full: i thought you didnt emphasize the xianity of the jesus brother, he also was not the emperor. It basically was xian v xian in that battle. |
thnx for explaining, mP!
I was attempting to give a quick overview of the possible Christian influences on the two ladies in the local street. So I just used 'Christian' as an adjective to describe the Taiping. Some may want to quibble over the use of 'Christian,' to describe the Taiping, but if we make recognition of Jesus the defining point of being a Christian, then the Taiping surely are entitled to be seen as Christian.
Hong Xiuquan was likely insane (or, had suffered a period of insanity), it wasn't just that he thought of himself as the brother of Jesus, but he believed he had actually been to heaven (but so, its seems did Paul).
His telling of his trip to heaven is quite imaginative, envisioning heaven through a Chinese mind. Hong himself being being carried in a sedan chair to the gates of heaven, after having his body cleansed (by removal and replacement of organs) he has to read some scrolls, then a woman comes to greet him, she calls him 'son' and tells him he must be cleansed, and takes him to a river where she washes him, and then says, "Now you are cleansed, you can go and meet your father."
Meeting his father, Hong describes him as tall, with a long golden beard, reaching to his belly, and wearing a black dragon robe. His father has tears of anger and sadness in his eyes as he speaks to Hong: " So! you have come back up (to heaven)? - (Now) Pay close attention to what I say."
There follows much explanation and instruction and he is allowed to battle the demons in heaven. Sometimes, he is instructed by his older brother (Jesus) who is often impatient with Hong, when Hong is slow to understand. (Older brother often shouts at him, but older brother's heavenly wife always placates Jesus) Finally, he is told that he must return to earth and fight the demons on earth, So Hong leaves heaven and his heavenly wife and children and returns to do his duty on earth.
(That section is almost verbatim from Jonathon Spence's, " God's Chinese Son," which sets out the Taiping history quite well.)
I called Hong a 'genius' - some may dispute that, but I think he deserves the accolade, by good fortune or good sense, he selects good Generals who win battles, he organises his followers in a system, essentially based on biblical texts, that provides good order among his followers. And, for nearly 15 years he resists the power of the Qing state, which though in trouble following the western incursions, should have been able to easily defeat this upstart, militant religion.
So what title should we give to Hong.
Our word Emperor come from a latin word Imperator, used by Roman Emperors (English word again). Originally, Imperator had a similar meaning to commander, and was only part of the descriptive terms used by Roman Emperors to describe their supremacy. In English usage, an Emperor rules over an Empire, which could be defined as more than one kingdom (or people). An Emperor may have kings under him. And here we see similarities to a Iranian title, King of Kings, that made it into Biblical usage.
In China, rulers of the first central states were called Wang, roughly with the same meaning as King. The first Chinese Emperor (from an historical perspective) was Qin Shi Huang, ruler of a small west China state named Qin that conquered the other states, now ruling over the other Wang, gave himself a new title to show his position. The term he used was Huangdi - huang meaning something like 'splendid' (often used when talking of heaven - not neccessarily our sort of religious heaven), and 'di,' in this sense meaning ruler.
You can see this is a semantical nightmare. Conveying the precise meaning is almost impossible. Nonetheless, Hong did call himself a heavely King, (that's what he claimed to be), but did not use the term Huangdi maybe because he saw pagan connotations.
I used Emperor, ( but maybe King is better) because Hong saw himself as being at war with the demon controlled, Emperor of China. And, yes it was a civil war, but with much of the south of China in Taiping hands, we can see that a new state was coming into existence - a situation reasonably common in China and therefore creating a situation where there were two Emperors.
Western powers entered the war when Shanghai (then controlled by western powers) was threatened. But the political situation was that the west already 'owned' the Qing (nothing to do with the prior Qin) government.' They forsaw a more difficult relationship if the Taiping gained control of all China. Their intervention under General Charles Gordon was decisive. It was not long before the Taiping Capital, Nanjing was beseiged. The believers inside the massive walls of Nanjing are soon starving. Hong knows his Father will send manna to feed his servants and issues an edict that the starving citizens should eat it. As the seige continues, Hong becomes ill and on May 30, 1864, a decree is issued in Hong's name, that the time has come for him to visit army and to ask his father and older brother to come to earth with a heavenly army to defend Nanjing. On June 1 he dies. His son is made King. The city falls to the British led Qing army, and a small group of elite escape with the new king. This group associates with other Taiping, but everything is crumbling. The group with the young King head south, and evade capture until October 25 (1864), On that day the young king is captured by Qing troops. On November 18, a week before his 15th birthday, he is executed. By the end of 1864, God's army, and the Kingdom of heavenly peace has disappeared.