3. Taiping Rebellion 1850-1864
The Han Chinese believed that the ethnic Manchu of the Qing dynasty were inept, corrupt, and void of ancient traditions. Since 1766, the population of China doubled. At the end of the First Opium War in 1842, the Qing dynasty was forced to sign the Treaty of Nanking, which permitted the British Empire to infiltrate Chinese trade in silks, porcelain, and tea. After several bad harvests and droughts, agricultural production declined while taxes and rents increased. Peasants left their land for cities. As poverty became more prevalent so did banditry and the creation of secret societies.
With permission from the Qing dynasty, Europeans had established missions in China to convert the population to western Christianity. As the Chinese Christian population grew, new religious sects appeared. Hong Xiuquan, who was the self-proclaimed brother of Jesus Christ, founded the God Worshipping Society that combined aspects of indigenous millenarianism, Daoism, Confucianism, and Christianity.
The new Taiping Christianity became a “dynamic new Chinese religion” with many followers who wished to restore ancient social and moral traditions to a rapidly growing China. Local officials in the southern province of Guangxi began a campaign of religious persecution in late 1850. In early January 1851, rebel forces defeated Qing forces.
Over 15 years, Taiping forces fought against Qing armies. In 1853, rebel forces took over Nanjing and renamed it Tainjing. Taiping forces were successful; however, when they attempted to take Shanghai in August 1860, they were met with Qing forces supported by European armies. With a Qing victory, the stage was set for a re-conquest of China, which ended in 1864. An estimated 20 to 30 million people were killed and millions more displaced. The Taiping Rebellion is considered the bloodiest civil war in world history and the starting point of modern China.