print | close Internal Crises II: Rebellions

• Introduction: Rebellions and Revolts
• Primary Source: The Taiping Plan for Reorganizing Chinese Society
• Primary Source: Ode for Youth
• Discussion Questions and Suggested Activities

Introduction: Rebellions and Revolts

Throughout history, China was plagued by internal revolts and rebellions. Often these revolts were movements that gave people hope for a different life and offered an end to their suffering. For this reason, the Chinese authorities were always suspicious and alert for the development of any group that challenged traditional beliefs in family and state. The 1800s were no different. What was striking, however, was the kind of rebellion that occurred and the extent of the upheavals.

No other event devastated China as much in the 19th century as the Taiping (pronounced tie ping) Rebellion (1850-64). It was sparked by the leadership of one man, Hong Xiuquan (pronounced shiou chuan), from the south of China, who in 1847 flunked the imperial examinations for the third time and was delirious for 30 days. When he recovered, he believed that he and his band of believers had been chosen to conquer China, destroy the demon Manchu rulers, and establish the Taiping Tianguo --the Heavenly Kingdom of Great Harmony. Gathering followers first from the poor and outcast, he and his recruits gradually built up an army and political organization that swept across China. They made their way to central China and by the late 1850's controlled over 1/3 of the country. Their movement was so strong and so popular that it took the central government millions of dollars and 15 years to defeat them. Not until 1864 was the rebellion brutally put down. It is estimated that the entire rebellion cost over 20 million lives (twice that of World War I). Even by the 1950's, some parts of central China had not yet fully recovered from the destruction of the Taiping era.

Taiping beliefs

The Taipings took their beliefs from many different sources. Some of these beliefs reflected traditional Confucianism and some were from ancient writings that described ideal systems that had never been practiced. Other ideas were western in origin. Clearly this blend of ideas was very powerful. Because they introduced ideas never discussed before, the Taipings could promise their followers a totally new system.

Their revolutionary program was very wide-ranging. It introduced notions of common property, land reform, equal position of women, abstinence from opium, tobacco and alcohol, calendar reform, literary reform, and above all, a new political-military organization of society.

Unit Consultant: Sue Gronewold, specialist in Modern History

Every army must have attached to it two persons in charge of land division, two in charge of law, two in charge of money and grain, two in charge of receipts, and two in charge of disbursement; in each case one is the chief and one the assistant, positions which are held by a colonel and a captain respectively, concurrently with their regular position. Those who are in office shall administer the affairs, while those who are not in office shall also assist. In each army, with regard to all births, deaths, promotions, demotions, and other such matters, the corps general shall report to the royally-appointed superintendent, the corps superintendent shall report to the royally-appointed corps commandant, the royally-appointed corps commandant shall next report to the general, then to the imperial guard, the commander, the senior secretary, and the chancellor. The chancellor shall report to the chief of staff, and the chief of staff shall report to the Tian Wang (king). When Tian Wang hands down his edict, the chief of staff will respectfully carry it out.

The division of land must be according to the number of individuals, whether male or female; calculating upon the number of individuals in a household, if they be numerous, then the amount of land will be larger, and if few smaller; and it shall be a mixture of the nine classes. If there are six persons in a family, then for three there shall be good land and for three poorer land, and of good and poor each shall have half. All the fields in the empire are to be cultivated by all the people alike. If the land is deficient in one place, then the people must be removed to another, and if the land is deficient in another, then the people must be removed to this place. All the fields throughout the empire, whether of abundant or deficient harvest, shall be taken as a whole; if this place is deficient, then the harvest of that abundant place must be removed to relieve it, and if that place is deficient, then the harvest of this abundant place must be removed in order to relieve the deficient place; thus, all the people in the empire may together enjoy the abundant happiness of the Heavenly Father, Supreme Lord and Great God. There being fields, let all cultivate them; there being food, let all eat; there being clothes, let all be dressed; there being money, let all use it, so that nowhere does inequality exist, and no man is not well fed and clothed.

Throughout the empire the mulberry tree is to be planted close to every wall, so that all women may engage in rearing silkworms, spinning the silk, and making garments. Throughout the empire every family should keep five hens and two sows, which must not be allowed to miss their proper season. At the time of the harvest, every sergeant shall direct the corporals to see to it that of the twenty-five families under his charge each individual has a sufficient supply of food, and aside from the new grain each may receive, the remainder must be deposited in the public granary. Of wheat, pulse, hemp, flax, cloth, silk, fowls, dogs, etc., and money, the same is true; for the whole empire is the universal family of our Heavenly Father, the Supreme Lord and Great God. When all the people in the empire will not take anything as their own but submit all things to the Supreme Lord, then the Lord will make use of them, and in the universal family of the empire, every place will be equal and every individual well fed and clothed. This is the intent of our Heavenly Father, the Supreme Lord and Great God, in specially commanding the true Sovereign of Taiping to save the world.

However, the sergeant must keep an account of money and grain figures in a record book, which he must present to those in charge of money and grain, and those in charge of receipts and disbursements. For every twenty-five families there must be established one public granary, and one church where the sergeant must reside. Whenever there are marriages, or births, or funerals, all may go to the public granary; but a limit must be observed, and not a cash be used beyond what is necessary. Thus, every family which celebrates a marriage or a birth will be given one thousand cash and a hundred catties* of grain. This one rule is applicable throughout the empire. In the use of all things let there be economy, to provide against war and famine. As for marriages in the empire, wealth should not be a consideration.

Among all officials and subjects throughout the empire, those who universally keep and obey the Ten Commandments of Heaven and who obey orders and faithfully serve the state shall thus be considered loyal subjects, and shall be raised from a low to a high station, their descendants inheriting their official title. Those officials who break the Ten Commandments of Heaven, disobey orders, receive bribes, or engage in corrupt practices shall thus be considered traitors, and shall be degraded from a high to a low station and reduced to mere farming. Those subjects who obey the Commandments and orders and exert themselves in farming shall be considered honest and faithful, and either elevated or rewarded; but those subjects who disobey the commandments and orders and neglect the duties of farming shall be considered as evil and vicious, to be either put to death or punished.

All the various officials throughout the empire shall be promoted or demoted once every three years, in order to display the justice of the Heavenly Court. All those who improperly recommend others, as well as those who improperly accuse others, shall be reduced to farmers.

*A catty is the equivalent of 16 ounces.

Reprinted with permission from Mason Gentzler, Changing China. (New York: Praeger Publishers) c1977 pp.54-60.

From "Ode for Youth"

On Reverence For Parents
As grain is stored against a day of need,
So men bring up children to tend their old age.
A filial son begets filial children;
The reward here is truly wonderful.

On The Fathers' Way
When the ridgepole is straight, nothing will be
irregular below;
When the father is strict, the Way will be
formed.
Let him not provoke his children to wrath,
And the whole dwelling will be filled with
harmony.

On The Mothers' Way
Mothers, beware of partiality;
Tenderly instruct your children in virtue.
When a mother's demeanor is worthy of her
daughter in-law's imitation,
The happy feeling will reach high heaven.

On The Sons' Way
Sons, be patterns to your wives;
Obedience to parents is your natural duty.
To the tattle of women never listen,
And you will not be estranged from your own
flesh.

On The Daughters-In-Law's Way
You who are married into other families,
Be gentle and yielding, and your duty will be
fulfilled.
Do not quarrel with your sisters-in-law
Or quarrel and vex the father-in-law and mother- in-law.

On The Elder Brothers' Way
Elder brothers, instruct your younger brothers;
Remember always your common parentage.
Should the younger brother commit some trifling
fault,
Bear with it and be indulgent.

On The Younger Brothers' Way
That there should be old and young is ordered
by Heaven;
The way to follow elder brothers lies in respect.
When younger brothers understand Heaven's
manifest principles,
Happiness and honor will be their portion.

On The Elder Sisters' Way
Elder sisters, instruct your younger brothers and
sisters;
Refine the good that you may turn to Heaven.
Should there be reason to return to your
parents' home,
Gather the younger ones and tell them what is
wrong and right.

On The Younger Sisters' Way
Girls, obey your elder brothers and sisters;
By obliging and avoid a high display.
With careful diligence cultivate the upright,
And mind and keep the Ten Heavenly
Commandments.

On The Husbands' Way
The husband's way is based on firmness;
Love for a wife should be qualified by prudence.
And should the lioness east of the river roar,*
Let not the heart be filled with terror.

On The Wives' Way
The wife's way lies in the three obediences;**
Do not disobey your husband.
If hens crow in the morning,
There will be self-sought misery for the family.

*"Lioness east of the river" is an idiom for "domineering wife."
**Obedience to father, husband, and sons.

Reprinted with permission from Franz Michael and Chang Chung-li, The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents. (Seattle: University of Washington Press) c1966-71.

Discussion Questions and Suggested Activities

Questions

1. How do these beliefs reflect traditional Chinese ideas? Western ideas? 
2. Why do you think they were so powerful? To whom do you think they would appeal most in Chinese society: rulers, the educated, peasants, or merchants?
3. Many revolutionary groups place a great deal of emphasis on the education of the youth. Why do you think this is so? 
4. Many of the policies of the Taipings were similar to those carried out by the Communist government in China after 1949. Make a list of policies suggested in the first document and compare them with a list you will make of Communist policies.

Activities:

I. Investigating Rebellion
The Chinese state was so vast and the government's control over its dominions so stretched out that local uprisings were always a problem. The nineteenth century saw an enormous increase in the number of uprisings and they posed a serious challenge to a state weakened by demographic disasters and foreign encroachment. Politics, society, and economic life were all disrupted. Furthermore, as with the Taiping Rebellion, many of these uprisings incorporated new ideas alongside traditional Chinese beliefs. Trace the changes both in these uprisings and in the Chinese government's response to them by creating and filling in the chart containing the following:

On the horizontal axis:
Characteristics: Leaders, Beliefs, Followers, Events, Response, and Outcome

On the Verticle axis:
Uprisings: White Lotus 1774, 8 Trigrams 1813, Taiping 1850-1864, Nian 1851-1868, Miao 1850-1872, Triads 1840s, Southwest Moslems 1857-1873, Northwest Moslems 1862-1873, Boxers 1898-1900

II. Mapping Rebellion
Locate a map which indicates the areas of China that were threatened with rebellion in the nineteenth century, or make your own with the information you found in your research for the above activity.  A good map which plainly indicates the areas under siege can be found on the Web at: academic.brooklyn.cuny.edu/core9/phalsall/images/lt19cmap.gif.

1. Which rebellions threatened central China? Northern? Southern? Western? Southwestern?
2. Were any areas of China free of rebellion? Why was this so?
3. Combine the information on rebellions with foreign encroachment. What parts of China were most threatened? Least threatened? What are the implications of your findings for the government?