After the Opium War, social tensions in China grew dramatically worse. Unable to endure the Qing dynasty’s brutal oppression and the foreign invaders’ frenzied plunder, people across the country organized and fought back with courage and resolve. The God Worshippers, led by Hong Xiuquan, formally launched an uprising in Jintian Village, Guiping County, Guangxi, on January 11, 1851, and established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom.
The Taiping movement grew from the God Worshippers through the Jintian Uprising and the establishment of Yong’an, then fought its way across Hubei and Hunan, made Tianjing its capital, and launched northern and western expeditions. It gradually expanded and grew stronger, but a series of internal conflicts, including the Yang-Wei Incident, sapped its strength. After Tianjing fell, it moved steadily toward its demise.
Realistic and realistic…