Taiping Rebellion

The Taiping Rebellion (1851–1864) was one of the bloodiest conflicts in history, a clash between the forces of Imperial China and those inspired by a Hakka self-proclaimed mystic named Hong Xiuquan (???), who was also a Christian convert who had claimed that he was the new Messiah and younger brother of Jesus Christ. Most accurate sources put the total deaths at about 20 million civilians and army personnel, although some claim the death toll was much higher (as many as 40 million according to in least one source.http://www.hawaii.edu/powerkills/GENOCIDE.ENCY.HTM). There are reports that "Some historians have estimated that the combination of natural disasters combined with the political insurrections may have cost on the order of 200 million Chinese lives between 1850–1865 http://www.shangri-la-river-expeditions.com/willdowns/china/gonggashan1.html". That figure would generally be considered out of the mainstream in historical circles though as it equals half the population of China in 1851.http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/china/geog/population.htm#2b The rebellion is named after the revolutionaries' name Kingdom of Heavenly Peace or Tàipíng Tiānguó (太平天國, Wade-Giles T'ai-p'ing t'ien-kuo), which lasted as long as the revolution.

Related Topics:
1851 - 1864 - China - Hakka - Hong Xiuquan - Messiah - Jesus Christ - Wade-Giles

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~