The History of China

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 ExpeditionLai Hanying, commander of the Jiangxi column, Western ExpeditionShi 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.
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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.
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Finally pooled and stilled at Nanjing, in the afterglow of victory, the Taiping reflect on what they’ve become, and what they’ve yet to accomplish. In the cold light of the morning after, though, dreams do not equal result, nor clouds a working constitution. And as the world begins to take note and come knocking, the question hanging over it all remains: what will come next?

Time Period Covered: Spring–Summer 1853 CE

Major Historical Figures:Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Hong Xiuquan, Heavenly King, Second Son of God [1814–1864]Yang Xiuqing, East King, Voice of God the Father [d. 1856]Xiao Chaogui, West King, signing from beyond the grave [d. 1852]Fu Shanxiang, first & only female zhuangyuan of the examination [fl. 1853; dates uncertain]Lin Fengxiang, general of the Northern Expedition [d. 1855]; The Women's Army of the Heavenly Kingdom [org. 1851]Qing Dynasty: Zeng Guofan, Confucian official, founder of the Xiang (Hunan) Army [1811–1872]Great Britain:Sir George Bonham, Governor of Hong Kong & plenipotentiary to China [1803–1863]Thomas Taylor Meadows, consular interpreter [1815–1868]Cmdr. Edmund Gardiner Fishbourne, HMS Hermes [1811–1887]Abroad: Karl Marx, correspondent, New-York Daily Tribune [1818–1883]

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.
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The Heavenly Host arrives at last before the walls of the South Capital. What follows is not a battle so much as a verdict – rendered in powder, fire, and seven days of smoke and blood. A city is taken, renamed, and remade in the image of a kingdom the likes of which the world has never seen before. This is the story of the Becoming that finally arrived; of the current that finally found its place to pool... and what it cost to stop.

Time Period Covered: Mar. 1853 CE

Major Historical Figures:

Taiping Heavenly Kingdom: Hong Xiuquan, Heavenly King, Second Son of God [1814–1864] Yang Xiuqing, East King, Voice of God the Father [d. 1856]

Qing Dynasty: The Xianfeng Emperor, Aisin Gioro Yizhu [1831–1861] The Nanjing Manchu Garrison [est. 1645; d. 1853]

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.

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The Heavenly Host marches north out of Hunan. Ahead of them lies the spine of China itself – the mighty Yangtze; maker and breaker of dynasties. The trading capitals strung along its southern bank glimmer like beads on a thread. They have and continue to transform, to build a fleet, a state. Now they will find out what it’s all been leading toward. This is the story of the Kingdom In Motion, and the river that carried it east.

Time Period Covered: Nov. 1852 – Mar. 1853

Major Historical Figures:Taiping Heavenly Kingdom:Hong Xiuquan, Heavenly King, Second Son of God [1814–1864]Yang Xiuqing, East King, Voice of God the Father [d. 1856]Shi Dakai, Wing King [1831–1863]Li Xiucheng, future Loyal King [1823–1864]

Qing Dynasty:The Xianfeng Emperor, Aisin Gioro Yizhu [1831–1861]Chang Liangji, Governor of HubeiQian Jiang, the jiansheng from Zhejiang who pitched reform and walked

Major Sources Cited:Michael, Franz, and Chang Chung-li. The Taiping Rebellion: History and Documents, Vol. I.Kuhn, Philip A. "Ch. 6, The Taiping Rebellion" in The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 10.Spence, Jonathan D. God's Chinese Son: The Taiping Heavenly Kingdom of Hong Xiuquan.Hamberg, Theodore. The Visions of Hung-Siu-tshuen, and Origin of the Kwang-si Insurrection.
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