any other contemporary rebel coinage that also bear this inscription.
