The Taiping Rebellion1850-1864


Taiping_Rebellion_prisoners.jpg
Taiping Rebellion Prisoners

-The Taiping Rebellion was a Chinese civil war fought against the ruling court of the Qing Dynasty.

-The Qing Dynasty was in decline.

-There was massive flooding in the Huang He valley due to poor maintenance of irrigation systems and canals. The population explosions created hardship for Chinese peasants along with a corrupt government and taxes. Poverty and misery increased.

-The peasants rebelled. The Taiping Rebellion was probably the most devastating peasant revolt in history.


-The Rebellion was led by Hong Xiuquan. He exploited himself as a revolutionary prophet and wanted to establish the Taiping, "The Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace."

-Hong Xiuquan believed he had religious visions and set himself as the brother of Jesus. He combined the ideas of Christianity and Confucianism.

-Hong Xiuquan spread his religious ideas and called an end to the hated Qing Dynasty.

-The Taiping rebels won control of large parts of China and held out for 14 years. The government crushed the rebellion in the end.

-The Taiping Rebellion almost overthrew the Qing Dynasty. It caused about 20-30 million deaths.

-Throught it all, the Qing Dynasty survived. It had to share power with regional commanders.

-During the rebellion, Europeans kept up pressure on China. Russia seized lands in northern China.