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88-540: Born in Yongchang (now Baoshan, Yunnan ), Du Wenxiu was the son of a Muslim Hui. His original name was Yang Xiu (杨秀). Du was educated in the Chinese classics and like the sons of other elite Hui families; studied for the Chinese civil service exams. At the age of sixteen he passed the first exam; obtaining his xiucai degree . He became respected among Yunnanese Hui when he and two others travelled to Beijing and petitioned

176-719: A "Chinese-style bureaucracy" in Du Wenxiu's sultanate. A third of the sultanate's military posts were filled with Han Chinese, who also filled the majority of civil posts. During his last offensive in 1867; Du Wenxiu declared in his "Proclamation from the Headquarters of the Generalissimo", that: "this army expedition was caused by the Manchus' taking China from us and staying in power for more than two hundred years, treating people as oxen and horses, having no regard for

264-603: A Hakka from a poor village in Guangdong , failed the imperial examination for the third time, frustrating his ambition to become a scholar-official in the civil service and leading him to a nervous breakdown. While recovering, Hong dreamed of visiting Heaven, where he discovered that he possessed a celestial family distinct from his earthly family. His heavenly father lamented that men were worshiping demons rather than himself and informed Hong that his given name violated taboos and had to be changed, suggesting " Hong Xiuquan ",

352-556: A Protestant Christian missionary several years earlier. After reading these pamphlets, Hong came to believe that they had given him the key to interpreting his visions: his celestial father was God the Father (whom he identified with Shangdi from Chinese tradition), the elder brother that he had also seen was Jesus Christ , and he had been directed to rid the world of demons, including the corrupt Qing government and Confucian teachings. In 1847 Hong went to Guangzhou , where he studied

440-764: A Qing-Vietnamese coalition headed by Feng Zicai . Wu Kun's troops broke up and became marauding armies such as the Yellow Flag Army led by Huang Chongying ( 黃崇英 ) and the Black Flag Army led by Liu Yongfu . The latter would become a prominent warlord in Upper Tonkin and would later help the Nguyễn dynasty to engage against the French during the Sino-French War in the 1880s. He later became

528-582: A cannon to scatter them irretrievably. Four months before the fall of the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom, Hong Xiuquan abdicated in favor of his eldest son Hong Tianguifu , who was 15 years old. The younger Hong was inexperienced and powerless, so the kingdom was quickly destroyed when Nanjing fell in July 1864 to the imperial armies after protracted street-by-street fighting. Tianguifu and few others escaped but were soon caught and executed. Most of

616-618: A deterioration of relations between the Taiping rebels and the triads. On March 19, 1853, the Taipings captured the city of Nanjing and Hong renamed it "Tianjing", or the 'heavenly capital' of his kingdom. Since the Taipings considered the Manchus to be demons, they first killed all the Manchu men, then forced the Manchu women outside the city and burned them to death. Shortly thereafter,

704-399: A district, one county-level city and three counties. Tengyue, the other major populated area in the county, successfully lobbied for and achieved city status in 2015-16 and is currently in the process of separating itself and the surrounding Tengchong area from Baoshan administratively. The prefecture has about 2.5 million inhabitants. Among the resident population, the population of Han

792-539: A hero by the present day government of China. Du Wenxiu's life and related historical facts are a major element of Tariq Ali 's novel Night of the Golden Butterfly . Baoshan, Yunnan Baoshan ( Chinese : 保山 ; pinyin : Bǎoshān ; Burmese : ပေါက်ရှန် ), historically also Yongchang ( Chinese : 永昌 ; pinyin : Yǒngchāng ), is a prefecture-level city in western Yunnan Province , People's Republic of China. Baoshan

880-494: A mild subtropical highland climate ( Köppen Cwb ), with short, mild, dry winters and warm, rainy summers. Frost may occur in winter but the days still generally warm up to around 16 to 17 °C (61 to 63 °F), with a January average of 9.1 °C (48.4 °F). The warmest month is June, which averages 21.5 °C (70.7 °F). Nearly three quarters of the annual rainfall occurs from June to October. The city-prefecture of Baoshan has jurisdiction over five subdivisions —

968-747: A position in his government. After Du Wenxiu became leader of the new state based in Dali; he ordered the repairing of the city's main mosque & the construction of 5 new mosques. To revitalize Islamic education in Yunnan Du Wenxiu established Islamic Madrassas, promoted the use of the Arabic language among the Hui & printed the first copy of the Quran in China. The Sultanate's bureaucracy employed Arabic as

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1056-509: A reference to their origins in the southeastern province of Guangdong. More colloquially, the Chinese called the Taiping some variant of Long-Hairs ( 長毛鬼、長髪鬼、髪逆、髪賊 ), because they did not shave their foreheads and braid their hair into a queue as Qing subjects were obligated to do , allowing their hair to grow long. During the 19th century, the Qing dynasty experienced a series of famines , natural disasters, economic problems and defeats at

1144-515: A restoration of the ancient Chinese faith in Shangdi. The Taiping faith, says one historian, "developed into a dynamic new Chinese religion ... Taiping Christianity". The movement at first grew by suppressing groups of bandits and pirates in southern China in the late 1840s, then suppression by Qing authorities led it to evolve into guerrilla warfare and subsequently a widespread civil war . Eventually, two other God Worshipers claimed to possess

1232-541: A single rebel government. Seeking to join Du Wenxiu and unite in opposition to the Qing; the Hui raised the white banner of the Pingnan State, dropped regional references and began to refer to themselves from this point on as Muslims. In 1863 Ma Dexin declared himself "King-Who-Pacifies-the-South (Pingnan Wang)", seized the official seals & stopped using the Qing reign year when dating documents. Ma Dexin hoped to keep

1320-840: Is 2,248,140, accounting for 89.69%; the population of ethnic minorities is 258,351, accounting for 10.31%. According to the Baoshan Ethnic Gazetteer (2006:337), ethnic Bulang are distributed in the following villages within Baoshan City. The Yaojing ( 尧净 ), a subgroup of the De'ang , are located in Baizhai ( 白寨 ), Laxian ( 拉线 ), and Dagoubian ( 大沟边 ) of Mangyan Village ( 芒颜村 ) and Shiti Village ( 石梯村 ) in Lujiang Township ( 潞江乡 ), Longyang District ( Baoshan Ethnic Gazetteer 2006:490-491). Baoshan lies on

1408-426: Is among those who refer to the rebellion as the "Taiping Revolutionary Movement" on the grounds that it worked towards a complete change in the political and social system, rather than working towards the replacement of one dynasty with another. Many Western historians refer to the conflict in general as the "Taiping Rebellion". Recently, however, scholars such as Tobie Meyer-Fong and Stephen Platt have argued that

1496-428: Is known about how the Taiping referred to the war, but the Taiping often referred to the Qing in general and the Manchus in particular as some variant of demons or monsters ( 妖 ; yāo ), representing Hong's proclamation that they were fighting a holy war to rid the world of demons and establish paradise on earth. The Qing referred to the Taiping as "Yue Bandits" ( 粵匪 ; Yuèfěi or 粵賊 ; Yuèzéi ) in official sources,

1584-700: Is not permitted to transgress [the teaching of the legal schools by] acting [out of] subjective will; to foolishly [pursue] personal benefits; to despicably chase privileges; to act eccentrically or absurdly; to embrace heterodox [thoughts]; to claim supernatural [powers]; or to boast a connection with the spirits. Nor [it is permitted] to deceive common [people, in order to] pursue profit and fame; or to falsify rites and ceremonies, and to confuse different teachings. [This would be like] disguising [metals for] gold or counterfeiting silver; [or] selling dog meat [after] labeling [it] as “sheep”; [or] exaggerating [things] in order to deceive people. For those who fall prey to confusion,

1672-527: Is the second-biggest metropolitan area in western Yunnan after Dali . Baoshan is located between the border of Burma and the Lancang river ( Mekong ); specifically it borders the Burmese states of Kachin to the northwest and Shan to the south. The Nujiang ( Salween River ) flows through the entire length of the prefecture, north to south. Tempered by the low latitude and moderate elevation, Baoshan has

1760-798: The Green Standard Army against the Jintian uprising . On January 11, 1851, Hong declared himself the Heavenly King of the Heavenly Kingdom of Peace (or Taiping Heavenly Kingdom), from which comes the term "Taipings" commonly used for them in English-language studies. The Taipings began marching north in September 1851 to escape Qing forces closing in on them. The Taiping army pressed north into Hunan following

1848-746: The Small Swords Society uprising in Shanghai regrouped with the Taiping army. Du Wenxiu , who led the Panthay Rebellion in Yunnan , was in contact with the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom. He was not waging his rebellion against Han Chinese, instead, he was anti-Qing and he wanted to destroy the Qing government. Du's forces led many non-Muslim forces, including Han Chinese, Li , Bai , and Hani peoples. They were assisted by non-Muslim Shan and Kachin people and other hill tribes in

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1936-649: The Taiping Civil War or the Taiping Revolution , was a civil war in China between the Manchu -led Qing dynasty and the Hakka -led Taiping Heavenly Kingdom . The conflict lasted 14 years, from its outbreak in 1850 until the fall of Taiping-controlled Nanjing —which they had renamed Tianjing "heavenly capital"—in 1864. However, the last rebel forces were not defeated until August 1871. Estimates of

2024-803: The Tongzhi Emperor , Zeng Guofan's Xiang Army captured Anqing with help from a naval blockade imposed by the Royal Navy on the city. Near the end of 1861 the Taipings launched a final Eastern Expedition. Ningbo was easily captured on 9 December, and Hangzhou was besieged and finally captured on 31 December. Taiping troops surrounded Shanghai in January 1862, but were unable to capture it. The Ever-Victorious Army repulsed another attack on Shanghai in 1862 and helped to defend other treaty ports such as Ningbo , reclaimed on 10 May. They also aided imperial troops in reconquering Taiping strongholds along

2112-800: The Xiang River , besieging Changsha , occupying Yuezhou , and then capturing Wuchang in December 1852 after reaching the Yangtze River. At this point the Taiping leadership decided to move east along the Yangtze River. Anqing was captured in February 1853. Taiping leaders may have reached out to Triad organizations, which had many cells in South China and among government troops. Taiping titles echoed Triad usage, whether consciously or not, which made it more attractive for Triads to join

2200-451: The population of China had nearly doubled between 1766 and 1833, while the amount of cultivated land remained the same. The government, commanded by ethnic Manchus , had become increasingly corrupt, and was weak in southern regions where local clans dominated. Anti-Manchu sentiment was strongest in southern China among the Hakka community, a Han Chinese subgroup. Meanwhile, Christian missionaries were active. In 1837, Hong Huoxiu ,

2288-697: The 1856 Tianjing Incident , wherein Yang and his followers were slaughtered by Wei Changhui, Qin Rigang , and their troops on Hong Xiuquan's orders. Shi Dakai's objection to the bloodshed led to his family and retinue being killed by Wei and Qin with Wei ultimately planning to imprison Hong. Wei's plans were ultimately thwarted and he and Qin were executed by Hong. Shi Dakai was given control of five Taiping armies, which were consolidated into one. But fearing for his life, he departed from Tianjing and headed west towards Sichuan. With Hong withdrawn from view and Yang out of

2376-626: The Bible with Issachar Jacox Roberts , an American Baptist missionary. Roberts refused to baptize him and later stated that Hong's followers were "bent on making their burlesque religious pretensions serve their political purpose". Soon after Hong began preaching across Guangxi in 1844, his follower Feng Yunshan founded the God Worshipping Society , a movement which followed Hong's fusion of Christianity, Taoism , Confucianism and indigenous millenarianism , which Hong presented as

2464-705: The Dungan rebellion began in 1862, not as a planned uprising but as a coalescence of local brawls and riots triggered by trivial causes, among these causes were false rumors that the Hui Muslims were aiding the Taiping rebels. The Hui Ma Xiaoshi claimed that the Shaanxi Muslim rebellion was connected to the Taiping. Jonathan Spence claims that a key reason for the Taiping's defeat was its inability to coordinate its rebellion with other rebellions. The rebels announced social reforms, including strict separation of

2552-542: The Grand Commander of Three Directions, with Ma Rong as second in command . . . to launch a rearguard attack from their base in Yimen." There is evidence that Ma Dexin, Ma Rulong & the Hui forces with them only pretended to surrender (in 1862) in order to gain access to the city of Kunming. Even after their supposed capitulation to the Qing; Ma Rulong continued to issue proclamations using his seal "Generalissimo of

2640-480: The Han people to his syncretic version of Christianity , as well as the political overthrow of the Qing dynasty, and a general transformation of the mechanisms of state. Moreover, rather than supplanting China's ruling class, the Taiping rebels sought to entirely upend the country's social order. The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom located at Nanjing managed to seize control of significant portions of southern China. At its peak,

2728-473: The Heavenly Kingdom ruled over a population of nearly 30 million people. For more than a decade, Taiping armies occupied and fought across much of the mid- and lower Yangtze valley, ultimately devolving into civil war. It was the largest war in China since the Ming–Qing transition , involving most of Central and Southern China. It ranks as one of the bloodiest wars in human history, the bloodiest civil war, and

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2816-466: The Qing authorities. Du used anti- Manchu rhetoric in his rebellion against the Qing, calling for Han to join the Hui to overthrow the Manchu-led Qing dynasty after 200 years of their rule. Du invited the fellow Hui Muslim leader Ma Rulong to join him in driving the Manchus out and "recover China". For his war against Manchu "oppression", Du "became a Muslim hero", while Ma Rulong defected to

2904-498: The Qing did not describe the conflict as either a civil war or a movement because doing so would have lent credibility to the Taiping. Instead, they referred to the tumultuous civil war as a period of chaos ( 亂 ; luàn ), rebellion ( 逆 ; nì ) or military ascendancy ( 軍興 ; jūnxìng ). They often referred to it as the Hong-Yang Rebellion ( 洪楊之亂 ; Hóngyáng zhī luàn ), referring to the two most prominent leaders. It

2992-482: The Qing policy of "using Hui to fight other Hui". Ma Dexin was sent to convince Du Wenxiu to surrender in 1864. He was sympathetic to Du's cause but saw no point in continuing to resist anymore. He told Du that the Hui must not fall into the trap of the Qing & that with the end of the Taipeng rebellion the Qing would bring their full force to bear to crush the Hui. Du refused to surrender instead he offered Ma Dexin

3080-566: The Qing referred to the rebels as "long-haired rebels (changfa Huijei)". The Dali regime used White Banners. A state proclamation sent to the Muslims of Lhasa in the early 1860s (by way of Hui caravan traders) justified the rebellion as a righteous response to treachery by idolaters. The declaration was written in Arabic and was filled with Qur'anic and Islamic metaphors. It described the Pingnan rebellion using Islamic terminology: "The cause of

3168-462: The Qing. On multiple occasions Kunming was attacked and sacked by Du Wenxiu's forces. He was the father of Du Fengyang , who also participated in the rebellion. Ma Shilin, a descendant of Ma Mingxin joined the Panthay rebels as a garrison commander and civil official, meeting his end at the fortress of Donggouzhai after a year-long Qing siege. In Kunming, there was a slaughter of 3,000 Muslims on

3256-513: The Taiping ideology and the policy of strict separation of the sexes, even for married couples, sided with government forces. In Hunan , the local irregular Xiang Army under the personal leadership of Zeng Guofan , became the main force fighting the Taiping on behalf of the Qing. Zeng's Xiang Army proved effective in gradually turning back the Taiping advance in the western theater of the war and ultimately retaking much of Hubei and Jiangxi provinces. In December 1856 Qing forces retook Wuchang for

3344-705: The Taiping launched concurrent Northern and Western expeditions, in an effort to relieve pressure on Nanjing and achieve significant territorial gains. The former expedition was a complete failure but the latter achieved limited success. In 1853, Hong Xiuquan withdrew from active control of policies and administration to rule exclusively by written proclamations. He lived in luxury and had many women in his inner chamber, and often issued religious strictures. He clashed with Yang Xiuqing, who challenged his often impractical policies, and became suspicious of Yang's ambitions, his extensive network of spies and his claims of authority when "speaking as God". This tension culminated in

3432-415: The Taiping princes were executed. A small remainder of loyal Taiping forces had continued to fight in northern Zhejiang, rallying around Tianguifu. But after Tianguifu's capture on 25 October 1864, Taiping resistance was gradually pushed into the highlands of Jiangxi, Zhejiang, Fujian and finally Guangdong , where one of the last Taiping loyalists, Wang Haiyang, was defeated on January 29, 1866. Although

3520-722: The Taiping rebellion lost ground, particularly after the fall of Nanjing in 1864, former Taiping soldiers and commanders like Lai Wenguang were incorporated into Nian ranks. After the failure of the Red Turban Rebellion (1854–1856) to capture Guangzhou , their soldiers retreated north into Jiangxi and joined forces with Shi Dakai. After the defeat of the Li Yonghe and Lan Chaoding rebellion in Sichuan, remnants combined with Taiping forces in Shaanxi. Remnant forces of

3608-520: The Three Directions" while Ma Dexin refused to accept the Civil title granted to him; not wanting to be associated with the Qing regime. The Hui rebels taunted the Hui who hadn't joined the rebellion as being fake Hui (jia Huizi). Taiwanese researcher Li Shoukong asserts that in responding to the Qing offer for surrender; Ma Rulong acted hastily with no plan or thought other than to gain access to

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3696-574: The Walled city of Kunming. Many Hui rebels had employed a similar tactic in the early years of the rebellion. To test his loyalty Ma Rulong was sent to pacify the disgruntled magistrate of Lin'an (in Southern Yunnan). A few weeks after Ma Rulong left the city; rebel forces led by Ma Rong and Ma Liansheng stormed Kunming & captured it. Ma Rulong's forces had come to believe that he could no longer be trusted to achieve their goal of uniting under

3784-459: The Yangtze River. In 1863, Shi Dakai surrendered to the Qing near the Sichuan capital Chengdu and was executed by slow-slicing . Some of his followers escaped or were released and continued the fight against the Qing. Qing forces were reorganized under the command of Zeng Guofan , Zuo Zongtang and Li Hongzhang , and the Qing reconquest began in earnest. Zeng Guofan had initially failed so badly that he attempted suicide, but he then adopted

3872-747: The ability to speak as members of the "Celestial Family", the Father in the case of Yang Xiuqing and Jesus Christ in the case of Xiao Chaogui . The Taiping Rebellion began in the southern province of Guangxi when local officials launched a campaign of religious persecution against the God Worshipping Society. In early January 1851, following a small-scale battle in late December 1850, a 10,000-strong rebel army organized by Feng Yunshan and Wei Changhui routed Qing forces stationed in Jintian (present-day Guiping , Guangxi). Taiping forces successfully repulsed an attempted imperial reprisal by

3960-453: The blame lay with corrupt local officials. He tried to convince Du Wenxiu to lay down his arms and make peace as all Muslims were one family. Du responded to Ma's letter In less than a week; categorically refuting his claims & pointed out that Ma's defection was the reason Muslims had become divided. In a memorial, Du asked Ma Dexin to intervene so that Ma Rulong would end the criminal act "of killing his fellow Muslims (tongjiao)" Ma Dexin

4048-554: The border region of Hunan, Guizhou and Guangxi. Taiping wars also spilled over into Vietnam with devastating effects. In 1860, Wu Lingyun ( 吳凌雲 ), an ethnic Zhuang Taiping leader, proclaimed himself King of Dingling ( 廷陵國 ) in the Sino-Vietnamese border regions. Dingling was destroyed during a Qing campaign in 1868. His son Wu Yazhong, also called Wu Kun ( 吳鯤 ), fled to Vietnam but was killed in 1869 in Thái Nguyên by

4136-559: The city. The city's food supplies ran low. Hong contracted food poisoning from eating wild vegetables; the intent may have been suicide. He died in June 1864 after a 20-day illness. A few days later, the Qing took the city in the Third Battle of Nanjing . On 1 August, Zeng Guofan ordered Hong's body exhumed for verification, and desecrated as spiritual punishment. After exhumation, it was dismembered, cremated, and its ashes were fired from

4224-539: The civilian population of Nanjing. Weakened severely by internal conflicts following an attempted coup and the failure of the siege of Beijing , the Taiping rebels were defeated by decentralised provincial armies such as the Xiang Army organised and commanded by Zeng Guofan . After moving down the Yangtze River and recapturing the strategic city of Anqing , Zeng's forces besieged Nanjing during May 1862. After two more years, on June 1, 1864, Hong Xiuquan died during

4312-415: The conflict's death toll range between 20 and 30 million people, representing 5–10% of China's population at that time. While the Qing ultimately defeated the rebellion, the victory came at a great cost to the state's economic and political viability. The uprising was led by Hong Xiuquan , an ethnic Hakka who had proclaimed himself to be the brother of Jesus Christ . Hong sought the religious conversion of

4400-521: The country exacerbating ethnic disputes and accelerating the rise of provincial power . Historians debate whether these developments played a role in the start of the Warlord Era , the loss of central control after the establishment of the Republic of China in 1912. The terms which writers use for the conflict and its participants often represent their different opinions. During the 19th century,

4488-542: The death toll may have reached 100 million. The Nian Rebellion (1853–1868), and several Chinese Muslim rebellions in the southwest (the Panthay Rebellion , 1855–1873) and the northwest ( Dungan revolt , 1862–1877) continued to pose considerable problems for the Qing dynasty. Occasionally, the Nian rebels collaborated with Taiping forces, for instance, they collaborated during the Northern Expedition . As

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4576-513: The decree of God, very victorious.... The Ministers and chiefs under our Imam are as single-hearted as Abu Bakr and as bold as Ali. No one can face them in battle. They are imperious to the Infidel but meek to the Muslim. The metropolis of Infidelity has become a city of Islam!" The Dali Sultanate used Imperial Chinese Symbols & challenged the Qing by using Ming era Imagery. Du tried to highlight

4664-522: The destruction of idols was initially welcomed by foreign missionaries, missionaries eventually came to fear the zealotry of the Taiping that they had a hand in creating. Separation of the sexes was strictly enforced in the first few years, although it tapered off in later years. Part of the extremeness came from a mistranslation of the Ten Commandments , which led to the seventh commandment also forbidding "licentiousness" as well as adultery. It

4752-613: The dispute was that the Idolaters and their chiefs assembled together to kill the Muslims and began to insult their religion.... Having abandoned every hope of life, we fought with the Idolaters and God gave us the victory.... [The ruler's] name is Sadik, otherwise called Suleiman. He has now established Islamic Law. He administers justice according to the dictates of the Qur'an and their traditions. Since we have made him our Imam we have been by

4840-431: The fall of Nanjing in 1864 marked the destruction of the Taiping regime, the fight was not yet over. There were still several hundred thousand Taiping troops continuing the fight, with more than a quarter-million fighting in the border regions of Jiangxi and Fujian alone. It was not until August 1871 that the last Taiping army led by Shi Dakai 's commander, Li Fuzhong ( 李福忠 ), was completely wiped out by government forces in

4928-429: The feasibility of an Independent Yunnan based government: "if we cannot realize far-reaching permanent victory, we can still achieve a smaller, more remote success like that of the Nanzhao Kingdom, which lasted eight hundred years". The power of the Hui State between the years 1863-68 was described by the French missionary Father Ponsot: "Since the Hui occupied Dali they have become consistently stronger and more or less

5016-455: The final time. The Xiang Army captured Jiujiang in May 1858 and then the rest of Jiangxi by September. In 1859, Hong Rengan , Hong Xiuquan's cousin, joined the Taiping forces in Nanjing and was given considerable power by Hong. Hong Rengan developed an ambitious plan to expand the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom's boundaries. In May 1860, the Taiping defeated the imperial forces that had been besieging Nanjing since 1853, eliminating them from

5104-403: The foreign nature of Manchu rule even in dress; and his own imperial robes were from the "Chinese" Ming dynasty. According to David G. Atwill: "The regime reflected the strong interethnic ties of the Hui with the Han and of the Yi with predominantly Han-Islamic imagery and a heavily indigenized presence in its institutions and rule." Du Wenxiu cited the example of the Nanzhao Kingdom , as proof for

5192-407: The groups eventually disbanded. With no reliable census at the time, estimates of the death toll of the Taiping Rebellion are speculative. The most widely cited sources estimate the total number of deaths during the almost 14 years of the rebellion to be approximately 20 to 30 million civilians and soldiers. Most of the deaths were attributed to plague and famine. Some analysts have claimed that

5280-512: The hands of foreign powers. Farmers were heavily overtaxed, rents rose dramatically, and peasants started to desert their lands in droves. The Qing military had recently suffered a disastrous defeat in the First Opium War , while the Chinese economy was severely impacted by a trade imbalance caused by the large-scale and illicit importation of opium. Banditry became common, and numerous secret societies and self-defense units formed, all of which led to an increase in small-scale warfare. Meanwhile,

5368-423: The harm is hard to undo. These kinds of things compromise cleanliness and truth [qingzhen], as do a poison or a big plague." These instructions indicate the Yunnanese Muslim concern for the preservation of Islamic Orthodoxy and their belief that Qing rule had corrupted their traditions with decadent habits and beliefs like Shamanism. Islam, Confucianism and Tribal pagan animism were all legalized and "honoured" with

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5456-403: The imperial court for compensation for the 1845 Baoshan Massacre of the Hui. After he failed to secure a settlement from the Qing administration, Du traveled through western Yunnan's trading networks on behalf of his family. The experience of his travels made him conscious of the commercial, political, and multiethnic landscape of Yunnan. The rebellion started after massacres of Hui perpetrated by

5544-419: The instigation of the judicial commissioner, who was a Manchu, in 1856. Du Wenxiu was of Han Chinese origin despite being a Muslim and he led both Hui Muslims and Han Chinese in his civil and military bureaucracy. Du Wenxiu was fought against by another Hui leader who defected to the Qing dynasty, Ma Rulong. Ma claimed that the central government was not responsible for the massacres of the Yunnanese Hui & that

5632-459: The largest conflict of the 19th century, comparable to World War I in terms of deaths. Thirty million people fled the conquered regions to foreign settlements or other parts of China. The war was characterized by extreme brutality on both sides. Taiping soldiers carried out widespread massacres of Manchus, the ethnic minority of the ruling Imperial House of Aisin-Gioro . Meanwhile, the Qing government also engaged in massacres, most notably against

5720-631: The main road from Ruili on the Burmese border to Kunming . The Baoshan−Kunming section is completed highway, and the Baoshan-Ruili part was completed in 2016, finalizing the highway net crossing Yunnan east-to-west. It is the first finished highway between China and Myanmar. Baoshan Yunrui Airport ( IATA : BSD , ICAO : ZPBS ) has daily flights to and from Kunming. The currently under construction Dali–Ruili railway will pass through Baoshan. Baoshan railway station will handle passenger services while Baoshan North will handle freight. Taiping Rebellion The Taiping Rebellion , also known as

5808-462: The masters of the land. They control almost all the towns around Zhongdian, Heqing and Lijiang extending almost up to Tibet, land of the lamas." Areas under rule of the Dali Sultanate were widely considered to be far safer and less corrupt than the areas under imperial control. European travelers observed that a "calm tranquility reigned over this country". Traders "lauded the security of the White banner [Dali-controlled] territory" and locals attributed

5896-401: The moniker ultimately adopted by Hong. In later embellishments, Hong would declare that he also saw Confucius being punished by his celestial father for leading the people astray. In 1843, Hong failed the imperial examinations for the fourth and final time. It was only then, prompted by a visit by his cousin, that Hong took time to carefully examine Christian pamphlets he had received from

5984-409: The movement. In 1852, Qing government troops captured Hong Daquan , a rebel who had assumed the title Tian De Wang (King of Heavenly Virtue). Hong Daquan's confession claimed that Hong Xiuquan had made him co-sovereign of the Heavenly Kingdom and given him that title, but was more likely an echo of an earlier but unconnected White Lotus Rebellion . However, the capture of Nanjing in that year led to

6072-408: The people (shao sharen)". However the Qing troops carried out a bloody massacre of the Hui populace; killing ten thousand people (four thousand of whom were women, children and the elderly). Du's head was encased in honey & sent to Beijing along with 24 baskets filled with the ears of the dead. Du's body is entombed in Xiadui. His capital was Dali. The revolt ended in 1873. Du Wenxiu is regarded as

6160-452: The picture, the remaining Taiping leaders tried to widen their popular support and forge alliances with European powers, but failed on both counts. The Europeans decided to stay officially neutral, though European military advisors served with the Qing army. Inside China, the rebellion faced resistance from the traditionalist rural classes because of hostility to Chinese culture and Confucian values . The landowning upper class, unsettled by

6248-467: The populace if resistance continued. Du concurred and decided to surrender the next morning, telling his council that: "What you have said is true. If this generalissimo [Du] decides to fight to the death, then truly not even a chicken or dog will be left alive. If this generalissimo leaves the city, then I can save the old and the young." He had handed himself over to the Qing hoping that the city's residents would be spared, telling General Yang Yuke "spare

6336-470: The preferred language for communication among the Hui elite and the preferred language for foreign diplomatic relations. When the first British envoys arrived in Yunnan from Burma they were presented with documents entirely in Arabic and had to wait several days for it to be translated into Chinese. Instead of wearing queues as mandated by the Qing the male subjects of Sultanate let their hair grow long. And

6424-699: The presence of prosperous trade to Du Wenxiu's efforts to "trade as much as possible, both by the imposition of light duties and a rigorous administration of justice." The Dali government created policies to encourage locals to protect trade caravans and ordered officials to guard the main passes into Yunnan and to provide free lodging to traders. Du Wenxiu himself set up a trading company in Burma and also established two cotton trading bureaus in Ava , one of them operated by his sister. Religious instructions called upon Yunnanese Muslims and traders to not contradict Islamic Law: "It

6512-486: The rebel forces united under him until he could hand over control to Du Wenxiu. Ma Rulong immediately rushed back to Kunming, He was rebuked by his followers who told him that "If you only crave to be an official with no thought for your fellow Muslims, you should return to [your home in] Guanyi." Ma Rulong attacked the city along with Qing forces; ordered Ma Dexin to give up his seals of office & placed him under house arrest. Ma Dexin also opposed Ma Rulong's acceptance of

6600-536: The region and opening the way for a successful invasion of southern Jiangsu and Zhejiang provinces, the wealthiest region of the Qing Empire. The Taiping rebels were successful in taking Hangzhou on March 19, 1860, Changzhou on May 26, and Suzhou on June 2 to the east. While Taiping forces were preoccupied in Jiangsu, Zeng's forces moved down the Yangtze River. An attempt to take Shanghai begun in June 1861

6688-472: The revolt. The other Muslim rebellion, the Dungan revolt , was the reverse: it was not aiming to overthrow the Qing dynasty because its leader Ma Hualong had accepted an imperial title. Instead, it erupted as a result of intersectional fighting between Muslim factions and Han Chinese. During the Dungan revolt, various groups fought against each other without any coherent goal. According to modern researchers,

6776-510: The second and last leader of the short-lived Republic of Formosa . Other "Flag Gangs" armed with the latest weapons, disintegrated into bandit groups that plundered remnants of the Lan Xang kingdom. They were then engaged in the Haw wars (misnamed due to conflation with Chinese Muslims ) against the incompetent forces of King Rama V ( r.  1868–1910–  ) until 1890, when the last of

6864-603: The sexes, abolition of foot binding , land socialisation, and "suppression" of private trade. They also outlawed the importation of opium into all Taiping territories. In regard to religion, the Kingdom replaced Confucianism , Buddhism and Chinese folk religion with the Taiping Christianity, God Worshipping , which held that Hong Xiuquan was the younger brother of Jesus and the second son of Shangdi . Buddhist libraries were burned. Because Hong saw Confucianism

6952-554: The siege, caused from the consumption of weeds in the palace grounds as well as suspicions of poison. Nanjing fell barely a month later. The 14-year civil war as a whole coincided with internal and external conflicts of the Opium Wars and the future Boxer Rebellion to further weaken the Qing dynasty’s grasp on central China. The Taiping rebellion gave incentive for an initially successful period of reform and self-strengthening although shadowed by social and religious unrest within

7040-516: The teachings of the 16th-century Ming general Qi Jiguang . He bypassed the professional regular armies and recruited from local villages, paying and drilling them well. Zeng, Zuo and Li led personally loyal soldiers. By early 1864, Qing control in most areas had been reestablished. In May 1862, the Xiang Army besieged Nanjing; attempts to break the siege by the numerically superior Taiping Army failed. Hong Xiuquan declared that God would defend

7128-447: The term "Taiping Rebellion" is biased because it insinuates that the Qing government was a legitimate government which was fighting against the illegitimate Taiping rebels. Instead, they argue that the conflict should be called a "civil war". Other historians such as Jürgen Osterhammel term the conflict "Taiping Revolution" because of the rebels' radical transformational objectives and the social revolution that they initiated. Little

7216-432: The value of life, hurting my compatriots, and wiping out my fellow Hui (wo Huizu)." He styled himself "Sultan of Dali " and reigned for 16 years before Qing troops under Cen Yuying beheaded him after he swallowed a ball of opium. The Qing eventually battled their way to Dali and on December 25,1872; thousands of Qing troops encircled Dali. Du's top general Yang Rong advised him to surrender fearing disastrous consequences for

7304-598: Was a shadow of its noble origin, being now a tool of the Qing to tyrannize Han people, libraries of the Confucian monasteries were destroyed—in the Yangtze delta, almost entirely —and the temples were often defaced or turned into temples of his new religion or hospitals and libraries. Traditionalist works like those of Confucius were burned and their sellers executed. The Taiping were especially opposed to idolatry , destroying idols wherever found with great prejudice. Though

7392-626: Was also dismissively referred to as the Red Sheep Rebellion ( 紅羊之亂 ; Hóngyáng zhī luàn ) because the two names sound similar in Chinese. In modern China, the war is often referred to as the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement, due to the fact that the Taiping espoused a doctrine which was both nationalist and communist, and the Taiping represented a popular ideology which was based on either Han nationalism or protocommunist values. The scholar Jian Youwen

7480-498: Was marked by a high level of discipline and fanaticism. They typically wore a uniform of red jackets with blue trousers, and grew their hair long so in China they were nicknamed "long hair". In the beginning of the rebellion, the large numbers of women serving in the Taiping army also distinguished it from other 19th-century armies. However, after 1853 there ceased being many women in the Taiping army. Hong Xuanjiao , Su Sanniang and Qiu Ersao are examples of women who became leaders of

7568-495: Was repulsed after 15 months by an army of Qing troops supported by European officers under the command of Frederick Townsend Ward . This army would become known as the " Ever Victorious Army ", a seasoned and well-trained Qing military force commanded by Charles George Gordon , and would be instrumental in the defeat of the Taiping rebels. In 1861, around the time of the death of the Xianfeng Emperor and ascension of

7656-405: Was so severe that parents and children of the opposite sex could not interact, and even married couples were discouraged from having sex. The rebels used brilliant unorthodox strategies that nearly toppled the dynasty but inspired it to adopt what one historian calls "the most significant military experimentation since the seventeenth century." The Taiping army was the rebellion's key strength. It

7744-426: Was the most prominent Hui scholar in Yunnan. He used his prestige to act as a mediator between the different Hui factions & "helped orient and validate" the rebellion throughout the province. He was respected by both Du Wenxiu & Ma Rulong as a spiritual leader. In 1860; Ma Dexin sent forces to help Du Wenxiu fight the Qing; assuring him that: "I have already secretly ordered my disciples [mensheng] Ma [Rulong] as

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