"The Taiping Rebellion" Topic

"If western history books even mention the great war which devastated China in the mid-19th Century at all, it's euphemistically referred to as the "Taiping Rebellion". However this wasn't merely another uprising of poverty-stricken farmers and religious fanatics, but probably the bloodiest war that had afflicted humanity in its history before the 20th Century, when the use of industrial weapons of mass destruction was introduced. It's estimated that the Taiping Rebellion cost the lives of 15-20 million people and left more than half of the country's one thousand prospering cities in charred ruins.

Originally the Taiping were a religious sect strongly influenced by Protestant missionaries. Their leader bore the title "Heavenly King" and considered himself part of the Holy Trinity, talking regularly with his "older brother" Jesus, or with "his father" God. Over time however the Taiping become more and more of a social revolutionary movement, and after initial successes against the government troops, the uprising turned also against the foreign Manchus and became a serious threat to the ruling Qing dynasty. The corrupt and incompetent imperial generals were no match for the fanaticism of the Taiping, who finally conquered 17 provinces; in 1853 they even managed to take Nanjing.

As always happens when religion, nationalism and social protest are mixed, this victory gave the movement a tremendous momentum, but also had devastating impact on the conduct of warfare. The war was waged on both sides with unimaginable cruelty and lack of mercy, with the imperial troops taking a leading role in slaughtering civilians. When the Taiping conquered a city, they normally killed all inhabitants they believed to be Manchu supporters without pity. If imperial troops retook the city they massacred the rest of the population, since they had fraternized with the enemy…"
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Amicalement
Armand

Fascinating article Thanks for posting.

Happy you enjoyed it my friend!. (smile)

Amicalement
Armand

Read the relevant Flashman, Flashman and the Dragon I think; deals with this period magnificently.