The History of China

#338 - Taiping 15: The Summer of 10,000 Years

The Taiping Army is riding high. Having finally broken two massive, three-year-long sieges over the course of a single summer, ultimate victory seems within their grasp. Yet, that taste of triumph acts like blood in the water. The lifting of the sieges removes the one thing that had been holding this fractured movement together: sheer external pressure. For three years, the East King has been rehearsing one demand: the same title as the Heavenly King. Absolute recognition, absolute parity - the promotion he believes he's duly owed. Now with the pressure off, he's willing to do anything to get it, even summon the voice of God Himself. Time Period Covered: Dec. 1853–Sep. 1856 CE Major Historical Figures:Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864] Yang Xiuqing, the East King [c. 1821–1856] Wei Changhui, the North King [d. 1856] Qin Rigang, the Yan King [1821–1856] Shi Dakai, the Wing King [1831–1863] Xiao Chaogui, the West King [d. 1852] Feng Yunshan, the South King [d. 1852] Hu Yihuang, the deposed Yu King Qing Dynasty: Zeng Guofan, founder of the Xiang Army [1811–1872] Xiang Rong, Qing commander of the southern siege camp at Nanjing [d. 1856] Tuoming'a, Manchu commander at Yangzhou Major Sources Cited: Michael, Franz, and Chang Chung-li. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vol. I. Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom. Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan. Kuhn, Philip A. "The Taiping Rebellion." The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

#337 - Taiping 14: Tears Enough to Swell the River

Three months after the biggest win of his life, Zeng Guofan tries to drown himself. Again. His fleet gets ambushed, split in half, & set ablaze by a 23-year-old nobody bothered to worry about – right up until he became the guy everybody worried about. The reward for surviving all that? A "promotion" in-name only... with no province, no funds, no friends, and a bureaucracy that somehow finds the – time mid-civil-war – to mock him personally. He loses his flagship, his files, his seal of command, and even a friend. And all the while, a much bigger disaster is assembling itself in Nanjing, completely without his input... Time Period Covered:Dec. 1854–Apr. 1856 CE Major Historical Figures: Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Yang Xiuqing, the East King [c. 1821–1856] Qin Rigang, the Yan King [1821–1856] Shi Dakai, the Wing King [1831–1863] Lin Qirong, Taiping commander of Jiujiang Luo Dagang, Taiping commander of Meijiazhou and Hukou Qing Dynasty: The Xianfeng Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yizhu) [r. 1850–1861] Zeng Guofan, founder of the Xiang Army [1811–1872] Taqibu, Manchu commander of the Xiang Army's land forces [d. 1855] Peng Yulin, co-founder of the Xiang Army's naval forces [1816–1890] Hu Linyi, Xiang Army commander, later Governor of Hubei Chen Qimai, Governor of Jiangxi Tao Enpei, Governor of Hubei [d. 1855] Zuo Zongtang [1812–1885] Major Sources Cited: Michael, Franz, and Chang Chung-li. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vol. I. Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom. Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan. Kuhn, Philip A. "The Taiping Rebellion." The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10. Audio Backing Courtesy of: TabletopAudio CLS Productions Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

#336 - Taiping 13: The Order of Caps and Shoes

Zeng Guofan goes to war to defend a fixed universe – and nearly drowns proving how unfixed his own place in it actually is. Across a single year, Hunan's most unlikely general brutally finds out that he is indeed no warrior, and consequentially must rebuild a river fleet from nothing... all while the Taiping's own capital is spared only my a mix-up with the date. By December, the Yangtze has changed hands – and a nervous throne has just learned exactly how dangerous a loyal army, and the man who built it, can become... and exactly how briefly gratitude lasts. Time Period Covered: Feb. – Dec. 1854 CE Major Historical Figures: Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864] Yang Xiuqing, the East King [c. 1821–1856] Wei Changhui, the North King [1823–1856] Qin Rigang, the Yan King [1821–1856] Shi Dakai, the Wing King [1831–1863] Qing Dynasty: The Xianfeng Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yinzhu) [r. 1850–1861] Zeng Guofan, founder of the Xiang Army [1811–1872] Taqibu, Manchu commander of the Xiang Army's land forces [d. 1855] Peng Yulin, co-founder of the Xiang Army's naval forces [1816–1890] Zhang Shoulin, aide who pulled Zeng Guofan from the Xiang River at Jinggang Major Sources Cited: Michael, Franz, and Chang Chung-li. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vol. I. Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom. Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan. Kuhn, Philip A. "The Taiping Rebellion." The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

#335 - Taiping 12: The Man In Hunan

While the Northern Expedition dies in the freezing mud of Shandong, the Taiping's second strike — the Western Expedition — turns its sights on the provinces they've already ridden through on the Yangtze, a kingdom to go with their new Heavenly Capital. But waiting for them in Hunan is a man unable to ride a horse, or command an army... who will nevertheless set about constructing their ultimate doom. Time Period Covered: May 1853 – February 1854 CE Major Historical Figures: Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864] Hu Yiguang, commander of the Anhui column, Western Expedition Lai Hanying, commander of the Jiangxi column, Western Expedition Shi Dakai, the Wing King [1831–1863] Li Xiucheng, future Loyal King [c. 1823–1864] Qing Dynasty: The Xianfeng Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yinzhu) [r. 1850–1861] Jiang Zhongyuan, governor of Anhui [1812–1854] Zeng Guofan, founder of the Xiang Army [1811–1872] Tang Jian, Neo-Confucian scholar and Zeng Guofan's mentor [1778–1861] Major Sources Cited: Michael, Franz, and Chang Chung-li. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vol. I. Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom. Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]

#334 - Taiping 11: The Spear of Heaven and the Winter Wolf

The Taiping Army commits to one of its most audacious acts yet – an assault on the Qing throne itself, a thousand miles north in Beijing. To reach it, it will launch its great Northern Campaign: a single spear-throw that, if its aim holds true, might end the entire war before the teeth of winter bite down. Time Period Covered: May 1853 – March 1855 CE Major Historical Figures: Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Hong Xiuquan, the Heavenly King [1814–1864] Lin Fengxiang, co-commander of the Northern Expedition [d. 1855] Li Kaifang, co-commander of the Northern Expedition [d. 1855] Li Xiucheng, future Loyal King [c. 1823–1864] Qing Dynasty: The Xianfeng Emperor (Aisin-Gioro Yinzhu) [r. 1850–1861] Prince Senggelinqin [c. 1811–1865] Other: Theodore Hamberg, Swedish missionary, Hong Kong; author of the first European account of the Taiping [1819–1854] Major Sources Cited: Hamberg, Theodore. The Visions of Hung-Siu-tshuen, and Origin of the Kwang-si Insurrection. Michael, Franz, and Chang Chung-li. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vol. I. Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom. Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices [https://megaphone.fm/adchoices]