The Taiping Rebellion

Date

1850–1864

Category

Military & conflict

Region

Qing China (Yangtze valley / south China)

Era

Modern

Significance

The Taiping Rebellion (1850–1864) was a vast civil war against the Qing dynasty led by Hong Xiuquan, a Hakka schoolteacher who, after failing the imperial examinations and experiencing religious visions, proclaimed himself the younger brother of Jesus Christ.

His Taiping Heavenly Kingdom blended a syncretic Christianity with radical social programmes—land redistribution, the abolition of private property and footbinding, and a measure of gender equality—drawing millions of followers across south and central China. In 1853 the rebels captured Nanjing and made it their capital, controlling much of the Yangtze valley for over a decade. The Qing, aided by regional armies under leaders such as Zeng Guofan and by Western-officered forces, slowly reconquered the heartland; Hong died in June 1864 and Nanjing fell weeks later amid massive slaughter. With estimates of total deaths ranging from roughly 20 million to as high as 70 million from fighting, famine and disease, the Taiping Rebellion ranks among the deadliest conflicts in human history. It gravely weakened central Qing authority, empowered provincial militarists, and exposed the dynasty's fragility on the eve of intensified foreign pressure.

Empires active in 1850–1864

• Russian Empire
  1721 CE – 1917 CE
• French Colonial Empire (Second)
  1830 CE – 1962 CE
• British Empire
  1583 CE – 1997 CE
• Qing Dynasty
  1636 CE – 1912 CE
• Spanish Empire
  1492 CE – 1976 CE
• Portuguese Empire
  1415 CE – 1999 CE

Related military & conflict events

• American Civil War and the abolition of slavery
  1861–1865 (Emancipation Proclamation 1 January 1863; 13th Amendment ratified 6 December 1865)
• First Opium War and the Treaty of Nanking
  1839–1842 (Treaty of Nanking, 29 August 1842)
• The Franco-Prussian War, German unification and the Paris Commune
  19 July 1870 – 10 May 1871; German Empire proclaimed 18 January 1871
• Battle of Waterloo
  18 June 1815
• Napoleon's invasion of Russia
  June–December 1812
• Haiti declares independence after a successful slave revolution
  1 January 1804

Also relevant

• Mexican–American War and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo
  1846–1848 (Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, 2 February 1848)

Further reading

Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War

If you read one book

Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom: China, the West, and the Epic Story of the Taiping Civil War

Stephen R. Platt

Gripping narrative of history's bloodiest civil war.

Get it on Amazon →

Also worth reading

• God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan — Jonathan D. SpenceAmazon →

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