1. God’s Chinese Sonby Jonathan D. Spence Raymond Dich World History 5 Professor Arguello

2. Hong Xuiquan’s Inspirations In 1836, Hong Xiuquanfell ill for several days and dreamt that he ascended to Heaven, met his Heavenly Father, Heavenly Mother, Heavenly Elder Brother and Heavenly Wife. He was then told to annihilate the evil devils under the Heavenly Father’s name When Hong recovered, he tried to make sense of his visions; however was unsuccessful until a relative showed Hong Christianity He believed that he was the son of God and the brother of Jesus

3. Opium War and Qing Corrption During the Opium War of 1839 between Great Britain and the Qing government on China, the Qing dynasty lost and was greatly humiliated. They had to give concessions to Great Britain such as access to Chinese Ports. The Manchu rulers were always suspicious of their Chinese subjects and Chinese minorities; Hong belonged to the Hakka, which was a minority ethnic group and was harassed by the government to follow orders obediently.

4. Taiping’s Victories Hong began to preach to other people and thought that he was a divine being. He wanted to get rid of the Qing and reestablish the Ming Dynasty, which preceded the Qing government and thought that the Qing government were the “Demons” that he had to defeat. They gradually gain in numbers and became a threat to the Qing forces, who were overwhelmed in 1853 when they took over the important city of Nanjing.

5. Defeat of the Taiping Rebels Ultimately, however, the Qing government survived because of strong local institutions which prevented the Taiping rebels from making many gains. The Qing also asked for the Europeans to help them fight against the Taiping . Hong Xuiquan died in June of 1864. due to illness from fasting In July of 1864 the Qing forces broke through the defenses in the capital of the “Heavenly Kingdom” and executed the leaders, one of which included Hong’s son.