The Taiping Uprising

The Taiping Uprising was something caught my attention, while reading chapter 19. The Taiping Uprising was a radical, political and religious battle that lasted for 14 years. It was probably one of the most important movements in China during the 19th century. This "peasant upheaval" was unique because it found their "primary ideology in a unique form of Christianity. Hong Xiuquan, the leader of the uprising, "proclaimed himself the the younger brother of Jesus, sent to cleanse the world of demons and to establish a heavenly kingdom of great peace" (934). The most revolutionary part of the uprising was its view on women and gender roles.

The Hakka women who had never had their feet bound fought alongside the men as soldiers. "Taiping officials ordered that the feet of other women be unbound" (935). Women were promised equal shares of land with the men, and were now being appointed supervisory positions. One thing that I was confused about while reading this was that Xiuquan valued the teachings of the Old Testament, which showed God demanding worship and obedience. However, at the same time, he wanted to prohibit slavery, foot-binding, prostitution, and opium smoking. I feel like those are all bad things, so I am not sure why he favored obedience. The New Testament, emphasized the ideas of kindness, forgiveness and redemption. Due to that, I feel like he would prefer the New Testament to the Old Testament.