2. 1
Dreams are often difficult to interpret.1 Dreams are believed to offer a metaphysical and
divinatory knowledge, as well as provide ethical clarity concerning actions in the world.2 The
leader of the Taiping Movement, Hong Xiuquan, relied on the dream world as proof of his
calling from God to transform the minds of his followers.3Hong used his dreams and his limited
interpretation of the bible to persuade distressed and wealthy Chinese followers to believe he was
their heavenly leader.4 Hong Xiuquan proclaimed there was a kingdom in heaven, yet he left
earth a hell in his wake.5 His dream world validated his actions as a self-proclaimed prophet
because Hong believed the will of heaven rested with him.6
The dream world has been the catalyst for many people seeking change in their own life.7
In order to convince a following of people to believe him, and change their own personal lives,
Hong Xiuquan relied on his dreams to prove he was literally God’s Chinese son.8 Liang Afa’s
collection of religious tracts, “Good Words for Exhorting the Age,” attracted the attention of
Hong; the name Hong is mentioned in these tracts, and he developed a meaningful and
purposeful connection to the literature.9 After he initially failed his licentiate examination in
Canton during 1836 and then again in 1837, Hong started to read Christian scripture, which was
1 Edgar, Iain R., “The Inspirational Night Dreamin theMotivation and Justificationof Jihad,” NovaReligio: The Journal ofAlternative and
Emergent Religions, Vol. 11, no. 2 (2007), pg. 59, http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/nr.2007.11.2.59 (accessedMarch25, 2015).
2 Ibid
3 Spence, JonathanD., God’s Chinese Son: TheTaipingHeavenlyKingdomofHongXiuquan, (W.W. Norton& Company,NewYork,1997.),
pgs. 46-50, 66-69, 71-72,76-78
4
Ibid., pgs. 46-50, 66-69, 71-72, 76-78,80-81, 88, 114
5 Landes, Richard, “Review: The Fruitful Error: ReconsideringMillennial Enthusiasm,” MIT Press: The Journal of InterdisciplinaryHistory,
Vol. 32, no.1 (summer,2001), pg. 89, http://www.jstor.org/stable/3656488 (AccessedMarch 25, 2015).
6 Spence, JohathanD., pg. 67, 76, 80-81
7 Edgar, Iain R., pgs. 60-62
8
Spence, Jonathan D.,pgs. 46-50, 64-65
9 Ibid., pgs. 30-33,51,58-60,64-68
3. 2
arbitrary in its original translation.10 He felt a certain connection to his reading, especially since
his name, Hong, was mentioned throughout the reading tracts.11
After his inability to pass his examination in Canton, Hong rendered himself a failure and
underwent great stress.12 He suffered prior examination failures, but after his inability to pass the
examination in 1837, Hong developed a type of sickness that rendered him bed-ridden, and many
family members believed him to have gone mad.13
During this time in 1837, a great dream influenced Hong.14 Hong’s great dream during
his stress-induced sickness, influenced him to believe he was chosen by God, as the heavenly
father’s youngest son, the younger brother of Jesus Christ.15 Hong believed God, in all his
majesty, wearing a black dragon robe, a high-brimmed hat, and a long golden beard, instructed
Hong to kill the evil throughout the earth.16 Hong changed his name to, “Heavenly King, Lord of
the Kingly Way, Quan.”17 His name change reflected his newfound power and dignity.18
Once Hong recovered from his sickness, he firmly believed the combination of his recent
illness with his understanding of the new Christian literature were heaven sent and “meant to
be.”19 According to Hong: “If I had received the books without having gone through the
sickness, I could not have dared to believe in them, and on my own account to oppose the
customs of the whole world; if I had merely been sick but not also received the books, I should
10 Ibid, pgs. 30-33, 46, 62, 66-67
11 Ibid, pgs. 32-33, 64-68
12 Ibid, pgs.46-47
13 Ibid, pgs. 30, 33, 46,50
14 Ibid, pgs. 46-50
15 Ibid, pgs. 46-51, 65-67
16 Ibid, pgs. 47- 49, 108
17 Ibid pg. 49
18 Ibid
19 Ibid pg. 67
4. 3
have had no further evidence as to the truth of my visions…I have received the immediate
command from God in his presence, the will of Heaven rests with me.”20
A dream, especially one where a prophet occurs, often legitimizes an individual’s
particular position in a religious, cultural, or ideological setting.21 Hong believed he received
instruction through his dream to act on any evil he deemed intolerable.22 Hong believed his
heavenly father, God, created him to transform the people in the human world.23
Religious groups throughout the world have used their dreams as the reason for starting
their own religious movements.24 A higher reality is believed to be accessible through dreams.25
Hong was not original in his religious conquest when he used his dreams to purport his heavenly
messages from his dream world.26 “Virtually every religious tradition throughout history has
looked to dreams for revelations into the divine, for guidance from the gods, and for spiritual
insight and values.”27
During 1845, Hong named his followers the “God-worshiping Society.”28 By late
summer 1849, there were four distinct God-worshiper centers grouped in a semi-circle to the
north and to the west of the district city of Guiping.29 These four regions comprised a sixty-mile
area from east to west, and eighty miles from north to south.30 During this time, the God-
worshipers were viewed by the Chinese officials of the Qing state, as well as by their fellow
20 Ibid
21 Moin, Azfar A.,“PartisanDreams andProphetic Visions: Shi’I Critique in al-Mas’udis Historyof the Abbasids,” Journal of Oriental Society,
Vol. 127, no. 4 (Oct.-Dec.,2007), pg. 419, http://www.jstor.org/stable/20297308 (accessedMarch25,2015).
22 Spence, JonathanD., pg. 48
23 Ibid, pgs. 48-49
24 Bulkley, Kelly, “Dreams, Spirituality,andRoot Metaphors,” Journal ofReligion andHealth, Vol. 31, no. 3 (Fall 1992), pg. 198,
http://www.jstor.org/stable/27510695 (accessedon March25, 2015).
25 Moin, Azfar A., pg. 417
26 Bulkley, Kelly, pgs. 197-198
27 Ibid, pg. 197
28 Spence, JonathanD., pg. 80
29 Ibid, pg. 110
30 Ibid.
5. 4
neighbors, as mainly a religious group without any emergency for direct military suppression by
the Chinese state.31
By 1850, members of the God-worshipers were brought to trial in Qing courts on
“trumped-up charges,” such as being offensive to Chinese moral values, and this infuriated
Hong.32 Hong now referred to the Qing government officials as “demon devils” and “demon
officials.”33 He began talking of revolution and restoration of the old Ming dynasty to overthrow
the ruling of the Qing. Hong knew he couldn’t restore the old Ming dynasty since nearly two
hundred years had passed since its collapse, but Hong called for the mandatory establishment of
a new dynasty.34
During February 1850, the god-worshipers discussed logistical support and tactical
planning for their attacks on “demon” positions.35 Hong elevated his rank among the God-
worshipers, and he was in charge of developing military strategy among the four bases in
Guiping.36 Hong changed his name to “Taiping king,” and often referred to his four bases as “the
court.” By 1851, there were approximately 20,000 Taiping troops.37
By October 1860, Hong dreamed of a message sent to him by his Heavenly Father.38
Hong recorded the dream as “countless heavenly soldiers and generals faithfully placing before
me their tributes of sacred articles and treasure, and I smiled happily and silently.”39 Throughout
history many religious traditions have revered dreams as sources of divine revelation.40 Hong
31 Ibid, pg. 110-111
32 Ibid, pgs. 113, 115
33 Ibid, pg.115
34 Ibid, pgs. 115-116
35 Ibid, pgs. 116-117
36 Ibid
37 Ibid, pg. 145
38 Ibid, pg. 284
39 Ibid
40 Gollnick, James, Dreams in Psychology of Religion, (Lewiston andQueenston: Edwin MellenPress, 1987.),pg. 182
6. 5
used his dreams to purport his connection to the heavens, and his paramount position in the
Taiping movement rested on his uninterrupted journey to the heavens that his dream world
provided him.41
By spring 1864, Hong did not have enough resources or ammunition to either feed his
followers or battle the Qing government that had started to eradicate all Taiping soldiers.42 The
Qing government had demolished many Taiping advancements, and the loss of human life was
enormous.43 Many Taiping troops began to either dissert their positon as soldiers, they developed
illness or died of hunger, or they were massacred by the Qing government.44 Such a defeat and
loss of life were not the images of earthly paradise that Hong promised his followers.45
Hong had many dreams that expressed concrete images, like an image of God, which
metaphorically expressed ultimate existential concerns that were powerful and challenging, and
further had a deep transformative effect on his life.46 He developed a following of people who
accepted his dreams as real, arguably offering up no formal debate about their existence or their
potential to deliver a higher truth, allowing his dreams to be used as evidence of his calling from
the heavens.47 Believing that a higher reality was accessible via dreams.48 “While dreams may be
epistemologically useful, they are ontologically suspect.”49 Dreams do have a place with many
cultures. Throughout history many religious traditions have revered dreams as sources of divine
revelation.50 In the case of Hong Xiuquan, “One person’s messiah is another’s Antichrist.”51
41 Spence, JonathanD., pg. 221
42 Ibid pgs. 249, 324
43 Ibid, pgs. 302-303,312, 316-317, 322
44 Ibid, pg. 316-317, 324
45
Ibid, pgs. 137, 138,142, 172
46 Bulkley, Kelly, pg. 199
47 Moin, Azfar A..,pg. 420
48 Ibid, pg. 417
49 Ibid, pg. 418
50 Gollnick, James, pg. 182
51 Landes, Richard, pg. 94
