China had been weakening internally and at the hands of western imperial encroachment since the 1830s.
Having lost the Opium Wars, China suffered under the Treaty of Nanking (1842) that opened treaty ports to foreign trade and ceded territory (Hong Kong) to Britain.
The imperial governments (Qing or Manchu Dynasty) were not meeting the needs of the people and were perceived as being corrupt. Poverty and crime were rampant, especially in a region called Guanxi; these problems were exacerbated by floods that limited the food supply.
"exacerbated by floods that limited the food supply. "
Great Man Theory
Marxism
Great Forces
Answer: Great Forces
Historians are interested in ideas or forces--in this case, natural forces--that shape events.
Christianity appealed to some poor Chinese, such as Hong Xiquan, a young man who eventually became the leader of the Taiping rebellion.
Talk of land redistribution, especially through a Christian lens, appealed to many of the poor. The document below outlines the land redistribution favoured by Hong Xiquan.
“Land System of the Heavenly Dynasty (1853):
All the fields in the empire are to be cultivated by all the people alike. If the land is deficient in one place, then the people must be removed to another….Thus all the people in the empire may together enjoy the abundant happiness of the Heavenly Father, Supreme Lord, and Great God. There being fields, let all cultivate them; there being food, let all eat; there being money, let us all use it so that nowhere does inequality exist and no man in [sic] not well fed and clothed.
Quoted in William A. Joseph, ed., Politics in China: An Introduction (New York: Oxford University Press, 2010), p. 40. Google Books.
These ideas also appealed to many Chinese who perceived the ruling Manchu as foreigners.
"All the fields in the empire are to be cultivated by all the people alike. If the land is deficient in one place, then the people must be removed to another….Thus all the people in the empire may together enjoy the abundant happiness of the Heavenly Father, Supreme Lord, and Great God. There being fields, let all cultivate them; there being food, let all eat; there being money, let us all use it so that nowhere does inequality exist and no man in [sic] not well fed and clothed."
Hegelian Dialectic
Marxism
Great Forces Theory
Answer: Marxism
Marxist historians would be drawn to this example of class struggle. The redistribution of land proposed here is reminiscent of the redistribution of wealth proposed by Marx.
Hong Xiuquan was the leader of the Taipings. He had studied very hard for the Chinese civil service examination, which was based on Confucian principles. Passing these challenging exams was necessary if he hoped to increase the status of his family; due to their notorious difficulty--the pass rate was about 1%--he failed the exams four times. Sources state that the stress of these failures had tremendous impact on Hong, causing him to have visions of him killing demons with a sword. Eventually, he baptized himself, claiming that he was the younger brother of Jesus Christ, and began converting others. His combination of Christianity and equality appealed to many.
Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Hong_Xiuquan.jpg
Alt text: This is a head and shoulders drawing of Hong Xiuquan. He is a Chinese man wearing an elaborately decorated robe and collar, with a tall, highly decorated hat. He is looking to the right.
Caption: This is an image of Hong Xiuquan
"His combination of Christianity and equality appealed to many."
Great Forces
Marxism
Answer: Great Man Theory:
Hong Xiquan essentially became the military, political, and spiritual leader of a movement with thousands of supporters.
At first, the authorities were fairly tolerant of Hong’s movement. However, as the numbers of his supporters increased, so did the authority’s suspicions. Groups beset by pirates and other criminals in Guanxi flocked to Hong’s movement. By 1850, he had tens of thousands of supporters.
In 1851, the government attempted to suppress the movement, which resulted in the Jiantin Uprising. Hong’s troops were successful, and Hong declared the founding of the Heavenly Kingdom of Transcendent Peace.
"In 1851, the government attempted to suppress the movement, which resulted in the Jiantin Uprising. "
Great Forces
Great Man Theory
Hegelian Dialectic
Answer: Hegelian Dialectic:
Historians from this school argue that history is defined by conflicts between opposing systems, values, and peoples. The Jiantin Uprising occurred because of the conflict between the government and Hong’s supporters.
At their greatest extent, the Taiping forces controlled about one-third of Chinese territory. Hong’s kingdom featured many of the principles outlined in his teaching.
“Their revolutionary program was very wide-ranging. It introduced notions of common property, land reform, equal position of women, abstinence from opium, tobacco and alcohol, calendar reform, literary reform, and above all, a new political-military organization of society.” http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/china_1750_taiping.htm
The support for the Taiping generally divided along class lines. The lower classes supported the Taiping movement, but the middle and upper classes, especially landowners, sided with the government.
"The support for the Taiping generally divided along class lines. The lower classes supported the Taiping movement, but the middle and upper classes, especially landowners, sided with the government."
Great Forces
Hegelian Dialectic
Marxism
Answer: Marxism:
Rebellions and revolutions are often triggered by class inequity. In this case, support for the rebellion was also determined largely by wealth.
He was the most powerful Taiping official for most of the rebellion’s time span, and was in charge of foreign affairs.
Image source: https://www.wdl.org/en/item/7087/#q=taiping
Alt Text: A yellowed page from the Heroes Return to the Truth book. It has three columns of writing in Chinese script.
Caption: This is the front page of one of the few books published during the rebellion. The book, Heroes Return to the Truth, is written as dialogue between the Shield King and a deserter from the Manchu forces, during which the Shield King outlines the values of the Taiping movement.
Some British and American Protestant missionaries befriended the Taipings, interested in their Christianity. They didn’t fully agree with their interpretation of Christianity but saw the Taipings as a way to spread Christianity in China.
The Taiping were opposed by two Qing emperors and the Dowager Empress, Cixi.
However, from 1856 to 1860 Qing troops were also engaged in the Second Opium War against Britain and France.
Britain, France, and the United States were also directly involved. Ragtag non-Chinese mercenaries were hired by Chinese merchants to fight off Taiping advancements, such as those into Shanghai. These mercenaries did not always mesh well with Chinese forces. However, Charles George Gordon, was quite successful. He was a British military officer in charge of “the Ever Victorious Army,” which consisted of Chinese soldiers and European officers. His forces regularly defeated Hong’s armies.
At times, there were internal conflicts among the Taiping leaders, which included banishments, executions, and defections.
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_Gordon_Celestiale_Titu.jpg
Alt Text: This is a black and white photograph of Charles George Gordon, a European man dressed in Chinese silk robes with a Chinese hat and shoes. There are rich fabrics in the background and he is holding a sword.
Caption: Charles George Gordon as leader of the Ever Victorious Army.
As this was more of a prolonged civil war than a revolution, fighting was sustained over many years, with reversals of fortune for both sides.
For instance, the old capital, Nanjing, was taken by the Taipings in 1853. They also tried to take Beijing but weren’t successful.
The Taiping Rebellion was also a bloody civil war. There was at least 20 million deaths during the rebellion, with at least 1 million deaths occurring by execution.
It was also a total war, meaning that all aspects of society were engaged in conflict. The combatants regularly attacked civilians who supported the opposition.
The chaos of war impacted the civilian population in other ways. Disease, especially cholera, and famine devastated communities, and the constant conflict created millions of refugees.
There were some positive consequences for women.The painful practice of foot binding was outlawed, and women could take imperial exams. There were also negative consequences, like the segregation of the sexes and more strict rules around marriage.
"There were some positive consequences for women.The painful practice of foot binding was outlawed, and women could take imperial exams. There were also negative consequences, like the segregation of the sexes and more strict rules around marriage."
Feminism
Great Forces
Marxism
Answer: Feminism:
Historians of this school examine the effects of societal changes on women’s lives, as well as examining women’s own agency in effecting change.
The staggering population loss and decades of war weakened China considerably. The financial impact of the war hampered growth, meaning that China was unable to modernize its army in order to fight off Japan in the 1890s.
China’s weakened state led to more revolutions leading up to the dissolution of the monarchy in 1911. The Boxer Rebellion, for example, reflected the dissatisfaction with Christianity and western imperialism.
Source; https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boxer_Rebellion#/media/File:Beijing_Castle_Boxer_Rebellion_1900_FINAL.jpg Alt Text: This is a painting of the Fall of the Peking Castle. British forces in red jackets are on the left of a field, and Japanese forces are on the right. They appear to be fighting together against the Chinese who are defending Peking Castle in the background. There are puffs of smoke rising from muskets and cannons all over the field.
Caption: "The Fall of the Peking Castle", 1900, by Torajirō Kasai. This image depicts British and Japanese forces taking Peking Castle during the Boxer Rebellion.
Full-scale revolution, led by Sun Yat-Sen, occurred in 1911-12.
"The staggering population loss and decades of war weakened China considerably. The financial impact of the war hampered growth, meaning that China was unable to modernize its army in order to fight off Japan in the 1890s.
China’s weakened state led to more revolutions leading up to the dissolution of the monarchy in 1911. The Boxer Rebellion, for example, reflected the dissatisfaction with Christianity and western imperialism."
Marxism
Great Forces
Hegelian Dialectic
Answer: Hegelian Dialectic:
Historians of this school argue that history is shaped by ongoing conflicts. Their resolutions eventually become the basis for the next series of conflicts.