#328 - Taiping 5: The Way Ahead

The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom has been proclaimed — but proclamations don't feed armies. As such, its Divine Host will enjoy all of 11 days before sheer arithmetic forces them back onto the road. What follows is eight months of movement through the hills and river valleys of Guangxi: not quite a military campaign, not quite a refugee march. When they finally stop, it will be inside the walls of a city called Yong'an - "Eternal Peace." There, for the first time, the blueprint of the kingdom they have been promising can at last be seen in outline. Kings will be named, & time itself will be reordered... But the walls keep closing in, and ahead - always ahead - is the only path left. Time Period Covered: Jan. 1851 – June 1852 Major Historical Figures: Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Hong Xiuquan, Heavenly King, Second Son of God [1814–1864] Feng Yunshan, South King, Architect of the God-Worshipping Society [1815–1852] Yang Xiuqing, East King, Voice of God the Father [d. 1856] Xiao Chaogui, West King, Voice of Jesus Christ [d. 1852] Wei Changhui, North King [1823–1856] Shi Dakai, Wing King [1831–1863] Luo Dagang, pirate-turned-general [fl. 1851–1853] Qing Dynasty: Saishangga, Imperial Commissioner [fl. 1851–1852] Xiang Rong, Qing General [d. 1856] Ulantai, Qing General [d. 1852] Major Sources Cited: Hamberg, Theodore. The Visions of Hung-Siu-tshuen and the Origin of the Kwang-si Insurrection. Kuhn, Philip A. "Ch. 6, The Taiping Rebellion" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10. Platt, Stephen R. Autumn in the Heavenly Kingdom. Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan.