Chinese and World History

Hong Xiuquan led perhaps the largest peasant uprising in history, from 1850 to 1864. Claiming to be a younger brother of Jesus, Hong established his Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace (Taiping Tianguo) in Nanjing. From there he sent armies to try to conquer the Qing Dynasty and establish himself as emperor. This quasi-Christian rebellion inspired numerous other uprisings, and left an estimated 20 million dead in its wake. Foreigners generally opposed the Taipings, in part because they outlawed opium and interfered with foreign profits. Photos by Gary L. Todd, Ph.D., Professor of History, Sias International University, Xinzheng, Henan, China. http://picasaweb.google.com/GaryLeeTodd/NanjingTaipingHeavenlyKingdomMuseum#