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by thedudeabides5
1630 days ago
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while the US was having our Civil War, China was having their own called the Taiping Rebellion after a local had a dream he was the brother of Christ and (temporarily) founded the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiping_Rebellion Oh, and this 'rebellion' cost up to 1000x the lives (50m) as the much more talked about Opium Wars (<50k) |
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* It's the worst war/unrest in human history up to the world wars.
* It was the straw that broke Qing China's back. The empire never recovered. The loss of Manchu officials led to local Han authorities raising armies directly, permanently weakening imperial authority.
* It really was led by a man who proclaimed himself the brother of Christ. Hong was probably schizophrenic. Unfortunately he was also charismatic and a gifted military commander. A fascinating person on his own.
* The Heavenly Kingdom was a semi-functional theocratic state that lasted over a decade and ruled tens of millions at one point. They issued stamps, coins, and tried to establish foreign relations.
* The rebels went full zealot. Millenialist. Communal property. Group castrations.
* The rallying around ethnic Hakka identity by the rebels explains much of the modern insistence that the Han Chinese are one people with one language.
* It was so disruptive Western forces got involved in the conflict on the Qing side. They stayed after. It accelerated the unequal treaties process.
For comic relief:
* General Zuo Zongtang, who finally put the rebellion down, is one of the most celebrated and remembered generals in world history; General Tso's Chicken is named after him.