Taiping

The Taiping Rebellion was a large-scale revolt against the authority and forces of the Qing Empire in China, conducted by an army and civil administration inspired by Hakka self-proclaimed mystics named Hong Xiuquan and Yang Xiuqing. Hong was an unorthodox Christian convert who declared himself the new Messiah and younger brother of Jesus Christ. Yang Xiuqing was a former salesman of firewood in Guangxi, who was frequently able to act as a mouthpiece of God to direct the people and gain himself a large amount of political power. Hong, Yang and their followers established the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (also, and officially, Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace) and attained control of significant parts of southern China. Most accurate sources put the total deaths during the 15 years of the rebellion at about 20 million civilians and army personnel [1], although some claim the death toll was much higher (as many as 50 million according to at least one source [2]). Some historians estimate the combination of natural disasters combined with the political insurrections may have cost as many as 200 million Chinese lives between 1850 and 1865 [3]. That figure is generally thought to be an exaggeration, as it is approximately half the estimated population of China in 1851.[4] Nevertheless the Taiping Rebellion stands as the 2nd bloodiest conflict in history, behind only World War 2. Area code: 559